The giant cretaceous Coelacanth (Actinistia, Sarcopterygii) Megalocoelacanthus dobiei Schwimmer, Stewart & Williams, 1994, and its bearing on Latimerioidei interrelationships
| Autor: | Philippe Janvier, Marc Herbin, Hugo Dutel, John G. Maisey, Gaël Clément, David R. Schwimmer |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Centre de recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements (CR2P), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution (MECADEV), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
Sarcopterygii
Anatomy and Physiology Animal Evolution Macropoma [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] Science Vertebrate Paleontology Axelrodichthys Animal Phylogenetics Paleontology Mawsoniidae Animals Evolutionary Systematics Comparative Anatomy Libys Biology Coelacanth Phylogeny Taxonomy Evolutionary Biology Multidisciplinary biology Fossils Latimeria Skull Actinistia Kansas biology.organism_classification Organismal Evolution Phylogenetics Animal Taxonomy Vertebrates Medicine [SDU.STU.PG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Paleontology Zoology Research Article |
| Zdroj: | PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 11, p e49911 (2012) PLoS ONE PLoS ONE, 2012, 7 (11), pp.e49911. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0049911⟩ |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0049911⟩ |
| Popis: | International audience; We present a redescription of Megalocoelacanthus dobiei, a giant fossil coelacanth from Upper Cretaceous strata of NorthAmerica. Megalocoelacanthus has been previously described on the basis of composite material that consisted of isolatedelements. Consequently, many aspects of its anatomy have remained unknown as well as its phylogenetic relationships withother coelacanths. Previous studies have suggested that Megalocoelacanthus is closer to Latimeria and Macropoma than toMawsonia. However, this assumption was based only on the overall similarity of few anatomical features, rather than on aphylogenetic character analysis. A new, and outstandingly preserved specimen from the Niobrara Formation in Kansasallows the detailed description of the skull of Megalocoelacanthus and elucidation of its phylogenetic relationships withother coelacanths. Although strongly flattened, the skull and jaws are well preserved and show many derived features thatare shared with Latimeriidae such as Latimeria, Macropoma and Libys. Notably, the parietonasal shield is narrow and flankedby very large, continuous vacuities forming the supraorbital sensory line canal. Such an unusual morphology is also knownin Libys. Some other features of Megalocoelacanthus, such as its large size and the absence of teeth are shared with themawsoniid genera Mawsonia and Axelrodichthys. Our cladistic analysis supports the sister-group relationship ofMegalocoelacanthus and Libys within Latimeriidae. This topology suggests that toothless, large-sized coelacanths evolvedindependently in both Latimeriidae and Mawsoniidae during the Mesozoic. Based on previous topologies and on ours, wethen review the high-level taxonomy of Latimerioidei and propose new systematic phylogenetic definitions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|