A new Cretaceous thyreophoran from Patagonia supports a South American lineage of armoured dinosaurs

The early evolution of thyreophoran dinosaurs is thought to have occurred primarily in northern continents since most evidence comes from the Lower and Middle Jurassic of Europe and North America. The diversification into stegosaurs and ankylosaurs is obscured by a patchy fossil record comprising only a handful of fragmentary fossils, most with uncertain phylogenetic affinities. Here we report the discovery of a new armoured dinosaur from the early Late Cretaceous of Argentina, recovered phylogenetically using various datasets either as a basal thyreophoran or a stem ankylosaur, closely related to Scelidosaurus. It bears unusual anatomical features showing that several traits traditionally associated with the heavy Cretaceous thyreophorans did not occur universally. Jakapil kaniukura gen. et sp. nov. is the first definitive thyreophoran species from the Argentinian Patagonia. Unlike most thyreophorans, it seems to show a bipedal stance, as in Scutellosaurus. Jakapil also shows that early thyreophorans had a much broader geographic distribution than previously thought. It is a member of an ancient basal thyreophoran lineage that survived until the Late Cretaceous in South America.The authors thank to Mariluan family for kindly allowing us the access to the fossiliferous locality of Cerro Policia and to the Secretaria de Cultura of the Rio Negro Province for allowing the respective permits; to the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Agencia Nacional de Promocion de la Investigacion, el Desarrollo Tecnologico y la Innovacion (projects PICT 2014-0564 and PICT 2018-04598), the Fundacion Azara-Universidad Maimonides, the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion e Universidades and the European Regional Development Fund (projects CGL2017-85038-P and PID2021-122612OB-I00), and the Gobierno Vasco/EJ (research group IT1418-19) for the funding. F. J. R. thanks to I. Diaz-Martinez, A. Martinelli, L. Leahey, R. Molnar, A. Vargas Milne, S. Soto Acuna, and M. Baron for digital material; to L. Pazo and J. Kaluza for the material preparation; to the members of the Area de Paleontologia of the Fundacion Azara, especially F. Garberoglio, L. Fernandez Dumont and J. P. Garderes, for all the helping; to R. Ponti for the thin sectioning, and I. Cerda for his advice on histological aspects; to S. Bogan, S. M. alvarez and J. Meluso for facilitate the access to the Fundacion Azara collections. S. A. acknowledges J. Kaluza for identifying key materials. Thanks to R. Glasgow for reviewing the English text of the manuscript. Special thanks to the reviewers Susannah Maidment, Victoria Arbour, and an anonymous reviewer, whose comments strongly improved the manuscript

A Tylosaurine Mosasauridae (Squamata) from the Late Cretaceous of the Basque-Cantabrian Region

An isolated mosasaurid tooth from the Campanian of Alava (Basque Country), previously referred to as cf. Mosasaurus sp., is here reattributed to a tylosaurine. It may belong to Tylosaurus, a nearly cosmopolitan genus known from the Santonian-Maastrichtian. This is the first occurrence of a tylosaurine mosasaurid in the Iberian Peninsula. Moreover, it corresponds to the southernmost occurrence of this clade in the northern margin of the Mediterranean Tethys. ylosaurinae fossils are known from North America, Europe, New Zealand, Antarctica, Africa and Asia, but remain unknown from the southern Mediterranean Tethyan margin and from tropical palaeolatitudes.Un diente aislado de mosasaurio procedente del Campaniense de Álava (País Vasco), previamente asignado a cf. Mosasaurus sp., se atribuye en este trabajo a un tilosaurino. Podría pertenecer a Tylosaurus, un género cuasi cosmopolita del Santoniense-Maastrichtiense. Es la primera cita de un mosasáurido tilosaurino en la Península Ibérica. Además, se trata del registro más meridional de este clado en el margen norte del Tetis mediterráneo. Los Tylosaurinae están representados por fósiles en Norteamérica, Europa, Nueva Zelanda, Antártida, África y Asia, pero carecen de registro en el margen sur del Tetis mediterráneo y en paleolatitudes tropicales

Taphonomy and palaeohistology of ornithischian dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous bonebed of La Cantalera (Teruel, Spain)

The fossiliferous site of La Cantalera-1 (Teruel, Spain) has to date provided remains of more than 30 vertebrate taxa, including dinosaurs, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, mammals, lizards, turtles, lissamphibians and teleosteans. Located in the lower part of the Blesa Formation (lower Barremian), it is one of the richest vertebrate-bearing deposits from the Lower Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. In this work, taphonomic and palaeohistological studies are carried out on the basis of ornithischian (Ornithopoda and Ankylosauria) dinosaur samples in order to assess the diagenetic processes, to characterize the histological microstructures and, if possible, to make palaeobiological inferences about the state of maturation of the individuals. A variety of techniques are used in the taphonomic study, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cathodoluminescence (CL), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF). The bone of the dinosaur samples has been converted into francolite (fluorapatite carbonate); the trabecular cavities are filled with semi-spherical forms of goethite and two different phases of calcite. In addition, the SEM and UVF techniques suggest the activity of coccoid-form bacteria and filaments of bacterial origin (biofilms?) in the bones, which possibly favoured fossilization. The dinosaur remains were subjected to fossil-diagenetic processes in a phreatic environment after a rapid burial, without appreciable seasonality effects. On the other hand, the palaeohistological study of both skeletal and dermal bones found in La Cantalera-1 shows a community of herbivorous dinosaurs composed mostly of immature ornithopods and at least one Polacanthus-like ankylosaur, as suggested by the organizational pattern of structural collagen fibres seen in some samples. The palaeobiological inferences drawn from this study support previous interpretations of a relative abundance of immature ornithischians in La Cantalera-1

Gene expression profiling in human neutrophils after infection with Acinetobacter baumannii in vitro

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram negative nosocomial pathogen that has acquired increasing worldwide notoriety due to its high antibiotic resistance range and mortality rates in hospitalized patients. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand key aspects of A. baumannii pathogenesis such as host-pathogen interactions. In this report, we analyzed both gene expression and cytokine production by human neutrophils infected with A. baumannii. Our assays reveal a proinflammatory response of neutrophils after A. baumannii infection, since intracellular transcription of effector proteins such as COX-2, transcription factors, and proinflammatory cytokines resulted significantly upregulated in neutrophils infected by A. baumannii, compared with unstimulated human neutrophils. Translation and release of CXCL-8, IL-1? and TNF-? by neutrophils was confirmed by protein quantification in culture supernatants. Results obtained in this report reinforce the importance of human neutrophils in controlling A. baumannii infections but also emphasize the proinflammatory nature of these host-pathogen interactions as a target for future immunomodulatory therapies

First description of ornithopod dinosaur skeletal remains from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (JurassicCretaceous transition): Cerrito del Olmo locality (Alpuente, Valencia, E Spain)

[EN] The Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) in Teruel and Valencia provinces (SE Iberian Range) has yielded abundant skeletal remains of dinosaurs, mainly of sauropods and stegosaurs. Three vertebrae collected in the locality of Cerrito del Olmo I (Alpuente, Valencia province), two of them previously referred to the stegosaurid Dacentrurus armatus, belong in fact to an ornithopod. The material consists of one cervical and two caudal centra that preserve the base of the neural arch fused to the centrum. These remains are here assigned to Ornithopoda indet. on the basis of the combination of several characters more frequent in ornithopods than in stegosaurs. This is the first description of ornithopod skeletal remains from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation.Investigación financiada por los proyectos CGL2007-64061/BTE (X.P.S, J.C.) y CGL2007/62469/BTE (J.I.R.-O.) del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, el grupo de investigación GIC 07/14-361 del Gobierno Vasco/EJ (X.P.S.) y el Protocolo de colaboración CN-04-226 entre la Consejería de Cultura y Turismo del Principado de Asturias y la Universidad de Oviedo (J.I.R-O). Nuestro agradecimiento a la Dra. Margarita Belinchón (MCNV) por su ayuda durante el estudio del material, y a la Dra. Gloria Cuenca-Bescós por la revisión del trabajo.Pereda-Suberbiola, X.; Ruiz-Omeñaca, JI.; Company Rodríguez, J. (2010). Primera descripción de restos esqueléticos de dinosaurio ornitópodo en la Formación. Villar del Arzobispo (tránsito Jurásico-Cretácico): yacimiento de Cerrito del Olmo (Alpuente, Valencia). Geogaceta. 47:13-16. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/150357S13164

Archosaurian teeth (Crocodyliformes, Theropoda) from the Late Jurassic of BuÒol (Valencia province, E Spain)

[EN] Five isolated archosaurian teeth from Valencia province (eastern Spain) are studied in this work. They have been found in the ¿Cantera CarcalÌnª site, an outcrop of the marine Higueruelas Formation (Tithonian) in the vicinity of BuÒol town. They represent the first direct evidence of tetrapods in this formation, in which, up to the moment, only dinosaur tracks had been found in a locality of the adjacent Teruel province. Four of the teeth pertain to crocodyliforms, three to indeterminate crocodyliforms and another to a teleosaurid identified as cf. Machimosaurus sp., a taxon already known in the Kimmeridgian of the Iberian Peninsula (Asturias and Portugal). The fifth tooth is assigned to a theropod dinosaur, probably an allosauroid.El equipo de investigación del MUJA está subvencionado por el Protocolo de colaboración CN-04-226 entre la Consejería de Cultura y Turismo del Principado de Asturias y la Universidad de Oviedo. Este trabajo es una contribución a los proyectos CGL2007-62469/BTE(J.I.R-O) y CGL2007-64061/BTE (X.P.S,J.C.) del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, y del grupo de investigación del Gobierno Vasco GIC07/14-361 (X.P.S.).Agradecemos a José Ignacio Canudo (Universidad de Zaragoza) y Francisco Ortega (UNED) la revisión crítica del manuscritoRuiz-Omeñaca, JI.; Pereda-Suberbiola, X.; Company Rodríguez, J.; Belinchón, M. (2010). Dientes de arcosaurios (Crocodyliformes, Theropoda) del Jurásico Superior de Buñol (Valencia). Geogaceta. 48:35-38. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/150323S35384

El registro fósil de vertebrados y patrimonio paleontológico más representativo de los pirineos occidentales

Los Pirineos occidentales son un territorio con una notable diversidad geológica y un importante registro fósil, que constituye un gran archivo de paleobiodiversidad. En lo que respecta al registro fósil de vertebrados, los Pirineos occidentales (Región Vasco-Cantábrica, Cuenca de Pamplona y sector noroccidental de la Cuenca del Ebro) son relevantes tanto desde el punto de vista de los yacimientos paleontológicos como de las colecciones de fósiles procedentes de ellos. Varios yacimientos de vertebrados forman parte del Inventario de Lugares de Interés Geológico (LIG) con alto o muy alto interés paleontológico en la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco. Destacan los yacimientos de peces cretácicos de Zeanuri en Bizkaia, mamíferos eocenos de Zambrana e icnitas miocenas de Salinas de Añana en Álava/Araba y la asociación de vertebrados pleistocenos de Kiputz cerca de Mutriku, en Gipuzkoa. Otros yacimientos notables en el área de estudio deberían ser objeto de iniciativas de geoconservación: es el caso de la cantera de Laño (Condado de Treviño), con asociaciones fi nicretácicas de vertebrados continentales y marinos, los afloramientos con icnitas de aves y mamíferos del Eoceno al Mioceno inferior de Navarra/Nafarroa y la cueva vizcaína de Santa Isabel de Ranero (Pleistoceno), por citar únicamente los ejemplos más sobresalientes. Asimismo, existen colecciones de fósiles de vertebrados en los Pirineos occidentales que destacan por su elevado interés paleontológico, aunque algunos no provengan de LIG reconocidos. Estas colecciones están depositadas en diversos centros e instituciones de Bilbao, Irún, Leioa, Pamplona-Iruñea, y Vitoria-Gasteiz. La valoración de la paleobiodiversidad y el registro fósil es un paso importante para el conocimiento del patrimonio paleontológico de un territorio y la creación de fi guras de geoconservación (e.g., LIG, geosites). Sin embargo, la mera inclusión de los yacimientos paleontológicos en estas fi guras no garantiza su protección y conservación, ni la adecuada gestión de las colecciones de fósiles procedentes de ellos. Por lo tanto, es necesario diseñar estrategias de conservación transversales teniendo en cuenta las particularidades de cada yacimiento y/o colección. La divulgación científi ca y cultural del patrimonio paleontológico de un territorio, como el aquí estudiado, debe contar con una mayor colaboración entre los paleontólogos que han valorado los bienes paleontológicos y los técnicos que los gestionan. Para ello, es necesaria la disposición de partidas presupuestarias específicas que posibiliten el desarrollo de diferentes acciones encaminadas a la investigación, conservación y difusión social de este patrimonio.The western Pyrenees is a territory with a remarkable geodiversity and an important fossil record, which constitutes a large archive of palaeobiodiversity. With respect to the vertebrate fossil record, the western Pyrenees (Basque-Cantabrian Region, Pamplona Basin and the north-western sector of the Ebro Basin) are relevant both from the point of view of palaeontological sites and fossil collections. Several vertebrate fossil sites are integrated into the Inventory of Geological Interest Sites (LIG) with high to very high palaeontological interest of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. It is worth highlighting the Cretaceous fish sites of Zeanuri in Biscay, Eocene mammals of Zambrana and Miocene ichnites of Salinas de Añana in Araba, and the Pleistocene vertebrate fossil assemblage of Kiputz near Mutriku, in Gipuzkoa. Other highly significant sites in the study area should be subject to geoconservation initiatives. This is the case of the Laño quarry in the Condado de Treviño, which has provided continental and marine vertebrate fossil assemblages from the latest Cretaceous, Eocene to Early Miocene sites with bird and mammal tracks in Navarre, and the Pleistocene cave deposits of Santa Isabel de Ranero in Biscay, to mention only the most outstanding examples. There are also vertebrate fossil collections in the western Pyrenees that stand out for their high palaeontological interest, although some do not come from recognized LIG. These collections are deposited in several centres and institutions of Bilbao, Irun, Leioa, Pamplona-Iruñea and Vitoria-Gasteiz. The valuation of the palaeobiodiversity and fossil record is an important step for the study of palaeontological heritage of a territory and the set-up of geoconservation designations (e.g., LIG, geosites). However, the mere inclusion of the palaeontological assents in these geoconservation designations does not guarantee either their protection and conservation or the suitable management of the fossil collection. Therefore, it is necessary to design conservation strategies taking into account the particularities of each palaeontological site and/or fossil collection. The scientific and cultural dissemination of the palaeontological heritage of a territory like one studied here should have greater collaboration between the palaeontologists that have valued the palaeontological assets and the technicians and institutions that manage them. This requires the provision of specific budgetary items that enable the development of the different activities of research, conservation and social dissemination of this heritage.Fil: Badiola, Ainara. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Arlegi, Mikel. Universidad del País Vasco; España. Université de Bordeaux; FranciaFil: Astibia, Humberto. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Bardet, Nathalie. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Francia. Université Pierre et Marie Curie; FranciaFil: Berreteaga, Ana. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Corral, J. Carmelo. Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava/; EspañaFil: Díaz Martínez, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Alto Valle. Instituto de Investigaciones en Paleobiología y Geología; ArgentinaFil: Gómez Olivencia, Asier. Universidad del País Vasco; España. IKERBASQUE. Basque Foundation for Science; España. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto de Salud; EspañaFil: Lopez Horgue, Mikel A.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Perales Gogenola, Leire. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Pereda Suberbiola, Xabier. Universidad del País Vasco; Españ

Primera cita de cocodrilos zifodontos en el Cenozoico de Asturias: Royo Gómez y los supuestos dientes de dinosaurio del Eoceno de Llamaquique

In 1928, José Royo Gómez mentioned the find of “two teeth similar to those of theropod dinosaurs from the Secondary” in the Eocene of Llamaquique (Oviedo Basin, Asturias). Royo Gómez was aware of the interest of the discovery, “because they would be the youngest remains found of these gigantic reptiles”. According to the hitherto unpublished documents preserved in the Archives of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, Royo Gómez photographed five teeth from Llamaquique in April 1932, which he regarded as belonging to theropods. The whereabouts of this material is currently unknown. However, the revision of the Llamaquique collection in the above mentioned museum has allowed to recover one labiolingually compressed and serrated tooth (ziphodont condition). We reject here that the tooth belongs to a theropod, and we assign it to a Mesoeucrocodylia indet. This is the first mention of the discovery of ziphodont crocodyliforms in the Paleogene of Asturias.En 1928, José Royo Gómez informó del hallazgo de “dos dientes idénticos a los de los Dinosaurios terópodos del Secundario” en el Eoceno de Llamaquique (Cuenca de Oviedo, Asturias). Royo Gómez era consciente del interés de este descubrimiento, “pues serían los restos más modernos que se conocerían de estos gigantescos reptiles”. Según la documentación conservada en el Archivo del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales en Madrid, hasta ahora inédita, Royo Gómez fotografió en abril de 1932 cinco dientes de Llamaquique que él consideraba pertenecientes a terópodos. Este material se encuentra actualmente en paradero desconocido. No obstante, la revisión de la colección paleontológica de Llamaquique en el mencionado museo ha permitido recuperar un diente comprimido lateralmente y provisto de carenas denticuladas (condición zifodonta). Se descarta que el diente pertenezca a un terópodo, asignándose a un Mesoeucrocodylia indeterminado. Se trata de la primera mención del hallazgo de cocodrilos zifodontos en el Paleógeno de Asturias

A 3D REPOSITORY OF DINOSAUR TEETH: THE GENERATION OF OPEN RESOURCES FOR THE CLASSIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIMENS

Among the many valuable uses of the artificial intelligence in the field of museums, it may assist the classification of out-of-context items. This paper deals with the problem of the identification of dinosaur teeth (a type of fossil that is usually found scattered), which can be tackled by means of multivariate algorithms (such as the principal components, discriminant or cluster analyses) taking as a starting point a series of morphometric values (i.e., distances between specific points of the fossil tooth). A good interpretation requires some comprehension regarding the mathematical algorithms that are used, as well as the specific knowledge in palaeontology that permits appreciating the actual reach of the results. However, based on metric values as the computations are, there must also be some control over their precision and the possibility of checking the old measurements or complete the list of morphometric variables. This is an aspect that may be solved if the three-dimensional models of the teeth are made publicly available.The text describes the 3D documentation of a set of twelve fossil teeth of the museum of Natural Sciences of Álava (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) —approximately from 1 to 6 cm in size— using a structured light scanner and close-up photographs for recording some features smaller than the resolution of the scanner. The information about each tooth was then packed and uploaded to the university repository, from where it is also accessible via cultural and scientific aggregators (such as Europeana); likewise, reduced resolution copies are also accessible in the commercial platform Sketchfab&reg;.</p

A New Crocodylian from the Late Maastrichtian of Spain: Implications for the Initial Radiation of Crocodyloids

The earliest crocodylians are known primarily from the Late Cretaceous of North America and Europe. The representatives of Gavialoidea and Alligatoroidea are known in the Late Cretaceous of both continents, yet the biogeographic origins of Crocodyloidea are poorly understood. Up to now, only one representative of this clade has been known from the Late Cretaceous, the basal crocodyloid Prodiplocynodon from the Maastrichtian of North America.The fossil studied is a skull collected from sandstones in the lower part of the Tremp Formation, in Chron C30n, dated at -67.6 to 65.5 Ma (late Maastrichtian), in Arén (Huesca, Spain). It is located in a continuous section that contains the K/P boundary, in which the dinosaur faunas closest to the K/P boundary in Europe have been described, including Arenysaurus ardevoli and Blasisaurus canudoi. Phylogenetic analysis places the new taxon, Arenysuchus gascabadiolorum, at the base of Crocodyloidea.The new taxon is the oldest crocodyloid representative in Eurasia. Crocodyloidea had previously only been known from the Palaeogene onwards in this part of Laurasia. Phylogenetically, Arenysuchus gascabadiolorum is situated at the base of the first radiation of crocodyloids that occurred in the late Maastrichtian, shedding light on this part of the cladogram. The presence of basal crocodyloids at the end of the Cretaceous both in North America and Europe provides new evidence of the faunal exchange via the Thulean Land Bridge during the Maastrichtian