Osteology of the alvarezsauroid Linhenykus monodactylus from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, and comments on alvarezsauroid biogeography

Xu, Xing; Upchurch, Paul; Ma, Qi; Pittman, Michael; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Sullivan, Corwin; Hone, David W. E.; Tan, Qi; Tan, Lin; Xiao, Dong; Han, Fenglu

doi:10.4202/app.2011.0083

Cited by 20 publications

(189 citation statements)

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“…There is some evidence to suggest that increased continental and biogeographical isolation led to increased origination and extinction rates in some dinosaurian clades. These findings fit with the hypothesis that dinosaurian evolution was influenced by decreased migration between continental landmasses and increased regional extinction throughout the Mesozoic (Sereno, ), but dinosaurian macroevolutionary and biogeographical patterns were not exclusively the result of uniform vicariant or dispersive processes (Rowe et al ., ; Xu et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dinosaur biogeographical structure and Mesozoic continental fragmentation: a network‐based approach

Dunhill

Bestwick

Narey

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim To reconstruct dinosaur macro‐biogeographical patterns through the Mesozoic Era using a network‐based approach. We test how continental fragmentation affected dinosaur macro‐biogeographical structure and evolutionary rates. Location A global occurrence database of dinosaur families from the Late Triassic to the end‐Cretaceous was used for this study. Methods Biogeographical and geographical network models were constructed. Continental landmasses were linked by direct continental contact and sea level (SL)‐conditioned connections in geographical networks, and by shared dinosaur families in biogeographical networks. Biogeographical networks were run with raw, novel and first‐step connections for all dinosaur, ornithischian, theropod, and sauropodomorph taxa. Results Geographical connectedness declines through time, from peak aggregation in the Triassic–Jurassic to complete separation in the latest Cretaceous. Biogeographical connectedness shows no common trend in the raw and novel connection network models, but decreases through time while showing some correlation with continental fragmentation in most of the first‐step network models. Despite continental isolation and high SLs, intercontinental faunal exchange continued right up to the end of the Cretaceous. Continental fragmentation and dinosaurian macro‐biogeographical structure do not share a common pattern with dinosaurian evolutionary rates, although there is evidence that increased continental isolation resulted in increased origination rates in some dinosaurian lineages. Spatiotemporal sampling biases and early Mesozoic establishment of family‐level distribution patterns are important drivers of apparent dinosaur macro‐biogeographical structure. Main conclusions There is some evidence to suggest that dinosaur macro‐biogeographical structure was influenced by continental fragmentation, although intercontinental exchange of dinosaur faunas appears to have continued up to the end of the Cretaceous. Macro‐biogeographical patterns are obscured by uneven geographical sampling through time and a residual earlier Mesozoic distribution which is sustained up to the end of the Cretaceous.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dinosaur biogeographical structure and Mesozoic continental fragmentation: a network‐based approach

Dunhill

Bestwick

Narey

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

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“…9). Accordingly, taxa such as Linhenykus and Parvicursor are interpreted as highly cursorial, an interpretation that is consistent with their highly derived, markedly elongated and slender arctometatarsus (Karhu and Rautian, 1996;Xu et al 2011Xu et al , 2013. Unfortunately, these two taxa have not preserved all the pedal phalanges and so they cannot be included in the second analysis based on the lengths of the phalanges.…”

Section: Interpretation Of the Phylogenetic Pcas: Their Significancmentioning

confidence: 98%

Differential locomotor and predatory strategies of Gondwanan and derived Laurasian dromaeosaurids (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Paraves): Inferences from morphometric and comparative anatomical studies

2020

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Tetrapod limbs morphology is a reliable proxy of locomotor capacities. Beyond this, other aspects of life habits, such as predation abilities, can also be relevant to determine main morphofunctional appendicular properties, which ultimately reflect a compromise between different factors of the biological role. Dromaeosauridae is a dinosaur clade belonging to Theropoda, a group of bipedal predators. Dromaeosaurids represent an interesting study case, in which the hindlimbs have been proposed to be involved in both locomotion and predation activity. A peculiar feature characterizing all dromaeosaurids is a modified second pedal digit, which is typically related to predation. This theropod group is closely related to birds and diversified during the Cretaceous Period, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere (Laurasia). However, a subclade of dromaeosaurids, the Unenlagiinae, was recently recognized for Gondwana.Nevertheless, there are morphological differences between derived Laurasian dromaeosaurids (eudromaeosaurs) and unenlagiines. Such differences are observed in the proportions between hindlimb bones and in the presence of a subarctometatarsalian condition in unenlagiines, which is mainly characterized by a proximally constricted metatarsal III. To evaluate the function of these divergent morphologies, we conducted morphometric analyses and comparisons of qualitative morphological aspects, encompassing unenlagiines, other dromaeosaurids, as well as taxa from other theropod groups, including extant birds. The former approach consisted of two phylogenetic principal component analyses, one based on the main measurements of the hindlimb, and the other focused on the lengths of the pedal phalanges. The first analysis drew the unenlagiines close to taxa with long tibiae, as well as long and slender metatarsi. Instead, eudromaeosaurs are closer to taxa with shorter tibiae, and shorter and wider metatarsi. The second analysis showed that eudromaeosaurs and unenlagiines have similar phalangeal proportions, including the elongation of distal phalanges. However, the shorter second phalanx of the pedal digit II of eudromaeosaurs could have increased the force generated by this digit, which was the main predatory tool of the autopodium. This, together with a shorter and wider metatarsus, and a marked hinge-like morphology of the articular surfaces of metatarsals | 773 GIANECHINI Et Al.

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“…The transverse processes form a broad subhorizontal ridge that originates from the anterodorsal corner of the centra (caudals A and B) rather than the posterior end of the prezygapophyses as in Linhenykus (best examples in caudals 3, 5, 7 and 8 of IVPP V17608; Xu et al, 2013b) and Shuvuuia (anterior caudals (caudals 3–8?) of MPC 100/975; Chiappe, Norell & Clark, 2002).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The taxonomy of a new parvicursorine alvarezsauroid specimen IVPP V20341 (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China

Pittman

Stiegler

2015

PeerJ

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A new parvicursorine alvarezsauroid theropod specimen IVPP V20341 from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China is described. IVPP V20341 appears to be distinguishable amongst alvarezsauroids by possible cervical procoely and relatively larger semi-circular caudal neural canals, but these features are not proposed as autapomorphies because current knowledge of alvarezsauroid necks and tails remains sparse. IVPP V20341 is distinguishable from Linhenykus—the sole parvicursorine at Bayan Mandahu—by the location of the origination points of the anterior caudal transverse processes; in IVPP V20341 this is the anterodorsal corner of the centra, whereas in Linhenykus it is the posterior end of the prezygapophyses. A number of additional tentative differences between IVPP V20341 and Linhenykus are also identified, but cannot be confirmed until further details of anatomical variation along the neck and tail are revealed by future finds. Thus, following the study of IVPP V20341 there are still seven parvicursorine species from the Upper Cretaceous Gobi Basin, but future finds could increase this to eight species.

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Osteology of the alvarezsauroid Linhenykus monodactylus from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, and comments on alvarezsauroid biogeography

Abstract: The alvarezsauroid theropod Linhenykus monodactylus from the Upper Cretaceous of Inner

Cited by 20 publications

References 42 publications

Dinosaur biogeographical structure and Mesozoic continental fragmentation: a network‐based approach

Dinosaur biogeographical structure and Mesozoic continental fragmentation: a network‐based approach

Differential locomotor and predatory strategies of Gondwanan and derived Laurasian dromaeosaurids (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Paraves): Inferences from morphometric and comparative anatomical studies

The taxonomy of a new parvicursorine alvarezsauroid specimen IVPP V20341 (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China

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