A prevalence of Arthropterygius (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae) in the Late Jurassic—earliest Cretaceous of the Boreal Realm

The ichthyosaur genus Arthropterygius Maxwell, 2010 is considered as rare and poorly known. However, considering the existing uncertainty regarding its position in respect to ophthalmosaurid subfamilies in recent phylogenies, it is among the key taxa for understanding the evolution of derived Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous ichthyosaurs. Recently excavated unique material from the Berriassian of Franz Josef Land (Russian Extreme North) and examination of historical collections in Russian museums provided numerous specimens referable to Arthropterygius. The new data combined with personal examination of ichthyosaurs Palvennia, Janusaurus, and Keilhauia from Svalbard give us reason to refer all these taxa to Arthropterygius. Therefore, we recognize four species within the genus: Arthropterigius chrisorum (Russell, 1994), A. volgensis (Kasansky, 1903) comb. nov., A. hoybergeti (Druckenmiller et al., 2012) comb. nov., and A. lundi (Roberts et al., 2014) comb. nov. Three of the species are found both in the Arctic and in the European Russia. This allows the suggestion that Arthropterygius was common and widespread in the Boreal Realm during the Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous. The results of our multivariate analysis of ophthalmosaurid humeral morphology indicate that at least some ophthalmosaurid genera and species, including Arthropterygius, could be easily recognized based solely on humeral morphology. Our phylogenetic analyses place the clade of Arthropterygius close to the base of Ophthalmosauria as a sister group either to ophthalmosaurines or to platypterygiines. Although its position is still uncertain, this is the best supported clade of ophthalmosaurids (Bremer support value of 5, Bootstrap and Jackknife values exceeding 80) that further augments our taxonomic decision

Youngest occurrences of rhomaleosaurid plesiosaurs indicate survival of an archaic marine reptile clade at high palaeolatitudes

Rhomaleosaurid plesiosaurians were a common and ecologically significant component of Early Jurassic marine faunas, primarily as large-bodied predators. They declined in abundance and made their last fossil appearance in the Middle Jurassic. However, the geographic pattern of rhomaleosaurid extinction has thus far been obscured by spatial bias in the Middle Jurassic marine reptile fossil record, which is strongly focussed on low-latitude European assemblages. We report two rhomaleosaurid specimens from the Callovian (late Middle Jurassic) of the UK and Russia. Along with Borealonectes from Arctic Canada, these are the youngest-known occurrences of rhomaleosaurids. The UK specimen is the first identified from the Callovian of Europe, despite intensive fossil sampling over almost 200 years and the recovery of hundreds of other plesiosaurian specimens. Its discovery indicates that rhomaleosaurids were present, but extremely rare, at low palaeolatitudes of the Callovian. The Russian specimen is one of relatively few marine reptile specimens from its mid-palaeolatitude assemblage, as is also true of Borealonectes, which occurs in a high-palaeolatitude marine assemblage. Furthermore, we suggest that a mid latitude southern hemisphere occurrence from the Callovian of Argentina, previously referred to Pliosauridae, in fact represents a rhomaleosaurid. These findings suggest that rhomaleosaurids were actually common elements of mid-high palaeolatitude marine faunas, indicating a geographically staggered pattern of declining rhomaleosaurid abundance, and demonstrating the apparent persistence of an archaic marine reptile group in cool, mid–high latitude environments of the Middle Jurassic. It is therefore possible that sustained Middle–Late Jurassic global warming accelerated the ultimate extinction of rhomaleosaurids. Our findings suggest that widening the geographical breadth of fossil exploration could considerably enhance current knowledge of Jurassic marine reptile evolution

Supplementary material

Associated bivalve remains, recoding of Anguanax zignoi, stratigraphic age data for OTUs, additional phylogeny and ancestral state reconstruction figures

A new elasmosaurid plesiosaurian from the Early Cretaceous of Russia marks an early attempt at neck elongation

Plesiosaurian marine reptiles evolved a wide range of body shapes during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, including long-necked forms. Many Late Cretaceous members of the clade Elasmosauridae epitomized this part of the plesiosaurian morphological spectrum by evolving extremely long necks through somitogenesis (resulting in an increase in the number of cervical centra) and differential growth (resulting in the elongation of cervical centra). However, the early evolution of elasmosaurids remains poorly understood because of a generally poor Lower Cretaceous fossil record. We describe a new elasmosaurid, Jucha squalea gen. et sp. nov., from the upper Hauterivian (Lower Cretaceous) of Ulyanovsk (European Russia), in addition to other elasmosaurid remains from the same area. Jucha squalea is one of the oldest and basalmost elasmosaurids known and lacks a series of features that otherwise characterize the group, such as the heart-shaped intercoracoid fenestra and the median pectoral bar. However, Jucha squalea marks an early attempt at cervical elongation through differential growth. The data we gathered on the shape of cervical centra among elasmosaurids suggest multiple episodes of elongation and shortening. However, the precise patterns are obscured by an unstable phylogenetic signal

Data from: Peculiar macrophagous adaptations in a new Cretaceous pliosaurid

During the Middle and Late Jurassic, pliosaurid plesiosaurs evolved gigantic body size and a series of craniodental adaptations that have been linked to the occupation of an apex predator niche. Cretaceous pliosaurids (i.e. Brachaucheninae) depart from this morphology, being slightly smaller and lacking the macrophagous adaptations seen in earlier forms. However, the fossil record of Early Cretaceous pliosaurids is poor, concealing the evolution and ecological diversity of the group. Here, we report a new pliosaurid from the Late Hauterivian (Early Cretaceous) of Russia. Phylogenetic analyses using reduced consensus methods recover it as the basalmost brachauchenine. This pliosaurid is smaller than other derived pliosaurids, has tooth alveoli clustered in pairs and possesses trihedral teeth with complex serrated carinae. Maximum-likelihood ancestral state reconstruction suggests early brachauchenines retained trihedral teeth from their ancestors, but modified this feature in a unique way, convergent with macrophagous archosaurs or sphenacodontoids. Our findings indicate that Early Cretaceous marine reptile teeth with serrated carinae cannot be unequivocally assigned to metriorhynchoid crocodylomorphs. Furthermore, they extend the known diversity of dental adaptations seen in Sauropterygia, the longest lived clade of marine tetrapods

Anatomy and relationships of the bizarre Early Cretaceous pliosaurid Luskhan itilensis

peer reviewedPliosaurid plesiosaurians are iconic marine reptiles that regulated marine trophic chains from the Middle Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous. However, their evolution during the Cretaceous remains poorly documented. Recent discoveries from the Hauterivian–Aptian interval suggest that the radiation of brachaucheniine pliosaurids produced a wide disparity of forms following the Pliosaurus-dominated assemblages of the Late Jurassic. Among the most bizarre of these early brachaucheniines is Luskhan itilensis, from the Hauterivian of Russia. We describe the osteology of this tusked, longirostrine pliosaurid and discuss its possible behaviour by drawing comparisons with other marine amniotes possessing forward-pointing teeth. We take this opportunity to make extensive anatomical comparisons among Cretaceous pliosaurids, including previously overlooked cranial features. Bayesian inference of phylogenetic relationships of plesiosaurians reveals that the internal branches in Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous pliosaurids have generally low rates of morphological evolution, indicating that the recently described Early Cretaceous pliosaurids have effectively bisected the long branch leading to the ‘classical’ brachaucheniines of the middle Cretaceous (Brachauchenius, Kronosaurus and Megacephalosaurus). Pliosaurids exhibit low evolutionary rates and a dwindling disparity before their extinction, mirroring the events seen, roughly at the same time, for ichthyosaurians.SEASCAP

Supplementary Information

Associated bivalve, measurements, taxon-age data, R code, supplementary phylogeny figures

Nexus_full

Nexus full dataset with tree