Helodermatid Lizard from the Mio-Pliocene Oak-Hickory Forest of Tennessee, Eastern USA, and a Review of Monstersaurian Osteoderms

Mead, Jim I.; Schubert, Blaine W.; Wallace, Steven C.; Swift, Sandra L.

doi:10.4202/app.2010.0083

Cited by 37 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The Gray Fossil Site, located near Gray in Washington County, northeastern Tennessee, eastern United States (36°22′13″ N, 82°29′49″ W; Fig. ), has received close attention in recent years for its abundant well‐preserved animal and plant fossils (Wallace & Wang, ; Hulbert et al, ; Gong et al, ; Liu & Jacques, ; Zobaa et al, ; Mead et al, ; Ochoa et al, ; Worobiec et al, ). The site is interpreted as the fill of a series of paleo‐sinkholes, and is currently exposed on the northern and western faces of a roughly east–west trending hill at Gray (Whitelaw et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New fossil fruits of Carya (Juglandaceae) from the latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene in Tennessee, eastern United States

Huang

Liu

Zavada

2014

J of Sytematics Evolution

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Fossil fruits including nuts and associated husk valves of a new species of Carya (Juglandaceae) are described from the latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene in northeastern Tennessee, eastern United States. The husk valves are elliptic, 1.2–4.5 mm thick, with a convex exterior face and a concave interior face; the nuts are globose to ovoid in shape, smooth and longitudinally ribbed on exterior surface, with a short protruding apex and a slightly 4‐angled base; inner ribs, lacunae and primary septa are well‐developed, while secondary septa are absent or weakly developed. The combination of these carpological characteristics clearly shows a close resemblance to the genus Carya in Juglandaceae. Detailed comparisons of carpological morphology and anatomy indicate that the present fossil taxon is different from both living and most other fossil species of the genus, and therefore warrants the designation of a new fossil species, Carya tennesseensis Huang et al., sp. nov. Carya tennesseensis displays a carpological similarity to C. ventricosa from the late Oligocene to early Pliocene in Europe, suggesting a potential species exchange of the genus between Europe and southeastern North America during the late Neogene. The new fossil species represents one of the few fruit fossil species of Carya from its modern distribution range in southeastern North America. It provides crucial information for better understanding the rapid diversification of the genus from the late Miocene to early Pliocene, and the origin and establishment of today's Carya biodiversity in this region.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New fossil fruits of Carya (Juglandaceae) from the latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene in Tennessee, eastern United States

Huang

Liu

Zavada

2014

J of Sytematics Evolution

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“…In order to verify that the morphology of cranial osteoderms can be modeled as a surface tension phenomenon, the quotient between perimeter and the square root of the area of the osteoderms will be used as an indicator. A review of pictures found on national exhibitions, published articles (Lydeker, 1894; Scott, 1903; Bauer and Russell, ; Carpenter, ; Hill, ; Mead et al, ; Arbour and Currie, ; Milinkovitch et al, ) and online (DigiMorph Staff, ; Museum of Comparative Zoology; O'Leary and Kaufman, 2012) was considered (see Table for a full list of the institutions where the studied specimens can be found). As the scales of Nile crocodiles are the result of a process which is not expected to optimize its energy (Milinkovitch et al, ), the scales of a specimen will also be analyzed in order to compare our results with those obtained from a physical cracking process.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typically, osteoderms covering the cranial bones are thicker, more polygonal in shape, and larger than those from the nuchal region or the rest of the body, which usually are smaller and have a more circular outline. Sometimes, some cranial osteoderms abut others and co‐ossify as a result of their development (Mead et al, ).Osteoderms develop as domed regions of thick collagen within the dermis, first appearing over the ossified head skeleton, then spreading caudally in a process consistent with metaplastic ossification (Moss, ). As the animals mature, the collagen domes increase in size before finally becoming mineralized.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does osteoderm growth follow energy minimization principles?

Sensale

Jones

Blanco

2014

Journal of Morphology

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Although the growth and development of tissues and organs of extinct species cannot be directly observed, their fossils can record and preserve evidence of these mechanisms. It is generally accepted that bone architecture is the result of genetically based biomechanical constraints, but what about osteoderms? In this article, the influence of physical constraints on cranial osteoderms growth is assessed. Comparisons among lepidosaurs, synapsids, and archosaurs are performed; according to these analyses, lepidosaur osteoderms growth is predicted to be less energy demanding than that of synapsids and archosaurs. Obtained results also show that, from an energetic viewpoint, ankylosaurid osteoderms growth resembles more that of mammals than the one of reptilians, adding evidence to debate whether dinosaurs were hot or cold blooded.

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“…We conditionally assign the osteoderms described herein to Anguidae due to the shape (subrectangular/ovoid for trunk osteoderms, polygonal for cranial osteoderms), and external surficial sculpting patterns (subcircular pits and narrow, irregular grooves) (Mead, Arroyo-Cabrales & Johnson, 1999). Subtle differences in an osteoderm's external surface sculpting is commonly used for taxonomic distinction in fossil and modern anguid lizards (Meszoely & Ford, 1976;Mead, Arroyo-Cabrales & Johnson, 1999;Mead et al, 2012). We refrain from inferring lower-level taxonomic affinities until more complete specimens are recovered from the Fruitland/Kirtland formations; however, we do recognize that there at least two distinct morphotypes of osteoderm within these described specimens.…”

Section: Systematic Paleontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

New fossil lizard specimens from a poorly-known squamate assemblage in the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA

Woolley

Jjw

2020

PeerJ

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Recent collection efforts in the upper Campanian (∼76-73.5 Ma) Fruitland and Kirtland formations of northwestern New Mexico have significantly increased the taxonomic diversity of lizards in this historically poorly understood squamate assemblage. New lizard specimens from the “Hunter Wash Local Fauna” of the upper Fruitland and lower Kirtland formations include: (1) new specimens referable to Chamopsiidae; (2) new material belonging to Scincomorpha, (3) new material belonging to Anguidae; and (4) the first reported predatory lizard (Platynota) material from the Campanian of New Mexico. The increase in lizard diversity in the “Hunter Wash Local Fauna” expands our understanding of Late Cretaceous squamate taxonomy, distribution, and diversity in the Western Interior of North America (Laramidia). Collectively, the described specimens represent family-level diversity similar to that seen in other Campanian foreland basin deposits of the Western Interior, such as the mid-paleolatitude Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah, the higher paleolatitude Dinosaur Park Formation of southern Alberta, and the lower paleolatitude Aguja Formation of southwestern Texas. The lizards of the “Hunter Wash Local Fauna” represent crucial mid-paleolatitude data from a coastal plain depositional setting in Laramidia—allowing for comparisons to more well-studied assemblages at different latitudes and in different depositional settings.

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Helodermatid Lizard from the Mio-Pliocene Oak-Hickory Forest of Tennessee, Eastern USA, and a Review of Monstersaurian Osteoderms

Abstract: The extant venomous Gila monster and beaded lizards, species of

Cited by 37 publications

References 26 publications

New fossil fruits of Carya (Juglandaceae) from the latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene in Tennessee, eastern United States

New fossil fruits of Carya (Juglandaceae) from the latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene in Tennessee, eastern United States

Does osteoderm growth follow energy minimization principles?

New fossil lizard specimens from a poorly-known squamate assemblage in the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA

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