The Lambeosaurine Dinosaur Magnapaulia laticaudus from the Late Cretaceous of Baja California, Northwestern Mexico

The taxonomy, osteology, phylogenetic position, and historical biogeography of the lambeosaurine hadrosaurid Magnapaulia laticaudus (new combination) are revised. The diagnosis of this species is amended on the basis on two autapomorphies (i.e., longest haemal arches of proximal caudal vertebrae being at least four times longer than the height of their respective centra; base of prezygapophyses in caudal vertebrae merging to form a bowl-shaped surface) and a unique combination of characters (i.e., downturned cranioventral process of the maxilla; tear-shaped external naris with length/width ratio between 1.85 and 2.85; neural spines of dorsal, sacral, and proximal caudal vertebrae being at least four times the height of their respective centra). A maximum parsimony analysis supports a sister taxon relationship between M. laticaudus and Velafrons coahuilensis. Both taxa constitute a clade of southern North American lambeosaurines, which forms a sister relationship with the diverse clade of helmet-crested lambeosaurines from northern North America that includes well-known genera like Corythosaurus, Lambeosaurus, and Hypacrosaurus. According to the results of a Dispersal-Vicariance analysis, southern North American lambeosaurines split from the northern forms via vicariance from a common ancestor that lived in both the northern and southern regions of the continent

Plateosaurus.

58 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.The nearly complete, disarticulated skull of AMNH FARB 6810, a specimen of the basal sauropodomorph Plateosaurus collected in 1925 from the Norian (late Triassic) strata of the Knollenmergel beds of Trossingen (Germany), is redescribed. This study supports referral of AMNH FARB 6810 to P. erlenbergiensis on the basis of the following characters: occipital condyle above level of parasphenoid; basisphenoid with transverse, subvertical lamina extending between basipterygoid processes, with ventrally projecting median process; and peglike process projecting medially from the middle of the palatine. Furthermore, P. longiceps is regarded a junior synonym of P. erlenbergiensis because the type specimen of the latter is diagnostic (displaying the above-noted apomorphies of the braincase and palatine) and, chronologically, P. erlenbergiensis has priority over P. longiceps

Gilmoreosaurus mongoliensis.

49 p. : ill. ; 26 cm. "August 23, 2010." "The first fossil remains of Gilmoreosaurus mongoliensis were collected in 1923 by George Olsen during the Central Asiatic Expeditions of the American Museum of Natural History ... from two quarries ... in the Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation, Inner Mongolia, northern China"--P. 2.The osteology of the hadrosauroid dinosaur Gilmoreosaurus mongoliensis is redescribed in detail based on the disarticulated cranial and postcranial elements of at least four individuals. These together constitute the lectotype and hypodigm of this species. The diagnosis is emended to include two autapomorphies (paddle-shaped postacetabular process that is less than 70% of the length of the iliac central plate and manual phalanx III-1 with greatly asymmetrical distal surface) and the unique combination of two iliac characters (presence of ischial tuberosity and supraacetabular process with apex located posterodorsal to ischial peduncle). The distinction of G. mongoliensis from B. johnsoni is confirmed on the basis of characters of the maxilla, dentition, ilium, ischium, and pubis. Maximum parsimony analysis places G. mongoliensis as a closely related outgroup to the Hadrosauridae, the sister taxon to the clade composed of all hadrosauroids closer to Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus than to Bactrosaurus johnsoni

The dentary of hadrosauroid dinosaurs: evolution through heterochrony

The near-global distribution of hadrosaurid dinosaurs during the Cretaceous has been attributed to mastication, a behaviour commonly recognized as a mammalian adaptation. Its occurrence in a non-mammalian lineage should be accompanied by the evolution of several morphological modifications associated with food acquisition and processing. This study investigated morphological variation in the dentary, a major element of the hadrosauroid lower jaw. Eighty-four hadrosauroid dentaries were subjected to geometric morphometric and statistical analyses to investigate their taxonomic, ontogenetic, and individual variation. Results suggest increased food acquisition and processing efficiency in saurolophids through a complex pattern of evolutionary and growth-related changes. The edentulous region grew longer relative to dentary length, allowing for food acquisition specialization anteriorly and processing posteriorly, and became ventrally directed, possibly associated with foraging low-growing vegetation, especially in younger individuals. The saurolophid coronoid process became anteriorly directed and relatively more elongate, with an expanded apex, increasing moment arm length, with muscles pulling the jaw more posteriorly, increasing mechanical advantage. During growth, all hadrosauroids underwent anteroposterior dental battery elongation by the addition of teeth, and edentulous region ventralization decreased. The dental battery became deeper in saurolophids by increasing the number of teeth per tooth family. The increased coronoid process anterior inclination and relative edentulous region elongation in saurolophids are hypothesized to have evolved through hypermorphosis and/or acceleration, peramorphic heterochronic processes; the development of an anteroposteriorly shorter but dorsoventrally taller saurolophid dentary, is probably due to post-displacement in dental battery elongation and edentulous region decreased ventral orientation, a paedomorphic heterochronic process

Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study

Background In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new “Trigger Tool” represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery. Methods An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described “Trigger Tool” based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis. Results The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The “Trigger Tool” had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the “Trigger Tool”. Conclusions The “Trigger Tool” has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies

Pareisactus evrostos, a new basal iguanodontian (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of southwestern Europe

Párraga, Javier, Prieto-Márquez, Albert (2019): Pareisactus evrostos, a new basal iguanodontian (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of southwestern Europe. Zootaxa 4555 (2): 247-258, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4555.2.

Data from: The ‘duck-billed’ dinosaurs of Careless Creek (Upper Cretaceous of Montana, USA), with comments on hadrosaurid ontogeny

The Careless Creek Quarry (CCQ) is a multitaxic bonebed in the Campanian Judith River Formation of south-central Montana (USA) that produced a diverse assemblage of vertebrates, including several dinosaurian clades. We describe the morphology of the CCQ hadrosaurid material and reevaluate its taxonomic affinities. Our osteological comparative observations, coupled with maximum parsimony phylogenetic analyses, indicate that the majority of the hadrosaurid material is referable to kritosaurin saurolophines. Only an ischium is unambiguously referable to Lambeosaurinae. Most of the kritosaurin specimens likely represent a taxon that forms a polytomy with species of Gryposaurus and Rhinorex condrupus Gates and Sheetz, 2015. This form may represent individuals of either G. latidens Horner, 1992 or G. notabilis Lambe, 1914, or a new species cogeneric or not with Gryposaurus. The juvenile material exemplifies several patterns of mandibular and appendicular osteological variation previously observed in other hadrosaurids. However, it also shows some departures from the common trends, supporting the fact that not all skeletal growth changes can be generalized to all hadrosaurids