Project 2669: V. Fischer, R. B. Benson, N. G. Zverkov, L. C. Soul, M. S. Arkhangelsky, O. Lambert, I. M. Stenshin, G. N. Uspensky, P. S. Druckenmiller. 2017. Plasticity and Convergence in the Evolution of Short-Necked Plesiosaurs. Current Biology. 27 (11):1667-1676.e3.
Abstract
Plesiosaurs were the longest-surviving group of secondarily marine tetrapods, comparable in diversity to today’s cetaceans. During their long evolutionary history, which spanned the Jurassic and the Cretaceous (201 to 66 Ma), plesiosaurs repeatedly evolved long- and short-necked body plans [1,2]. Despite this postcranial plasticity, short-necked plesiosaur clades have traditionally been regarded as being highly constrained to persistent and clearly distinct ecological niches: advanced members of Pliosauridae (ranging from the Middle Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous) have been characterised as apex predators [2–5], whereas members of the distantly related clade Polycotylidae (middle–Late Cretaceous) were through to have been fast-swimming piscivores [1,5–7]. We report a new, highly unusual pliosaurid from the Early Cretaceous of Russia that shows convergence with closely to the cranial structure of polycotylids: Luskhan itilensis gen. et sp. nov. Using novel cladistic and ecomorphological data, we show that pliosaurids iteratively evolved polycotylid-like cranial morphologies from the Early Jurassic until the Early Cretaceous. This underscores the ecological diversity of derived pliosaurids and reveals a more complex evolutionary history than their iconic representation as gigantic apex predators of Mesozoic marine ecosystems suggests. Collectively, these data demonstrate an even higher degree of morphological plasticity and convergence in the evolution of plesiosaurs than previously thought, and suggest the existence of an optimal ecomorphology for short-necked piscivorous plesiosaurs through time and across phylogeny.Read the article »
Article DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.052
Project DOI: 10.7934/P2669, http://dx.doi.org/10.7934/P2669
This project contains | Matrices |
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Download Project SDD File | Total scored cells: 12426 Total media associated with cells: 0 Total labels associated with cell media: 0 |
Characters | |
Total characters: 270 Total characters with associated media: 0 Total characters with media with labels: 0 Total character states: 667 Total character states with associated media: 0 Total character states with media with labels:0 Total unordered/ordered characters:270/0 |
Currently Viewing:
MorphoBank Project 2669
MorphoBank Project 2669
- Creation Date:
26 April 2017 - Publication Date:
25 May 2017 - Project views: 29447
- Media downloads: 1
- Matrix downloads: 26
Authors' Institutions
- University of Oxford
- Université de Liège
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
- Lomonosov Moscow State University
- Russian Academy of Sciences
- Smithsonian Institution
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Saratov State University
- Saratov State Technical University
- I.A. Goncharov Ulyanovsk Regional Natural History Museum
- Ulyanovsk State University
Members
member name | taxa | specimens | media | chars | character
| cell scorings (scored, NPA, "-") | cell
| rules | ||||||
Valentin Fischer Project Administrator | 97 | 1 | 1 | 270 | 0 | 0 | 12426 (12426, 0, 0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Taxonomic Overview for Matrix 'M24645' (96 Taxa)
taxon | unscored cells |
scored cells |
no cell support |
NPA cells |
"-" cells | cell images | labels on cell images |
member access |
[1] † Yunguisaurus liae Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 107 | 164 | 163 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[2] † Pistosaurus postcranium Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 193 | 77 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[3] † Pistosaurus skull Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 187 | 84 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[4] † Augustasaurus hagdorni Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 98 | 172 | 172 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[5] † Bobosaurus forojuliensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 211 | 60 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[6] † Macroplata tenuiceps Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 103 | 168 | 167 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[7] † Anningasaura lymense Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 130 | 140 | 140 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[8] † Stratesaurus taylori Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 93 | 177 | 177 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[9] † Avalonnectes arturi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 156 | 115 | 114 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[10] † Eurycleidus arcuatus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 171 | 99 | 99 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[11] † Meyerasaurus victor Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 99 | 172 | 171 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[12] † Maresaurus coccai Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 175 | 97 | 95 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[13] † Borealonectes russelli Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 146 | 127 | 124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[14] † Atychodracon megacephalus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 92 | 178 | 178 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[15] † Archaeonectrus rostratus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 141 | 129 | 129 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[16] † Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 97 | 173 | 173 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[17] † Rhomaleosaurus zetlandicus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 116 | 154 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[18] † Rhomaleosaurus thorntoni Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 135 | 135 | 135 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[19] † Thalassiodracon hawkinsii Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 23 | 247 | 247 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[20] † Hauffiosaurus longirostris Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 208 | 62 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[21] † Hauffiosaurus tomistomimus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 89 | 182 | 181 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[22] † Hauffiosaurus zanoni Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 105 | 166 | 165 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[23] † Marmornectes candrewi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 144 | 126 | 126 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[24] † Peloneustes philarchus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 22 | 249 | 248 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[25] † Simolestes vorax Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 81 | 189 | 189 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[26] † Pliosaurus funkei Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 209 | 61 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[27] † Pliosaurus westburyensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 145 | 126 | 125 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[28] † Pliosaurus carpenteri Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 140 | 131 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[29] † Pliosaurus brachydeirus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 179 | 92 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[30] † Pliosaurus macromerus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 197 | 75 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[31] † Pliosaurus brachyspondylus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 201 | 71 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[32] † Pliosaurus cf kevani Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 192 | 80 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[33] † Pliosaurus kevani Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 159 | 112 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[34] † Gallardosaurus iturraldei Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 184 | 86 | 86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[35] † Pliosaurus rossicus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 220 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[36] † Pliosaurus irgisensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 216 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[37] † Pliosaurus andrewsi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 94 | 177 | 176 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[38] † Liopleurodon ferox Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 60 | 210 | 210 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[39] † Kronosaurus queenslandicus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 172 | 100 | 98 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[40] † Polyptychodon sp Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 251 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[41] † Megacephalosaurus eulerti Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 164 | 106 | 106 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[42] † Brachauchenius lucasi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 155 | 116 | 115 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[43] † Brachauchenius mna Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 148 | 123 | 122 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[44] † QM f51291 Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 238 | 33 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[45] † Attenborosaurus conybeari Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 147 | 124 | 123 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[46] † Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 36 | 239 | 234 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[47] † Eoplesiosaurus antiquior Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 193 | 77 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[48] † Eretmosaurus rugosus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 184 | 89 | 86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[49] † Westphaliasaurus simonsensii Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 175 | 95 | 95 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[50] † Seelyosaurus guilelmiimperatoris Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 123 | 148 | 147 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[51] † Microcleidus tournemirensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 81 | 190 | 189 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[52] † Microcleidus brachypterygius Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 91 | 179 | 179 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[53] † Microcleidus homalospondylus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 52 | 218 | 218 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[54] † Plesiopterys wildi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 86 | 184 | 184 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[55] † Cryptoclidus eurymerus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 21 | 252 | 249 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[56] † Tricleidus seeleyi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 73 | 198 | 197 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[57] † Muraenosaurus leedsii Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 106 | 165 | 164 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[58] † Kimmerosaurus langhami Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 169 | 101 | 101 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[59] † Pantosaurus striatus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 204 | 67 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[60] † Picrocleidus beloclis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 135 | 136 | 135 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[61] † Tatenectes laramiensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 168 | 104 | 102 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[62] † Plesiosaurus mansellii Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 230 | 41 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[63] † Colymbosaurus trochanterius Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 183 | 87 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[64] † Djupedallia engeri Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 185 | 86 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[65] † Spitrasaurus spp Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 167 | 105 | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[66] † Abyssosaurus nataliae Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 191 | 82 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[67] † Umoonasaurus demoscyllus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 135 | 135 | 135 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[68] † Nichollssaura borealis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 59 | 212 | 211 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[69] † Leptocleidus capensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 141 | 131 | 129 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[70] † Leptocleidus superstes Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 157 | 115 | 113 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[71] † Vectocleidus pastorum Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 242 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[72] † Brancasaurus brancai Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 66 | 205 | 204 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[73] † Gronausaurus wegneri Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 197 | 73 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[74] † Speeton clay plesiosaurian Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 171 | 99 | 99 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[75] † Wapuskanectes betsynichollsae Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 234 | 37 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[76] † Futabasaurus suzukii Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 152 | 120 | 118 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[77] † Callawayasaurus colombiensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 85 | 191 | 185 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[78] † Eromangasaurus australis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 195 | 76 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[79] † Kaiwhekea katiki Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 153 | 118 | 117 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[80] † Aristonectes parvidens Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 166 | 105 | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[81] † Libonectes morgani Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 103 | 167 | 167 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[82] † Hydrotherosaurus alexandrae Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 90 | 183 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[83] † Edgarosaurus muddi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 97 | 174 | 173 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[84] † Plesiopleurodon wellesi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 173 | 102 | 97 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[85] † Richmond pliosaur Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 81 | 192 | 189 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[86] † Stenorhynchosaurus munozi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 145 | 129 | 125 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[87] † Anguanax zignoi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 233 | 39 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[88] † Makhaira rossica Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 254 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[89] † Luskhan itilensis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 69 | 209 | 201 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[90] † Palmulasaurus quadratus Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 197 | 74 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[91] † Pahasapasaurus haasi Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 167 | 106 | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[92] † Polycotylus latipinnis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 44 | 229 | 226 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[93] † Thililua longicollis Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 200 | 73 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[94] † Trinacromerum bentonianum Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 93 | 178 | 177 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[95] † Dolichorhynchops osborni Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 17 | 256 | 253 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
[96] † Dolichorhynchops bonneri Last Modified in 05/25/17 | 48 | 223 | 222 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Project views
type | number of views | Individual items viewed (where applicable) |
Total project views | 29447 | |
Project overview | 3345 | |
Media views | 3786 | Media search (3242 views); M451544 (544 views); |
Matrix views | 1573 | Matrix landing page (1372 views); Cladistic dataset – plesiosauria (201 views); |
Bibliography | 851 | |
Taxon list | 15909 | |
Specimen list | 1948 | |
Views for media list | 2031 | |
Documents list | 4 |
Project downloads
type | number of downloads | Individual items downloaded (where applicable) |
Total downloads from project | 241 | |
Project downloads | 214 | |
Matrix downloads | 26 | Cladistic dataset – plesiosauria (26 downloads); |
Media downloads | 1 | M451544 (1 download); |