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A new basal sauropod from the pre-Toarcian Jurassic of South Africa: evidence of niche-partitioning at the sauropodomorph-sauropod boundary?
Sci Rep. 2015 Aug 19; 5:13224.SR

Abstract

The early evolution of sauropod dinosaurs remains poorly understood, with a paucity of unequivocal sauropod taxa known from the first twenty million years of the Jurassic. Recently, the Early Jurassic of South Africa has yielded an assemblage of dental and post-cranial remains displaying a more apomorphic character suite than any other similarly aged sauropodomorph. These remains are interpreted as a new species of basal sauropod and recovered cladistically as the sister taxon to Vulcanodon +more derived Sauropoda, underscoring its importance for our understanding of this pivotal period of sauropod evolution. Key changes in the dentition, axial skeleton and forelimb of this new species suggest a genuine functional distinction occurring at the sauropodiform-sauropod boundary. With reference to these changes, we propose a scenario in which interdependent refinements of the locomotory and feeding apparatus occurred in tandem with, or were effected by, restrictions in the amount of vertical forage initially available to the earliest sauropods. The hypothesized instance of niche-partitioning between basal sauropodan taxa and higher-browsing non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs may partially explain the rarity of true sauropods in the basal rocks of the Jurassic, while having the added corollary of couching the origins of Sauropoda in terms of an ecologically delimited 'event'.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

McPhee BW
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2050, South Africa. DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2050, South Africa. School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2050, South Africa.
Bonnan MF
Biology Program, Stockton University, 08205-9441, Galloway, New Jersey, United Sates of America.
Yates AM
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2050, South Africa. Museum of Central Australia, Araluen Cultural Precinct, P.O. Box 3521, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 0871, Australia.
Neveling J
Council for Geoscience, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
Choiniere JN
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2050, South Africa. DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2050, South Africa.

MeSH

AnimalsBiological EvolutionDinosaursFossilsPhylogenySouth AfricaTime FactorsTooth

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

26288028

Citation

McPhee, Blair W., et al. "A New Basal Sauropod From the pre-Toarcian Jurassic of South Africa: Evidence of Niche-partitioning at the Sauropodomorph-sauropod Boundary?" Scientific Reports, vol. 5, 2015, p. 13224.
McPhee BW, Bonnan MF, Yates AM, et al. A new basal sauropod from the pre-Toarcian Jurassic of South Africa: evidence of niche-partitioning at the sauropodomorph-sauropod boundary? Sci Rep. 2015;5:13224.
McPhee, B. W., Bonnan, M. F., Yates, A. M., Neveling, J., & Choiniere, J. N. (2015). A new basal sauropod from the pre-Toarcian Jurassic of South Africa: evidence of niche-partitioning at the sauropodomorph-sauropod boundary? Scientific Reports, 5, 13224. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep13224
McPhee BW, et al. A New Basal Sauropod From the pre-Toarcian Jurassic of South Africa: Evidence of Niche-partitioning at the Sauropodomorph-sauropod Boundary. Sci Rep. 2015 Aug 19;5:13224. PubMed PMID: 26288028.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - A new basal sauropod from the pre-Toarcian Jurassic of South Africa: evidence of niche-partitioning at the sauropodomorph-sauropod boundary? AU - McPhee,Blair W, AU - Bonnan,Matthew F, AU - Yates,Adam M, AU - Neveling,Johann, AU - Choiniere,Jonah N, Y1 - 2015/08/19/ PY - 2015/03/11/received PY - 2015/07/21/accepted PY - 2015/8/20/entrez PY - 2015/8/20/pubmed PY - 2016/8/10/medline SP - 13224 EP - 13224 JF - Scientific reports JO - Sci Rep VL - 5 N2 - The early evolution of sauropod dinosaurs remains poorly understood, with a paucity of unequivocal sauropod taxa known from the first twenty million years of the Jurassic. Recently, the Early Jurassic of South Africa has yielded an assemblage of dental and post-cranial remains displaying a more apomorphic character suite than any other similarly aged sauropodomorph. These remains are interpreted as a new species of basal sauropod and recovered cladistically as the sister taxon to Vulcanodon +more derived Sauropoda, underscoring its importance for our understanding of this pivotal period of sauropod evolution. Key changes in the dentition, axial skeleton and forelimb of this new species suggest a genuine functional distinction occurring at the sauropodiform-sauropod boundary. With reference to these changes, we propose a scenario in which interdependent refinements of the locomotory and feeding apparatus occurred in tandem with, or were effected by, restrictions in the amount of vertical forage initially available to the earliest sauropods. The hypothesized instance of niche-partitioning between basal sauropodan taxa and higher-browsing non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs may partially explain the rarity of true sauropods in the basal rocks of the Jurassic, while having the added corollary of couching the origins of Sauropoda in terms of an ecologically delimited 'event'. SN - 2045-2322 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26288028/A_new_basal_sauropod_from_the_pre_Toarcian_Jurassic_of_South_Africa:_evidence_of_niche_partitioning_at_the_sauropodomorph_sauropod_boundary DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -