Paul C. Sereno

University of Chicago

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Jeffrey A. Wilson

Saint John Regional Hospital

Hans C. E. Larsson

McGill University

Didier B. Dutheil

Sorbonne Université

Stephanie Baumgart

University of Chicago

Daniel Vidal

National University of Distance Education

Catherine A. Forster

George Washington University

Stephen L. Brusatte

University of Edinburgh

Nathan Myhrvold

Intellectual Ventures (United States)

Frank E. Fish

West Chester University

Christian A. Sidor

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture

Cooperative Institutions

University of Chicago

American Museum of Natural History

Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

University of Illinois Chicago

University of Bristol

Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

University of California, Berkeley

Chinese Academy of Sciences

National University of San Juan

National Museum of Natural History

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Diving dinosaurs? Caveats on the use of bone compactness and pFDA for inferring lifestyle

PLoS ONE (2024)

Nathan Myhrvold Stephanie Baumgart Daniel Vidal Frank E. Fish Donald M. Henderson

The lifestyle of spinosaurid dinosaurs has been a topic of lively debate ever since the unveiling of important new skeletal parts for Spinosaurus aegyptiacus in 2014 and 2020. Disparate lifestyles for this taxon have been proposed in the literature; some have argued that it was semiaquatic to varying degrees, hunting fish from the margins of water bodies, or perhaps while wading or swimming on the surface; others suggest that it was a fully aquatic underwater pursuit predator. The various proposals are based on equally disparate lines of evidence. A recent study by Fabbri and coworkers sought to resolve this matter by applying the statistical method of phylogenetic flexible discriminant analysis to femur and rib bone diameters and a bone microanatomy metric called global bone compactness. From their statistical analyses of datasets based on a wide range of extant and extinct taxa, they concluded that two spinosaurid dinosaurs ( S . aegyptiacus , Baryonyx walkeri ) were fully submerged “subaqueous foragers,” whereas a third spinosaurid ( Suchomimus tenerensis ) remained a terrestrial predator. We performed a thorough reexamination of the datasets, analyses, and methodological assumptions on which those conclusions were based, which reveals substantial problems in each of these areas. In the datasets of exemplar taxa, we found unsupported categorization of taxon lifestyle, inconsistent inclusion and exclusion of taxa, and inappropriate choice of taxa and independent variables. We also explored the effects of uncontrolled sources of variation in estimates of bone compactness that arise from biological factors and measurement error. We found that the ability to draw quantitative conclusions is limited when taxa are represented by single data points with potentially large intrinsic variability. The results of our analysis of the statistical method show that it has low accuracy when applied to these datasets and that the data distributions do not meet fundamental assumptions of the method. These findings not only invalidate the conclusions of the particular analysis of Fabbri et al . but also have important implications for future quantitative uses of bone compactness and discriminant analysis in paleontology.

Compact bone

10.1371/journal.pone.0298957

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Citations (5)

Procompsognathus:theropod, “thecodont” or both?

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (1992)

Paul C. Sereno Rupert Wild

ABSTRACT We show that Procompsognathus triassicus, long held to be a primitive theropod, is actually a paleontological chimera composed of the postcranial skeleton of a Segisaurus-like ceratosaur and the skull of a basal crocodylomorph. We dismember the holotype of P. triassicus on convincing evidence—theropod synapomorphies in the postcranium and crocodylomorph synapomorphies in the skull and referred material. We demonstrate, furthermore, that the holotype skull and a referred skull and partial forelimb belong to the contemporary basal crocodylomorph Saltoposuchus connectens. Saltoposuchus connectens, now with a nearly complete skull, carpus, and manus, is compared in detail to other basal crocodylomorphs. Current opinion maintains that S. connectens is the sister-group to all other crocodylomorphs and that other sphenosuchians constitute a paraphyletic assemblage of sister-taxa to Crocodyliformes. This view is overturned by a quantitative cladistic analysis of 20 characters, which suggests that by the Late Triassic crocodylomorphs had already split into two clades, Sphenosuchia and Crocodyliformes. Sphenosuchians evolved cursorial locomotor capabilities, with a digitigrade manus and particularly gracile long-bone proportions appearing in a subgroup including S. connectens. Crocodyliforms, in contrast, were more heavily armored, with stouter long-bones and a plantigrade manus and pes, and may not have evolved from cursorial predecessors as has generally been assumed.

Manus

Cursorial

Postcrania

Theropoda

Sister group

Synapomorphy

Paraphyly

10.1080/02724634.1992.10011473

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Citations (66)

Spinosaurids as ‘subaqueous foragers’ undermined by selective sampling and problematic statistical inference

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2022)

Nathan Myhrvold Paul C. Sereno Stephanie Baumgart Kiersten K. Formoso Daniel Vidal

Abstract Fabbri et al. 1 claim that the huge sail-backed dinosaur Spinosaurus aegyptiacus and the spinosaurid Baryonyx were “subaqueous foragers,” diving underwater in pursuit of prey, based on their measure of bone “compactness.” Using thin-sections and computed tomographic (CT) scans of thigh bone (femur) and trunk rib from various living and extinct vertebrates, they claim to be able to distinguish taxa with “aquatic habits” from others. Their conclusions are undermined by selective bone sampling, inaccuracies concerning spinosaurid bone structure, faulty statistical inferences, and novel redefinition of the term “aquatic.”

10.1101/2022.04.13.487781

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The Complete Skull and Skeleton of an Early Dinosaur

Science (1992)

Paul C. Sereno Fernando E. Novas

The unearthing of a complete skull and skeleton of the early dinosaur Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis sheds light on the early evolution of dinosaurs. Discovered in the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, the fossils show that Herrerasaurus , a primitive theropod, was an agile, bipedal predator with a short forelimb specialized for grasping and raking. The fossils clarify anatomical features of the common ancestor of all dinosaurs. Herrerasaurus and younger dinosaurs from Upper Triassic beds in Argentina suggest that the dinosaurian radiation was well under way before dinosaurs dominated terrestrial vertebrate communities in taxonomic diversity and abundance.

Skeleton (computer programming)

10.1126/science.258.5085.1137

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Citations (128)

Definitions in Phylogenetic Taxonomy: Critique and Rationale

Systematic Biology (1999)

Paul C. Sereno

A general rationale for the formulation and placement of taxonomic definitions in phylogenetic taxonomy is proposed, and commonly used terms such as "crown taxon" or "node-based definition" are more precisely defined. In the formulation of phylogenetic definitions, nested reference taxa stabilize taxonomic content. A definitional configuration termed a node-stem triplet also stabilizes the relationship between the trio of taxa at a branchpoint, in the face of local change in phylogenetic relationships or addition/deletion of taxa. Crown-total taxonomies use survivorship as a criterion for placement of node-stem triplets within a taxonomic hierarchy. Diversity, morphology, and tradition also constitute heuristic criteria for placement of node-stem triplets.

Phylogenetic nomenclature

Phylogenetic diversity

Taxonomic rank

10.1080/106351599260328

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Citations (77)

"Stratigraphic Context and Taphonomy of the Middle Triassic Los Chañares Fauna, La Rioja Province, Argentina."

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (1994)

Raymond R. Rogers Andrea B. Arcucci Catherine A. Forster Fernando Abdala Paul C. Sereno

Taphonomy

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Phylogeny of Allosauroidea (Dinosauria: Theropoda): Comparative analysis and resolution

Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (2008)

Stephen L. Brusatte Paul C. Sereno

Synopsis Allosauroidea, a clade of large‐bodied theropod dinosaurs that ranged from the Middle Jurassic until the Late Cretaceous, has been the subject of extensive phylogenetic study. However, despite the publication of 12 cladistic analyses little phylogenetic consensus has emerged, frustrating attempts to use these dinosaurs to study character evolution, biogeography and the quality of the fossil record. Here we analyse a core subset of allosauroids using cladistic methodology and several comparative methods. After reviewing previous studies and their points of disagreement, we present a new cladistic analysis that integrates data from these studies with new characters. This analysis finds strong support for placing Sinraptor as a basal allosauroid, Neovenator as a basal member of Carcharodontosauridae and Acrocanthosaurus as a more derived member of Carcharodontosauridae, rather than the sister taxon of Allosaurus as sometimes advocated. The current dataset is compared in detail to those of previous studies to determine the degree of overlap and the basis for differing topologies. These comparisons show that scoring differences, character choice and taxonomic sampling all play a major role in generating incongruence. Finally, the recovered most parsimonious topology is used to assess character evolution, stratigraphical congruence and biogeography. This topology shows a strong overall match with the stratigraphical record and is much more congruent with stratigraphy than any alternative topology. The biogeographical history of core allosauroids is found to be congruent with the breakup sequence of Pangaea, but more complete assessment is hampered by sampling biases.

Theropoda

10.1017/s1477201907002404

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Citations (92)

Dinosaur Death Trap

Scientific American A Matter of Time (2014)

Paul C. Sereno

Trap (plumbing)

10.1038/scientificamericandinosaurs0514-98

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Lakeside Cemeteries in the Sahara: 5000 Years of Holocene Population and Environmental Change

PLoS ONE (2008)

Paul C. Sereno Elena A. A. Garcea Hélène Jousse Christopher M. Stojanowski Jean‐François Saliège

Background Approximately two hundred human burials were discovered on the edge of a paleolake in Niger that provide a uniquely preserved record of human occupation in the Sahara during the Holocene (∼8000 B.C.E. to the present). Called Gobero, this suite of closely spaced sites chronicles the rapid pace of biosocial change in the southern Sahara in response to severe climatic fluctuation. Methodology/Principal Findings Two main occupational phases are identified that correspond with humid intervals in the early and mid-Holocene, based on 78 direct AMS radiocarbon dates on human remains, fauna and artifacts, as well as 9 OSL dates on paleodune sand. The older occupants have craniofacial dimensions that demonstrate similarities with mid-Holocene occupants of the southern Sahara and Late Pleistocene to early Holocene inhabitants of the Maghreb. Their hyperflexed burials compose the earliest cemetery in the Sahara dating to ∼7500 B.C.E. These early occupants abandon the area under arid conditions and, when humid conditions return ∼4600 B.C.E., are replaced by a more gracile people with elaborated grave goods including animal bone and ivory ornaments. Conclusions/Significance The principal significance of Gobero lies in its extraordinary human, faunal, and archaeological record, from which we conclude the following: The early Holocene occupants at Gobero (7700–6200 B.C.E.) were largely sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherers with lakeside funerary sites that include the earliest recorded cemetery in the Sahara. Principal components analysis of craniometric variables closely allies the early Holocene occupants at Gobero with a skeletally robust, trans-Saharan assemblage of Late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene human populations from the Maghreb and southern Sahara. Gobero was abandoned during a period of severe aridification possibly as long as one millennium (6200–5200 B.C.E). More gracile humans arrived in the mid-Holocene (5200–2500 B.C.E.) employing a diversified subsistence economy based on clams, fish, and savanna vertebrates as well as some cattle husbandry. Population replacement after a harsh arid hiatus is the most likely explanation for the occupational sequence at Gobero. We are just beginning to understand the anatomical and cultural diversity that existed within the Sahara during the Holocene.

Holocene climatic optimum

Archaeological record

10.1371/journal.pone.0002995

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Citations (247)

Dinosaur Death Trap

Scientific American (2011)

Paul C. Sereno

Trap (plumbing)

10.1038/scientificamerican0311-70

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Citations (0)