British

@misc{owen1841report3,
    author = "Owen, R",
    title = "Report on British fossil reptiles",
    year = "1841",
    howpublished = "Report Eleventh Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. 66-204",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Owen, R., 1841, Report on British fossil reptiles. Report Eleventh Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. 66-204.}"
}

@article{openalexw3215057009,
    author = "Owen, Robert P.",
    title = "Report on British fossil reptiles, part II",
    year = "1842",
    journal = "Medical Entomology and Zoology",
    openalex = "W3215057009"
}

@book{doi105962bhltitle107492,
    author = "Owen, Richard and Britain), Palaeontographical Society (Great",
    title = "Monograph on the fossil reptilia of the London clay",
    year = "1850",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.107492",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.107492",
    openalex = "W4233936469"
}

Cassidaria nodosa.ambigua.°}Voluta uniplicata.Buccinum junceum?.Eulima subulata.

@book{doi105962bhltitle31159,
    author = "Dixon, Frederick",
    title = "The geology and fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous formations of Sussex by Frederick Dixon.",
    year = "1850",
    booktitle = "Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans eBooks",
    abstract = "Cassidaria nodosa.ambigua.°)Voluta uniplicata.Buccinum junceum?.Eulima subulata.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.31159",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.31159",
    openalex = "W4251137796"
}

@book{doi105962bhltitle61855,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "A monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous formations",
    year = "1851",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.61855",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.61855",
    openalex = "W2487766840"
}

@article{doi10108002693445185412113208,
    author = "Owen, Professor",
    title = "Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations. Part II. Pages 1–54; Plates I—XIX and XVIA. Dinosauria (Iguanodon). [Wealden.] Issued in the Volume for the Year 1854",
    year = "1854",
    journal = "Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1854.12113208",
    doi = "10.1080/02693445.1854.12113208",
    openalex = "W3132033351"
}

@misc{owen1855monograph4,
    author = "Owen, R",
    title = "Monograph of the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden Formations II, Dinosauria",
    year = "1855",
    howpublished = "Palaeontogr. Soc., p. 1-54",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Owen, R., 1855, Monograph of the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden Formations II, Dinosauria: Palaeontogr. Soc., p. 1-54.}"
}

@article{owen1857monograph,
    author = "Owen",
    title = "Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden Formations. Part III. Megalosaurus Bucklandi",
    year = "1857",
    journal = "Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1857.12023335",
    doi = "10.1080/02693445.1857.12023335",
    number = "34",
    openalex = "W2885527250",
    pages = "1-26",
    volume = "9"
}

@article{crossref1859supplement,
    title = "Supplement (No. II) to the Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden Formations",
    year = "1859",
    journal = "Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1859.12027921",
    doi = "10.1080/02693445.1859.12027921",
    number = "48",
    openalex = "W4234216511",
    pages = "20-44",
    volume = "11"
}

@misc{fox1866another1,
    author = "Fox, W",
    title = "Another new Wealden reptile",
    year = "1866",
    howpublished = "Geological Magazine, v. 3, p. 383",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Fox, W., 1866, Another new Wealden reptile: Geological Magazine, v. 3, p. 383.}"
}

With a strong emotion of pleasure I write these prefatory remarks to accompany the following Catalogue of the Fossil Reptiles in the Woodwardian Museum.It is, I trust, a prelude to other works of a like kind; but it is

@book{doi105962bhltitle159380,
    author = "Seeley, H. G. and Sedgwick, Adam C.",
    title = "Index to the fossil remains of Aves, Ornithosauria, and Reptilia, from the secondary system of strata arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge",
    year = "1869",
    abstract = "With a strong emotion of pleasure I write these prefatory remarks to accompany the following Catalogue of the Fossil Reptiles in the Woodwardian Museum.It is, I trust, a prelude to other works of a like kind; but it is",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.159380",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.159380",
    openalex = "W2947726099"
}

D uring the meeting of the British Association at Norwich in 1868, Mr. F. Fellows, on behalf of the Rev. W. Fox, read a paper on, and exhibited the skull of, a fossil reptile discovered by that indefatigable explorer of the rocks of the Isle of Wight in a bed of the Wealden formation, “which forms the floor of Cowleaze Chine, and rises to the top of the sea cliff at Barne's High, in the parish of Brixton.” Mr. Fox considered the reptile to be a “young Iguanodon,” or more probably a “new small species of Iguanodon,” and stated that he had found “several other skeletons” of the animal in the same locality. In accordance with a wish expressed to me by Mr. Fellows, I made as careful an examination of the specimen as the circumstances would permit, and embodied the results of the investigation in some observations, accompanied by extemporaneous illustrations, which I made before Section C when the paper was read. I pointed out the peculiar value of the skull, which arose from the nearly entire condition of the præmaxillary bones, which last had, up to that time, been displayed by no Dinosaurian fossil, except, perhaps, Compsognathus. I further drew attention to the singular fact that the incisor teeth, or those contained in the posterior moiety of each præmaxilla, were totally different in shape from the maxillary teeth; and that the anterior moiety of the præmaxilla was beak-like and edentulous. Moreover I expressed the opinion that while the affinity

@article{doi101144gsljgs1870026010207,
    author = "Huxley, Thomas Henry",
    title = "On Hypsilophodon Foxii, a new Dinosaurian from the Wealden of the Isle of Wight",
    year = "1870",
    journal = "Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society",
    abstract = "D uring the meeting of the British Association at Norwich in 1868, Mr. F. Fellows, on behalf of the Rev. W. Fox, read a paper on, and exhibited the skull of, a fossil reptile discovered by that indefatigable explorer of the rocks of the Isle of Wight in a bed of the Wealden formation, “which forms the floor of Cowleaze Chine, and rises to the top of the sea cliff at Barne's High, in the parish of Brixton.” Mr. Fox considered the reptile to be a “young Iguanodon,” or more probably a “new small species of Iguanodon,” and stated that he had found “several other skeletons” of the animal in the same locality. In accordance with a wish expressed to me by Mr. Fellows, I made as careful an examination of the specimen as the circumstances would permit, and embodied the results of the investigation in some observations, accompanied by extemporaneous illustrations, which I made before Section C when the paper was read. I pointed out the peculiar value of the skull, which arose from the nearly entire condition of the præmaxillary bones, which last had, up to that time, been displayed by no Dinosaurian fossil, except, perhaps, Compsognathus. I further drew attention to the singular fact that the incisor teeth, or those contained in the posterior moiety of each præmaxilla, were totally different in shape from the maxillary teeth; and that the anterior moiety of the præmaxilla was beak-like and edentulous. Moreover I expressed the opinion that while the affinity",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1144/gsl.jgs.1870.026.01-02.07",
    doi = "10.1144/gsl.jgs.1870.026.01-02.07",
    openalex = "W2133789866"
}

@misc{owen1872monograph,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck formations: supplement",
    year = "1872",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.134817",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.134817",
    openalex = "W4232303172"
}

@misc{owen1874a,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "A monograph on the British fossil reptilia of the Mesozoic formations /",
    year = "1874",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.100403",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.100403",
    openalex = "W2260443807"
}

@misc{owen1874monograph,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck formations: supplement",
    year = "1874",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.134812",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.134812",
    openalex = "W4231221821"
}

@misc{owen1876monograph5,
    author = "Owen, R",
    title = "Monograph of the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden Formations VII, Crocodilia and Dinosauria?",
    year = "1876",
    howpublished = "Palaeontogr. Soc., p. 2-7",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Owen, R., 1876, Monograph of the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden Formations VII, Crocodilia and Dinosauria?: Palaeontogr. Soc., p. 2-7.}"
}

@misc{owen1878monograph,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck formations: supplement",
    year = "1878",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.128840",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.128840",
    openalex = "W4241747610"
}

@misc{owen1879monograph,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck formations: supplement",
    year = "1879",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.128553",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.128553",
    openalex = "W2605922420"
}

Abstract The dinosauria are peculiarly interesting and instructive on account of the combinations in their skeletons of structures which now only occur separately in those of extant Sauropsida; and also on account of their forming a link between more specialised Reptiles and Birds. The need of such an osteology of a Wealden dinosaur as might serve for a type and aid to those who are working out our fossil reptiles, long felt, has lately become increasingly urgent through the discoveries in the United States of large numbers of remains in such preservation and abundance as to make their reconstruction a relatively light task. Some of the members indicated by these remains resemble certain of our Wealden fauna, of which our knowledge is very imperfect and scanty, so that a strict comparison of the American and British Wealden forms appears likely to throw much light upon the latter. Unfortunately our own material does not yet exist in a form available for this purpose; for although a very large number of memoirs have been written on the dinosauria of our Cretaceous and Wealden formations, nothing approaching to a complete osteology of any one of them based on the study of remains recovered from British Cretaceous and Wealden formations has yet been published. The reason is not far to seek. In our Wealden beds their remains are usually so scattered, disconnected, and not seldom mutilated, that their identification and reconstruction are exceptionally difficult. As regards Iguanodon Mantelli a complete osteology may be expected from Belgian workers whenever the magnificent remains in the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle at Brussels, obtained in 1878 from an extension of the Wealden formation at Bernissart, shall have been wrought out—a task which I am authoritatively informed is not likely to be accomplished for several years. But with respect to Hypsilophodon something may fairly be expected of English palæontologists, for its remains occur in a manner quite exceptional—large parts of skeletons of this dinosaur, the bones of which are usually well preserved, and often maintain their normal connexions, have been obtained by the Rev. William Fox (lately deceased) and by myself. A study of these, prosecuted in leisure intervals during several years, enables me at length to offer a connected account of the skeleton, which I venture to hope leaves but few omissions to be supplied when additional materials shall have been acquired. The following short list contains, it is believed, the titles of all the papers which have been written on this dinosaur:—

@article{doi101098rstl18820025,
    author = "Hulke, J. W.",
    title = "XXIV. An attempt at a complete osteology of hypsilophodon foxii; a British Wealden dinosaur",
    year = "1882",
    journal = "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London",
    abstract = "Abstract The dinosauria are peculiarly interesting and instructive on account of the combinations in their skeletons of structures which now only occur separately in those of extant Sauropsida; and also on account of their forming a link between more specialised Reptiles and Birds. The need of such an osteology of a Wealden dinosaur as might serve for a type and aid to those who are working out our fossil reptiles, long felt, has lately become increasingly urgent through the discoveries in the United States of large numbers of remains in such preservation and abundance as to make their reconstruction a relatively light task. Some of the members indicated by these remains resemble certain of our Wealden fauna, of which our knowledge is very imperfect and scanty, so that a strict comparison of the American and British Wealden forms appears likely to throw much light upon the latter. Unfortunately our own material does not yet exist in a form available for this purpose; for although a very large number of memoirs have been written on the dinosauria of our Cretaceous and Wealden formations, nothing approaching to a complete osteology of any one of them based on the study of remains recovered from British Cretaceous and Wealden formations has yet been published. The reason is not far to seek. In our Wealden beds their remains are usually so scattered, disconnected, and not seldom mutilated, that their identification and reconstruction are exceptionally difficult. As regards Iguanodon Mantelli a complete osteology may be expected from Belgian workers whenever the magnificent remains in the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle at Brussels, obtained in 1878 from an extension of the Wealden formation at Bernissart, shall have been wrought out—a task which I am authoritatively informed is not likely to be accomplished for several years. But with respect to Hypsilophodon something may fairly be expected of English palæontologists, for its remains occur in a manner quite exceptional—large parts of skeletons of this dinosaur, the bones of which are usually well preserved, and often maintain their normal connexions, have been obtained by the Rev. William Fox (lately deceased) and by myself. A study of these, prosecuted in leisure intervals during several years, enables me at length to offer a connected account of the skeleton, which I venture to hope leaves but few omissions to be supplied when additional materials shall have been acquired. The following short list contains, it is believed, the titles of all the papers which have been written on this dinosaur:—",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1882.0025",
    doi = "10.1098/rstl.1882.0025",
    openalex = "W2094052653"
}

Of all groups of fossil reptiles, there is perhaps none in greater need of critical revision than that comprising the Crocodilia. The remains of this order already discovered are so numerous, and the various descriptive accounts of them so scattered and disconnected,—so commonly has it been the custom to take advantage of each successive “find” for the manufacture of a new generic or specific name, however fragmentary the materials, and so frequently have species been imperfectly compared and characterized,—that a most intricate and perplexing synonymy has arisen, which it would require long-continued research by the profoundest of specialists to unravel. Moreover, cases are not unknown, in which type specimens have subsequently proved to be unfortunate restorations, and the occasional disregard of priority in nomenclature has also contributed to increase the confusion.

@article{doi101017s001675680019939x,
    author = "Woodward, Arthur Smith",
    title = "IV.—On the Literature and Nomenclature of British Fossil Crocodilia",
    year = "1885",
    journal = "Geological Magazine",
    abstract = "Of all groups of fossil reptiles, there is perhaps none in greater need of critical revision than that comprising the Crocodilia. The remains of this order already discovered are so numerous, and the various descriptive accounts of them so scattered and disconnected,—so commonly has it been the custom to take advantage of each successive “find” for the manufacture of a new generic or specific name, however fragmentary the materials, and so frequently have species been imperfectly compared and characterized,—that a most intricate and perplexing synonymy has arisen, which it would require long-continued research by the profoundest of specialists to unravel. Moreover, cases are not unknown, in which type specimens have subsequently proved to be unfortunate restorations, and the occasional disregard of priority in nomenclature has also contributed to increase the confusion.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/s001675680019939x",
    doi = "10.1017/s001675680019939x",
    openalex = "W2157940735",
    references = "doi101144gsljgs1859015010254, doi101144gsljgs1871027010253, doi101144gsljgs1880036010446, doi101144transgslb6169, doi105962bhltitle107492, doi105962bhltitle159380, doi105962bhltitle60482, doi105962bhltitle61855, doi105962bhltitle7529, openalexw2773078985, owen1872monograph, owen1878monograph"
}

Abstract Three classifications of the Dinosauria have been proposed, which differ from each other in the principles on which their authors proposed to make the divisions. First in time is Professor Cope’s classification (‘Philadelphia, Acad. Nat. Sci. Proc.,’ November 13th, 1866, and December 31st, 1867; ‘Amer. Phil. Soc. Trans.,’ vol. 14, Part I). He relied upon the characters of the tarsus and the ilium; and on their varied condition divided Dinosaurs into three orders named Orthopoda, Goniopoda, and Symphopoda. In the Orthopoda, the generic types associated are Scelidosaurus, Hylæosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hadrosaurus. And in this group the relations of the tibia and fibula are compared to those of modern Lizards, the proximal tarsals being distinct from each other and from the tibia. The ilium has a narrowed anterior prolongation.

@article{doi101098rspl18870117,
    author = "Seeley, H. G.",
    title = "I. On the classification of the fossil animals commonly named Dinosauria",
    year = "1888",
    journal = "Proceedings of the Royal Society of London",
    abstract = "Abstract Three classifications of the Dinosauria have been proposed, which differ from each other in the principles on which their authors proposed to make the divisions. First in time is Professor Cope’s classification (‘Philadelphia, Acad. Nat. Sci. Proc.,’ November 13th, 1866, and December 31st, 1867; ‘Amer. Phil. Soc. Trans.,’ vol. 14, Part I). He relied upon the characters of the tarsus and the ilium; and on their varied condition divided Dinosaurs into three orders named Orthopoda, Goniopoda, and Symphopoda. In the Orthopoda, the generic types associated are Scelidosaurus, Hylæosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hadrosaurus. And in this group the relations of the tibia and fibula are compared to those of modern Lizards, the proximal tarsals being distinct from each other and from the tibia. The ilium has a narrowed anterior prolongation.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1887.0117",
    doi = "10.1098/rspl.1887.0117",
    openalex = "W1994653378"
}

@article{crossref1889a,
    title = "A Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations. Supplements Nos. 4–9",
    year = "1889",
    journal = "Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1889.12028006",
    doi = "10.1080/02693445.1889.12028006",
    number = "203",
    openalex = "W4251656382",
    pages = "vi-vii",
    volume = "42"
}

@article{doi101038041534b0,
    title = "Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History)",
    year = "1890",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/041534b0",
    doi = "10.1038/041534b0",
    openalex = "W2118006483"
}

@misc{millar1953ciona2,
    author = "Millar, R. H",
    title = "Ciona",
    year = "1953",
    howpublished = "Liverpool Marine Biological Committee Memoirs on Typical British Marine Plants and Animals, v. 35; 122 pp",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Millar, R. H., 1953, Ciona: Liverpool Marine Biological Committee Memoirs on Typical British Marine Plants and Animals, v. 35; 122 pp.}"
}

@article{c1976black,
    author = "C., Y. and Hiro, Dilip",
    title = "Black British, White British",
    year = "1976",
    journal = "Population (French Edition)",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/1531051",
    doi = "10.2307/1531051",
    number = "1",
    pages = "212",
    volume = "31"
}

@article{abrahams1977black,
    author = "Abrahams, Cecil A. and Hiro, Dilip",
    title = "Black British, White British",
    year = "1977",
    journal = "Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/483729",
    doi = "10.2307/483729",
    number = "3",
    pages = "524",
    volume = "11"
}

@article{crossref1977british,
    title = "British Phlegm, British Bronchi",
    year = "1977",
    journal = "The Lancet",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(77)92609-5",
    doi = "10.1016/s0140-6736(77)92609-5",
    number = "8008",
    pages = "403-405",
    volume = "309"
}

A new compilation of fossil data on invertebrate and vertebrate families indicates that four mass extinctions in the marine realm are statistically distinct from background extinction levels. These four occurred late in the Ordovician, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous periods. A fifth extinction event in the Devonian stands out from the background but is not statistically significant in these data. Background extinction rates appear to have declined since Cambrian time, which is consistent with the prediction that optimization of fitness should increase through evolutionary time.

@article{doi101126science21545391501,
    author = "Raup, David M. and Sepkoski, J. John",
    title = "Mass Extinctions in the Marine Fossil Record",
    year = "1982",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "A new compilation of fossil data on invertebrate and vertebrate families indicates that four mass extinctions in the marine realm are statistically distinct from background extinction levels. These four occurred late in the Ordovician, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous periods. A fifth extinction event in the Devonian stands out from the background but is not statistically significant in these data. Background extinction rates appear to have declined since Cambrian time, which is consistent with the prediction that optimization of fitness should increase through evolutionary time.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.215.4539.1501",
    doi = "10.1126/science.215.4539.1501",
    openalex = "W1976721572",
    references = "doi101017s009483730000511x, doi101017s0094837300006539, doi101130spe89p63, doi105281zenodo16226412, openalexw2335729143, openalexw2591197405, openalexw2596207362"
}

Four basic types of skeletal concentrations are modeled in terms of changes in sedimentation rate alone. The model categorizes fossil concentrations on the relatively objective basis of their bed contacts, and uses this criterion to infer directional shifts in net sedimentation. This radical simplification of accumulation histories, in which hardpart input is held constant, yields a surprisingly powerful model capable of predicting a broad spectrum of taphonomic and paleobiologic phenomena. Type I concentrations grade from less fossiliferous sediments and terminate in omission surfaces; if hardpart supply is held constant, they record a slowdown from positive to zero net sedimentation. Type II concentrations are the same as Type I but terminate in erosion surfaces (slowdown to negative net sedimentation), and Type III and IV concentrations are characterized by basal erosion or omission surfaces, respectively, grade upward into less fossiliferous sediments, and record increases in net sedimentation from negative or zero rates to positive rates. According to the model, samples collected from successive horizons within any of these shell beds will differ in the degree and type of post-mortem bias owing to differing histories of hardpart exposure at the depositional interface. Moreover, because rates of sediment accumulation govern the abundance of hardparts at the depositional interface and thus many of the physical characteristics of the benthic habitat, the dynamics of fossil accumulation have direct consequences for the structure of benthic communities (taphonomic feedback) and for ecologically controlled species morphometry. The model is highly robust to fluctuations in hardpart input, as judged by its ability to correctly infer modes of formation of concentrations in synthetic stratigraphic sections. In addition, field examples of Type I–IV concentrations show independent evidence of formation during intervals of reduced net sedimentation, and many exhibit trends in taphonomic and paleobiologic features expected from the postulated changes in net sedimentation. The model thus provides a testable working hypothesis for the accumulation of fossil material in a wide range of environments, and should be applicable to concentrations of any taxonomic composition, state of preservation, or geologic age. The power and robustness of this heuristic model in fact argue that fossil-rich and fossil-poor strata provide fundamentally different records of past conditions, and that sedimentation rather than hardpart input is the primary control on the nature of the fossil record.

@article{doi101017s0094837300002943,
    author = "Kidwell, Susan M.",
    title = "Models for fossil concentrations: paleobiologic implications",
    year = "1986",
    journal = "Paleobiology",
    abstract = "Four basic types of skeletal concentrations are modeled in terms of changes in sedimentation rate alone. The model categorizes fossil concentrations on the relatively objective basis of their bed contacts, and uses this criterion to infer directional shifts in net sedimentation. This radical simplification of accumulation histories, in which hardpart input is held constant, yields a surprisingly powerful model capable of predicting a broad spectrum of taphonomic and paleobiologic phenomena. Type I concentrations grade from less fossiliferous sediments and terminate in omission surfaces; if hardpart supply is held constant, they record a slowdown from positive to zero net sedimentation. Type II concentrations are the same as Type I but terminate in erosion surfaces (slowdown to negative net sedimentation), and Type III and IV concentrations are characterized by basal erosion or omission surfaces, respectively, grade upward into less fossiliferous sediments, and record increases in net sedimentation from negative or zero rates to positive rates. According to the model, samples collected from successive horizons within any of these shell beds will differ in the degree and type of post-mortem bias owing to differing histories of hardpart exposure at the depositional interface. Moreover, because rates of sediment accumulation govern the abundance of hardparts at the depositional interface and thus many of the physical characteristics of the benthic habitat, the dynamics of fossil accumulation have direct consequences for the structure of benthic communities (taphonomic feedback) and for ecologically controlled species morphometry. The model is highly robust to fluctuations in hardpart input, as judged by its ability to correctly infer modes of formation of concentrations in synthetic stratigraphic sections. In addition, field examples of Type I–IV concentrations show independent evidence of formation during intervals of reduced net sedimentation, and many exhibit trends in taphonomic and paleobiologic features expected from the postulated changes in net sedimentation. The model thus provides a testable working hypothesis for the accumulation of fossil material in a wide range of environments, and should be applicable to concentrations of any taxonomic composition, state of preservation, or geologic age. The power and robustness of this heuristic model in fact argue that fossil-rich and fossil-poor strata provide fundamentally different records of past conditions, and that sedimentation rather than hardpart input is the primary control on the nature of the fossil record.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/s0094837300002943",
    doi = "10.1017/s0094837300002943",
    openalex = "W1810485278",
    references = "doi101007978364265923211, openalexw574363047"
}

Abstract- Several prominent cladists have questioned the importance of fossils in phylogenctic inference, and it is becoming increasingly popular to simply fit extinct forms, if they are considered at all, to a cladogram of Recent taxa. Gardiner's (1982) and Løvtrup's (1985) study of amniote phylogeny exemplifies this differential treatment, and we focused on that group of organisms to test the proposition that fossils cannot overturn a theory of relationships based only on the Recent biota. Our parsimony analysis of amniote phylogeny, special knowledge contributed by fossils being scrupulously avoided, led to the following best fitting classification, which is similar to the novel hypothesis Gardiner published: (lepidosaurs (turtles (mammals (birds, crocodiles)))). However, adding fossils resulted in a markedly different most parsimonious cladogram of the extant taxa: (mammals (turtles (lepidosaurs (birds, crocodiles)))). That classification is like the traditional hypothesis, and it provides a better fit to the stratigraphic record. To isolate the extinct taxa responsible for the latter classification, the data were successively partitioned with each phylogenetic analysis, and we concluded that: (1) the ingroup, not the outgroup, fossils were important; (2) synapsid, not reptile, fossils were pivotal; (3) certain synapsid fossils, not the earliest or latest, were responsible. The critical nature of the synapsid fossils seemed to lie in the particular combination of primitive and derived character slates they exhibited. Classifying those fossils, along with mammals, as the sister group to the lineage consisting of birds and crocodiles resulted in a relatively poor fit to data; one involving a 2-4 fold increase in evolutionary reversals! Thus, the importance of the critical fossils, collectively or individually, seems to reside in their relative primitive-ness, and the simplest explanation for their more conservative nature is that they have had less time to evolve. While fossils may be important in phylogenetic inference only under certain conditions, there is no compelling reason to prejudge their contribution. We urge systematists to evaluate fairly all of the available evidence.

@article{doi101111j109600311988tb00514x,
    author = "Gauthier, Jacques and Kluge, Arnold G. and Rowe, Timothy",
    title = "AMNIOTE PHYLOGENY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSSILS",
    year = "1988",
    journal = "Cladistics",
    abstract = "Abstract- Several prominent cladists have questioned the importance of fossils in phylogenctic inference, and it is becoming increasingly popular to simply fit extinct forms, if they are considered at all, to a cladogram of Recent taxa. Gardiner's (1982) and Løvtrup's (1985) study of amniote phylogeny exemplifies this differential treatment, and we focused on that group of organisms to test the proposition that fossils cannot overturn a theory of relationships based only on the Recent biota. Our parsimony analysis of amniote phylogeny, special knowledge contributed by fossils being scrupulously avoided, led to the following best fitting classification, which is similar to the novel hypothesis Gardiner published: (lepidosaurs (turtles (mammals (birds, crocodiles)))). However, adding fossils resulted in a markedly different most parsimonious cladogram of the extant taxa: (mammals (turtles (lepidosaurs (birds, crocodiles)))). That classification is like the traditional hypothesis, and it provides a better fit to the stratigraphic record. To isolate the extinct taxa responsible for the latter classification, the data were successively partitioned with each phylogenetic analysis, and we concluded that: (1) the ingroup, not the outgroup, fossils were important; (2) synapsid, not reptile, fossils were pivotal; (3) certain synapsid fossils, not the earliest or latest, were responsible. The critical nature of the synapsid fossils seemed to lie in the particular combination of primitive and derived character slates they exhibited. Classifying those fossils, along with mammals, as the sister group to the lineage consisting of birds and crocodiles resulted in a relatively poor fit to data; one involving a 2-4 fold increase in evolutionary reversals! Thus, the importance of the critical fossils, collectively or individually, seems to reside in their relative primitive-ness, and the simplest explanation for their more conservative nature is that they have had less time to evolve. While fossils may be important in phylogenetic inference only under certain conditions, there is no compelling reason to prejudge their contribution. We urge systematists to evaluate fairly all of the available evidence.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.1988.tb00514.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1096-0031.1988.tb00514.x",
    openalex = "W1978557909",
    references = "crossref1943the, currie1985cranial, doi101001jama194302840160064031, doi1010079781468488517, doi101007978146848851721, doi101016002555648290027x, doi1010160169534789901626, doi101016b9781483198279500198, doi101016b9781483231426500124, doi101017cbo9780511693281002, doi101038142004a0, doi10108002724634198810011708, doi101086628623, doi101093sysbio1811, doi101093sysbio33183, doi1010970000505319311100000026, doi101098rstb19830079, doi101111j109636421977tb01031x, doi101111j109636421985tb01796x, doi101146annureven10010165000525, doi1023071005355, doi1023071220820, doi1023071292217, doi1023071441916, doi1023072412407, doi1023072412685, doi1023072413134, doi1023072413259, doi1023072413454, doi1023072485224, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi10560219780801847806, doi105962bhltitle6408, doi105962bhltitle82144, openalexw1534787790, openalexw1534857865, openalexw2954279587, openalexw2983381470, openalexw3146596760, openalexw3184837389, openalexw575222456, roaf1943the"
}

@article{doi102113gssgfbulliv2335,
    author = "Bouaziz, Samir and Buffetaut, Éric and Ghanmi, Mohamed and Jaeger, Jean‐Jacques and Martin, Michel and Mazin, Jean‐Michel and Tong, Haiyan",
    title = "Nouvelle decouvertes de vertebres fossiles dans l'Albien du Sud tunisien",
    year = "1988",
    journal = "Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.iv.2.335",
    doi = "10.2113/gssgfbull.iv.2.335",
    openalex = "W2524280057"
}

@book{openalexw193970361,
    author = "Maisey, John G.",
    title = "Santana Fossils: An Illustrated Atlas",
    year = "1991",
    journal = "Medical Entomology and Zoology",
    openalex = "W193970361"
}

ABSTRACT Closure of neurocentral sutures in the crocodylian vertebral column follows a distinct caudal to cranial sequence during ontogeny. The sutures in most caudal vertebrae are fully closed at hatching, but closure of remaining sutures occurs later in ontogeny. Closure of cervical sutures is a consistent indicator of morphological maturity in Alligator mississippiensis, Alligator sinensis, Osteolaemus tetraspis, and Crocodylus acutus; the final transformation is the closure of the axial neurocentral suture, which occurs after the closure of the axis-odontoid suture. Because these transformations occur near the end of ontogeny in all three taxa, regardless of maximum size, closure of these sutures is a size-independent criterion of maturity; however, it is not certain if suture closure indicates the stoppage of growth. These transformations are readily identifiable in fossils, permitting the objective characterization of maturity in fossil crocodylians and possibly at least some of their closer extinct relatives.

@article{doi10108002724634199610011283,
    author = "Brochu, Christopher A.",
    title = "Closure of neurocentral sutures during crocodilian ontogeny: Implications for maturity assessment in fossil archosaurs",
    year = "1996",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    abstract = "ABSTRACT Closure of neurocentral sutures in the crocodylian vertebral column follows a distinct caudal to cranial sequence during ontogeny. The sutures in most caudal vertebrae are fully closed at hatching, but closure of remaining sutures occurs later in ontogeny. Closure of cervical sutures is a consistent indicator of morphological maturity in Alligator mississippiensis, Alligator sinensis, Osteolaemus tetraspis, and Crocodylus acutus; the final transformation is the closure of the axial neurocentral suture, which occurs after the closure of the axis-odontoid suture. Because these transformations occur near the end of ontogeny in all three taxa, regardless of maximum size, closure of these sutures is a size-independent criterion of maturity; however, it is not certain if suture closure indicates the stoppage of growth. These transformations are readily identifiable in fossils, permitting the objective characterization of maturity in fossil crocodylians and possibly at least some of their closer extinct relatives.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1996.10011283",
    doi = "10.1080/02724634.1996.10011283",
    openalex = "W2024771330",
    references = "doi101002jmor1051080103, doi101017s0094837300012331, doi101086273307, doi101111j109636421993tb02537x, doi101111j146979981975tb01405x, doi101111j146979981993tb01933x, doi1023071444994, doi1023072403875, doi105962bhltitle54967, doi105962bhltitle82144, houck1990allometric"
}

@article{doi10103841710,
    author = "Shubin, Neil and Tabin, Cliff and Carroll, Sean B.",
    title = "Fossils, genes and the evolution of animal limbs",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/41710",
    doi = "10.1038/41710",
    openalex = "W1601043516",
    references = "doi101002jez1401080304, doi1010160092867493906262, doi1010160092867493906273, doi1010160092867493906284, doi101016s0092867400811149, doi101017s0263593300006787, doi101038368208a0, doi101038376479a0, doi10108011035899509546213, doi101093aesa283408, doi101111j109636421995tb00110x, doi101111j109636421995tb00119x, doi101111j150239311996tb01839x, doi101126science2504981658, doi10182618200376605199601, doi1023072992562, doi1023073223017, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi107208chicago97802262565730010001"
}

ABSTRACT The most commonly cited apomorphy of Archosauriformes is an opening in the snout known as the antorbital cavity. Despite the ubiquity and prominence of the antorbital cavity, its function and importance in craniofacial evolution have been problematic. Discovering the significance of the antorbital cavity is a two step process: first, establishing the function of the bony cavity (that is, its soft-tissue relations), and second, determining the biological role of the enclosed structure. The first step is the most fundamental, and hence is examined at length. Three hypotheses for the function of the antorbital cavity have been advanced, suggesting that it housed (1) a gland, (2) a muscle, or (3) a paranasal air sinus. Thus, resolution is correctly viewed as a “soft-tissue problem,” and is addressed within the context of the extant phylogenetic bracket (EPB) approach for reconstructing the unpreserved features of fossil organisms. The soft-anatomical relations of the antorbital cavity (or any bony structure) are important because (1) soft tissues generally have morphogenetic primacy over bony tissues and (2) inferences about soft tissues are the foundation for a cascading suite of paleobiological inferences. The EPB approach uses the shared causal associations between soft tissues and their osteological correlates (i.e., the signatures imparted to the bones by the soft tissues) that are observed in the extant outgroups of the fossil taxon of interest to infer the soft-anatomical attributes of the fossil; based on the assessment at the outgroup node, a hierarchy characterizing the strength of the inference can be constructed. This general approach is applied to the problem of the function of the antorbital cavity, taking each hypothesized soft-tissue candidate—gland, muscle, and air sac—in turn, (1) establishing the osteological correlates of each soft-tissue system in the EPB of any fossil archosaur (i.e., extant birds and crocodilians), (2) formulating a hypothesis of homology based on similarities in these causal associations between birds and crocodilians, (3) testing this hypothesis by surveying fossil archosaurs for the specified osteological correlates, and (4) accepting or rejecting the hypothesis based on its phylogenetic congruence. Using this approach, fossil archosaurs can be reliably reconstructed with a Glandula nasalis, M. pterygoideus, pars dorsalis, and Sinus antorbitalis that are homologous with those of extant archosaurs; however, the osteological correlates of only the antorbital paranasal air sinus involve the several structures associated with the antorbital cavity. Additional evidence for the pneumatic nature of the antorbital cavity comes from the presence of numerous accessory cavities (especially in theropod dinosaurs) surrounding the main antorbital cavity. To address the origin of the antorbital cavity, the EPB approach was applied to basal archosauriforms; the data are not as robust, but nevertheless suggest that the cavity appeared as a housing for a paranasal air sinus. The second step in discovering the evolutionary significance of the antorbital cavity is to assess the function of the enclosed paranasal air sac. In fact, the function of all pneumaticity is investigated here. Rather than the enclosed volume of air (i.e., the empty space) being functionally important, better explanations result by focusing on the pneumatic epithelial diverticulum itself. It is proposed here that the function of the epithelial air sac is simply to pneumatize bone in an opportunistic manner within the constraints of a particular biomechanical loading regime. Trends in facial evolution in three clades of archosaurs (crocodylomorphs, ornithopod dinosaurs, and theropod dinosaurs) were examined in light of this new perspective. Crocodylomorphs and ornithopods both show trends for reduction and enclosure of the antorbital cavity (but for different reasons), whereas theropods show a trend for relatively poorly constrained expansion. These findings are consistent with the view of air sacs as opportunistic pneumatizing machines, with weight reduction and design optimality as secondary effects.

@article{doi10108002724634199710011027,
    author = "Witmer, Lawrence M.",
    title = "The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    abstract = "ABSTRACT The most commonly cited apomorphy of Archosauriformes is an opening in the snout known as the antorbital cavity. Despite the ubiquity and prominence of the antorbital cavity, its function and importance in craniofacial evolution have been problematic. Discovering the significance of the antorbital cavity is a two step process: first, establishing the function of the bony cavity (that is, its soft-tissue relations), and second, determining the biological role of the enclosed structure. The first step is the most fundamental, and hence is examined at length. Three hypotheses for the function of the antorbital cavity have been advanced, suggesting that it housed (1) a gland, (2) a muscle, or (3) a paranasal air sinus. Thus, resolution is correctly viewed as a “soft-tissue problem,” and is addressed within the context of the extant phylogenetic bracket (EPB) approach for reconstructing the unpreserved features of fossil organisms. The soft-anatomical relations of the antorbital cavity (or any bony structure) are important because (1) soft tissues generally have morphogenetic primacy over bony tissues and (2) inferences about soft tissues are the foundation for a cascading suite of paleobiological inferences. The EPB approach uses the shared causal associations between soft tissues and their osteological correlates (i.e., the signatures imparted to the bones by the soft tissues) that are observed in the extant outgroups of the fossil taxon of interest to infer the soft-anatomical attributes of the fossil; based on the assessment at the outgroup node, a hierarchy characterizing the strength of the inference can be constructed. This general approach is applied to the problem of the function of the antorbital cavity, taking each hypothesized soft-tissue candidate—gland, muscle, and air sac—in turn, (1) establishing the osteological correlates of each soft-tissue system in the EPB of any fossil archosaur (i.e., extant birds and crocodilians), (2) formulating a hypothesis of homology based on similarities in these causal associations between birds and crocodilians, (3) testing this hypothesis by surveying fossil archosaurs for the specified osteological correlates, and (4) accepting or rejecting the hypothesis based on its phylogenetic congruence. Using this approach, fossil archosaurs can be reliably reconstructed with a Glandula nasalis, M. pterygoideus, pars dorsalis, and Sinus antorbitalis that are homologous with those of extant archosaurs; however, the osteological correlates of only the antorbital paranasal air sinus involve the several structures associated with the antorbital cavity. Additional evidence for the pneumatic nature of the antorbital cavity comes from the presence of numerous accessory cavities (especially in theropod dinosaurs) surrounding the main antorbital cavity. To address the origin of the antorbital cavity, the EPB approach was applied to basal archosauriforms; the data are not as robust, but nevertheless suggest that the cavity appeared as a housing for a paranasal air sinus. The second step in discovering the evolutionary significance of the antorbital cavity is to assess the function of the enclosed paranasal air sac. In fact, the function of all pneumaticity is investigated here. Rather than the enclosed volume of air (i.e., the empty space) being functionally important, better explanations result by focusing on the pneumatic epithelial diverticulum itself. It is proposed here that the function of the epithelial air sac is simply to pneumatize bone in an opportunistic manner within the constraints of a particular biomechanical loading regime. Trends in facial evolution in three clades of archosaurs (crocodylomorphs, ornithopod dinosaurs, and theropod dinosaurs) were examined in light of this new perspective. Crocodylomorphs and ornithopods both show trends for reduction and enclosure of the antorbital cavity (but for different reasons), whereas theropods show a trend for relatively poorly constrained expansion. These findings are consistent with the view of air sacs as opportunistic pneumatizing machines, with weight reduction and design optimality as secondary effects.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1997.10011027",
    doi = "10.1080/02724634.1997.10011027",
    openalex = "W1973023986",
    references = "coria1995a, crossref1976allosaurus, currie1985cranial, doi10100797836426953391, doi1010160021929082902469, doi101016b9781483231426500124, doi101017s0022336000026706, doi101017s0022336000059126, doi101017s0094837300004310, doi101017s247526300000091x, doi101038019118a0, doi101038063003a0, doi101038114085a0, doi10108002724634199110011386, doi10108002724634199110011426, doi10108002724634199210011473, doi10108002724634199310011511, doi10108002724634199410011538, doi10108002724634199510011250, doi101098rstb19610007, doi101098rstb19650003, doi101098rstb19850092, doi101098rstb19910056, doi101098rstb19920117, doi101098rstb19950125, doi101111j109600311991tb00045x, doi101111j109636421978tb01049x, doi101111j146363951921tb00489x, doi101111j1469185x1990tb01427x, doi101111j146979981913tb06148x, doi101111j155856461965tb01720x, doi101111j174966321940tb57047x, doi101111j216409471940tb00068x, doi101126science11282807, doi101126science2665183267, doi101126science2725264986, doi101139e93179, doi10125900071285586941029, doi1015468p4gnhz, doi1015468yhxmzl, doi1023072406439, doi1023072413454, doi1023072421859, doi1023072992444, doi10230730135049, doi1023073514548, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi105281zenodo16673433, doi105479si03629236110i, doi105860choice326223, doi105962bhlpart22965, doi105962bhltitle54054, doi105962p226819, madsen1976a, openalexw1489366593, openalexw1534857865, openalexw193970361, openalexw2603028126, openalexw2788234611, openalexw3140893762, openalexw3184837389, openalexw607142922, openalexw616953834, rowe1989a, sues1978a, walker1964triassic"
}

Although morphological data have historically favored a basal position for the Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) within Crocodylia and a Mesozoic divergence between Gavialis and all other crocodylians, several recent molecular data sets have argued for a sister-group relationship between Gavialis and the Indonesian false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) and a divergence between them no earlier than the Late Tertiary. Fossils were added to a matrix of 164 discrete morphological characters and subjected to parsimony analysis. When morphology was analyzed alone, Gavialis was the sister taxon of all other extant crocodylians whether or not fossil ingroup taxa were included, and a sister-group relationship between Gavialis and Tomistoma was significantly less parsimonious. In combination with published sequence and restriction site fragment data, Gavialis was the sister taxon of all other living crocodylians, but the position of Tomistoma depended on the inclusion of fossil ingroup taxa; with or without fossils, preferred morphological and molecular topologies were not significantly different. Fossils closer to Gavialis than to Tomistoma can be recognized in the Late Cretaceous, and fossil relatives of Tomistoma are known from the basal Eocene, strongly indicating a divergence long before the Late Tertiary. Comparison of minimum divergence time from the fossil record with different measures of molecular distance indicates evolutionary rate heterogeneity within Crocodylia. Fossils strongly contradict a post-Oligocene divergence between Gavialis and any other living crocodylian, but the phylogenetic placement of Gavialis is best viewed as unresolved.

@article{doi101093sysbio463479,
    author = "Brochu, Christopher A.",
    title = "Morphology, Fossils, Divergence Timing, and the Phylogenetic Relationships of Gavialis",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Systematic Biology",
    abstract = "Although morphological data have historically favored a basal position for the Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) within Crocodylia and a Mesozoic divergence between Gavialis and all other crocodylians, several recent molecular data sets have argued for a sister-group relationship between Gavialis and the Indonesian false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) and a divergence between them no earlier than the Late Tertiary. Fossils were added to a matrix of 164 discrete morphological characters and subjected to parsimony analysis. When morphology was analyzed alone, Gavialis was the sister taxon of all other extant crocodylians whether or not fossil ingroup taxa were included, and a sister-group relationship between Gavialis and Tomistoma was significantly less parsimonious. In combination with published sequence and restriction site fragment data, Gavialis was the sister taxon of all other living crocodylians, but the position of Tomistoma depended on the inclusion of fossil ingroup taxa; with or without fossils, preferred morphological and molecular topologies were not significantly different. Fossils closer to Gavialis than to Tomistoma can be recognized in the Late Cretaceous, and fossil relatives of Tomistoma are known from the basal Eocene, strongly indicating a divergence long before the Late Tertiary. Comparison of minimum divergence time from the fossil record with different measures of molecular distance indicates evolutionary rate heterogeneity within Crocodylia. Fossils strongly contradict a post-Oligocene divergence between Gavialis and any other living crocodylian, but the phylogenetic placement of Gavialis is best viewed as unresolved.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/46.3.479",
    doi = "10.1093/sysbio/46.3.479",
    openalex = "W1975343479",
    references = "openalexw337536883"
}

Lawrence M. Witmer, The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity, Memoir (Society of Vertebrate Paleontology), Vol. 3, The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity (Apr. 16, 1997), pp. 1-73

@article{doi1023073889342,
    author = "Witmer, Lawrence M.",
    title = "The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Memoir Society of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    abstract = "Lawrence M. Witmer, The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity, Memoir (Society of Vertebrate Paleontology), Vol. 3, The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity (Apr. 16, 1997), pp. 1-73",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/3889342",
    doi = "10.2307/3889342",
    openalex = "W3143969913"
}

@article{doi101016s0031018297001089,
    author = "Markwick, Paul",
    title = "Fossil crocodilians as indicators of Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic climates: implications for using palaeontological data in reconstructing palaeoclimate",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-0182(97)00108-9",
    doi = "10.1016/s0031-0182(97)00108-9",
    openalex = "W2092060384",
    references = "doi10100797814899503456, doi10100797894011125435, doi1010160031018265900131, doi101016003101829290096n, doi101016003192018990263x, doi1010160195667191900155, doi101017s0094837300006060, doi101029pa002i001p00001, doi1010719781486309702, doi101098rstb19930109, doi101126science19142321131, doi101126science24148691043, doi10113000917613198614535scaia20co2, doi101146annurevph57030195000441, doi102110pec88010071, doi1023071444927, doi1023071563593, doi1023073514444, doi1023073514548, doi1023073669094, doi102973odpprocsr1192001991, openalexw2983381470, openalexw575222456, spotila1973a"
}

ABSTRACT There is little consistency in the notation and orientation terminology used in discussions of non-mammalian fossil venebrate dentitions. The standardization of this terminology, as done in the medical and dental sciences, would facilitate all future research on fossil teeth. For mammals, we recommend following convention, where incisors, canines, premolare, and molars are abbreviated as In, Cn, Pn, and Mn (n = tooth number) in upper jaws and as in, cn, pn, and mn in lower jaws. Right, left, and deciduous teeth are indicated by R, L, and D (e.g., DP4, Rp2). For non-mammals, which can have dentigerous premaxillae, maxillae, and dentaries, as well as additional tooth-bearing bones (e.g., vomers, palatines, pterygoids, ectopterygoids, sphenoids, splenials, and even parasphenoids), we encourage identifying teeth using the bone abbreviation (e.g., pmn, mxn, dn, vn, pain). A number and slash (/) combination can be used to distinguish between multiple tooth rows (e.g., Pal1/n, Pal2/n), and specimen-specific maps can be created for very complicated dentitions. We suggest the use of the terms mesial and distal to designate tooth surfaces and directions facing toward and away from the mandibular symphysis. Labial is offered for those surfaces and directions facing the lips or cheeks and lingual for those facing the tongue. We offer the terms basal for the direction toward crown bases, apical for the direction toward crown tips, occlusal for views of the occlusal surfaces, and basal and root apical for views of crown bases and roots, respectively.

@article{doi101671027246342003231apfast20co2,
    author = "Smith, Joshua B. and Dodson, Peter",
    title = "A proposal for a standard terminology of anatomical notation and orientation in fossil vertebrate dentitions",
    year = "2003",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    abstract = "ABSTRACT There is little consistency in the notation and orientation terminology used in discussions of non-mammalian fossil venebrate dentitions. The standardization of this terminology, as done in the medical and dental sciences, would facilitate all future research on fossil teeth. For mammals, we recommend following convention, where incisors, canines, premolare, and molars are abbreviated as In, Cn, Pn, and Mn (n = tooth number) in upper jaws and as in, cn, pn, and mn in lower jaws. Right, left, and deciduous teeth are indicated by R, L, and D (e.g., DP4, Rp2). For non-mammals, which can have dentigerous premaxillae, maxillae, and dentaries, as well as additional tooth-bearing bones (e.g., vomers, palatines, pterygoids, ectopterygoids, sphenoids, splenials, and even parasphenoids), we encourage identifying teeth using the bone abbreviation (e.g., pmn, mxn, dn, vn, pain). A number and slash (/) combination can be used to distinguish between multiple tooth rows (e.g., Pal1/n, Pal2/n), and specimen-specific maps can be created for very complicated dentitions. We suggest the use of the terms mesial and distal to designate tooth surfaces and directions facing toward and away from the mandibular symphysis. Labial is offered for those surfaces and directions facing the lips or cheeks and lingual for those facing the tongue. We offer the terms basal for the direction toward crown bases, apical for the direction toward crown tips, occlusal for views of the occlusal surfaces, and basal and root apical for views of crown bases and roots, respectively.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[1:apfast]2.0.co;2",
    doi = "10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[1:apfast]2.0.co;2",
    openalex = "W2177918895",
    references = "doi101001jama191104260090143037, doi101007bf02987808, doi101017cbo9780511608377011, doi101017s0094837300016201, doi10108002724634198710011638, doi10108002724634199510011250, doi10108002724634199810011101, doi10108002724634199810011114, doi101086273307, doi101098rstb19740001, doi101111j109636421978tb01049x, doi101126science10246376, doi101126science2665183267, doi101126science2725264986, doi101144gsjgs15310005, doi1016660022336020010750208lcsdaf20co2, doi1023073514548, doi1023073514751, doi105281zenodo1048848, doi105281zenodo16492064, doi105860choice383310, openalexw197683541, openalexw2609000594, rowe1989a, sues1978a"
}

This beautifully illustrated 2007 volume describes the entire flora and fauna of the famous Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil - one of the world's most important fossil deposits, exhibiting exceptional preservation. A wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates are covered, including extended sections on pterosaurs and insects. Two chapters are devoted to plants. Many of the chapters include descriptions of new species and re-descriptions and appraisals of taxa published in obscure places, rendering them available to a wider audience. Fossil descriptions are supported by detailed explanations of the geological history of the deposit and its tectonic setting. Drawing on expertise from around the world and specimens from the most important museum collections, this book forms an essential reference for researchers and enthusiasts with an interest in Mesozoic fossils

@book{doi101017cbo9780511535512,
    author = "Martill, David M. and Bechly, Günter and Loveridge, Robert F.",
    title = "The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil: Window into an Ancient World",
    year = "2007",
    abstract = "This beautifully illustrated 2007 volume describes the entire flora and fauna of the famous Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil - one of the world's most important fossil deposits, exhibiting exceptional preservation. A wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates are covered, including extended sections on pterosaurs and insects. Two chapters are devoted to plants. Many of the chapters include descriptions of new species and re-descriptions and appraisals of taxa published in obscure places, rendering them available to a wider audience. Fossil descriptions are supported by detailed explanations of the geological history of the deposit and its tectonic setting. Drawing on expertise from around the world and specimens from the most important museum collections, this book forms an essential reference for researchers and enthusiasts with an interest in Mesozoic fossils",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511535512",
    doi = "10.1017/cbo9780511535512",
    openalex = "W1575411947",
    references = "doi101002mmng20010040112, doi1010079783642143977, doi1010160031018279901639, doi101016s0031018203006436, doi101017s0094837300012331, doi10103821872, doi101038292051a0, doi10103831635, doi101038nature01342, doi101038nature01420, doi101038nature02855, doi101038nature03150, doi101038nature03996, doi101046j1365202820010270ex, doi10108002724634199810011114, doi10108002724634199910011201, doi101098rspb20042692, doi101126science23547931156, doi101126science27953581915, doi1012060003009020062970001tatol20co2, doi1016660022336020040780989dapftc20co2, doi1018590euscorpius2003vol2003iss111, doi1023071466954, doi1023073223017, doi10560219780801847806, doi105860choice405235, doi105962bhltitle4275, hasiotis1995termite, openalexw1486025919, openalexw1725516486, openalexw1900040508, openalexw193970361, openalexw2242001249, openalexw2786463731"
}

@article{sánchezhernández2007dinosaurs,
    author = "Sánchez-Hernández, Bárbara and Benton, Michael J. and Naish, Darren",
    title = "Dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of the Galve area, NE Spain",
    year = "2007",
    journal = "Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.01.009",
    doi = "10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.01.009",
    number = "1-2",
    openalex = "W1984900241",
    pages = "180-215",
    volume = "249",
    references = "doi101002mmng20020050114, doi1010160169534789901626, doi101046j10963642200200029x, doi101111j109636421998tb00569x, doi101126science13234331023, doi1023073889325, doi102475ajss31695411, doi102475ajss319111253, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi107312kiel11918, openalexw1594077233"
}

@incollection{cannadine2008nation,
    author = "Cannadine, David",
    title = "Nation: British Politics, British History and British-ness",
    year = "2008",
    booktitle = "Making History Now and Then",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230594265\_8",
    doi = "10.1057/9780230594265\_8",
    pages = "171-195"
}

@incollection{crossref2009british,
    title = "BRITISH JEWS and BRITISH POLITICS",
    year = "2009",
    booktitle = "The Communal Gadfly",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.36309079.5",
    doi = "10.2307/jj.36309079.5",
    pages = "29-52"
}

Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria: Theropoda), the oldest named dinosaur taxon, from the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of England, is a valid taxon diagnosed by a unique character combination of the lectotype dentary. Abundant referred material is described and several autapomorphies are identified: ventral surfaces of first and third to fifth sacral centra evenly rounded, ventral surface of second sacral centrum bearing longitudinal, angular ridge; dorsally directed flange around midheight on the scapular blade; an array of posterodorsally inclined grooves on the lateral surface of the median iliac ridge; anteroposteriorly thick ischial apron with an almost flat medial surface; and complementary groove and ridge structures on the articular surfaces between metatarsals II and III.

@article{doi101111j10963642200900569x,
    author = "Benson, Roger",
    title = "A description of Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society",
    abstract = "Megalosaurus bucklandii (Dinosauria: Theropoda), the oldest named dinosaur taxon, from the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of England, is a valid taxon diagnosed by a unique character combination of the lectotype dentary. Abundant referred material is described and several autapomorphies are identified: ventral surfaces of first and third to fifth sacral centra evenly rounded, ventral surface of second sacral centrum bearing longitudinal, angular ridge; dorsally directed flange around midheight on the scapular blade; an array of posterodorsally inclined grooves on the lateral surface of the median iliac ridge; anteroposteriorly thick ischial apron with an almost flat medial surface; and complementary groove and ridge structures on the articular surfaces between metatarsals II and III.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00569.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00569.x",
    openalex = "W2019441231",
    references = "benson2008a, crossref1976allosaurus, doi10108002724634199710011027, doi10108002724634199910011178, doi101111j109600311999tb00277x, doi101126science2725264986, doi101126science28454232137, doi102475ajss31695411, doi102475ajss319111253, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi105281zenodo5373094, openalexw3215057009, woodward1910on"
}

@article{harris2009black,
    author = "Harris, Roxy",
    title = "BLACK BRITISH, BROWN BRITISH AND BRITISH CULTURAL STUDIES",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Cultural Studies",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380902950971",
    doi = "10.1080/09502380902950971",
    number = "4",
    pages = "483-512",
    volume = "23"
}

The first partial skeleton of a stegosaurian dinosaur was discovered in a brick pit in Swindon, UK in 1874. Since then, numerous stegosaurian remains have been discovered from Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, and continue to be discovered regularly. Stegosaurs are known from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous; no definitive evidence of the clade is known from younger deposits. New discoveries are improving our understanding of stegosaur biology and showing that stegosaurs were more morphologically diverse than was previously realized. A new phylogeny, which includes all valid stegosaurian taxa, largely agrees with previous studies and shows the European Dacentrurinae was sister taxon to Stegosaurus. Poor resolution at the base of Stegosauria is probably due to the fragmentary nature of many of the Chinese taxa.

@article{doi101007s0001501000233,
    author = "Maidment, Susannah C. R.",
    title = "Stegosauria: a historical review of the body fossil record and phylogenetic relationships",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Swiss Journal of Geosciences",
    abstract = "The first partial skeleton of a stegosaurian dinosaur was discovered in a brick pit in Swindon, UK in 1874. Since then, numerous stegosaurian remains have been discovered from Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, and continue to be discovered regularly. Stegosaurs are known from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous; no definitive evidence of the clade is known from younger deposits. New discoveries are improving our understanding of stegosaur biology and showing that stegosaurs were more morphologically diverse than was previously realized. A new phylogeny, which includes all valid stegosaurian taxa, largely agrees with previous studies and shows the European Dacentrurinae was sister taxon to Stegosaurus. Poor resolution at the base of Stegosauria is probably due to the fragmentary nature of many of the Chinese taxa.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00015-010-0023-3",
    doi = "10.1007/s00015-010-0023-3",
    openalex = "W2042359143",
    references = "doi101016s0016699583800205, doi101126science16402435"
}

@book{doi105962bhltitle14790,
    author = "Dixon, Frederick",
    title = "The geology and fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous formations of Sussex",
    year = "2011",
    booktitle = "Biodiversity Heritage Library (Smithsonian Institution)",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.14790",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.14790",
    openalex = "W2146739757"
}

@book{doi105962bhltitle7529,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "A history of British fossil reptiles",
    year = "2011",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.7529",
    doi = "10.5962/bhl.title.7529",
    openalex = "W1602457663"
}

@article{doi101016jpalaeo201210028,
    author = "Benson, Roger and Mannion, Philip D. and Butler, Richard J. and Upchurch, Paul and Goswami, Anjali and Evans, Susan E.",
    title = "Cretaceous tetrapod fossil record sampling and faunal turnover: Implications for biogeography and the rise of modern clades",
    year = "2012",
    journal = "Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.10.028",
    doi = "10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.10.028",
    openalex = "W1999335363",
    references = "doi101007s1143001040949, doi101016jcretres200908002, doi101016jjafrearsci201205005, doi101038nature10906, doi101073pnas1011369108, doi101098rspb20120660, doi101111j10963642201000642x, doi101371journalpone0029234, doi101371journalpone0044318, doi1016710272463420020220286lftlca20co2, doi105962bhltitle118972"
}

@incollection{crossref2013british,
    title = "'British schools for British citizens'?",
    year = "2013",
    booktitle = "Tracing Education Policy",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203770351-23",
    doi = "10.4324/9780203770351-23",
    pages = "274-289"
}

The biogeographical history of pterosaurs has received very little treatment. Here, we present the first quantitative analysis of pterosaurian biogeography based on an event-based parsimony method (Treefitter). This approach was applied to a phylogenetic tree comprising the relationships of 108 in-group pterosaurian taxa, spanning the full range of this clade's stratigraphical and geographical extent. The results indicate that there is no support for the impact of vicariance or coherent dispersal on pterosaurian distributions. However, this group does display greatly elevated levels of sympatry. Although sampling biases and taxonomic problems might have artificially elevated the occurrence of sympatry, we argue that our results probably reflect a genuine biogeographical signal. We propose a novel model to explain pterosaurian distributions: pterosaurs underwent a series of 'sweep-stakes' dispersal events (across oceanic barriers in most cases), resulting in the founding of sympatric clusters of taxa. Examination of the spatiotemporal distributions of pterosaurian occurrences indicates that their fossil record is extremely patchy. Thus, while there is likely to be genuine information on pterosaurian diversity and biogeographical patterns in the current data-set, caution is required in its interpretation.

@article{doi101080089129632014939077,
    author = "Upchurch, Paul and Andres, Brian and Butler, Richard J. and Barrett, Paul M.",
    title = "An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "Historical Biology",
    abstract = "The biogeographical history of pterosaurs has received very little treatment. Here, we present the first quantitative analysis of pterosaurian biogeography based on an event-based parsimony method (Treefitter). This approach was applied to a phylogenetic tree comprising the relationships of 108 in-group pterosaurian taxa, spanning the full range of this clade's stratigraphical and geographical extent. The results indicate that there is no support for the impact of vicariance or coherent dispersal on pterosaurian distributions. However, this group does display greatly elevated levels of sympatry. Although sampling biases and taxonomic problems might have artificially elevated the occurrence of sympatry, we argue that our results probably reflect a genuine biogeographical signal. We propose a novel model to explain pterosaurian distributions: pterosaurs underwent a series of 'sweep-stakes' dispersal events (across oceanic barriers in most cases), resulting in the founding of sympatric clusters of taxa. Examination of the spatiotemporal distributions of pterosaurian occurrences indicates that their fossil record is extremely patchy. Thus, while there is likely to be genuine information on pterosaurian diversity and biogeographical patterns in the current data-set, caution is required in its interpretation.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2014.939077",
    doi = "10.1080/08912963.2014.939077",
    openalex = "W2040717419",
    references = "doi101016jcretres201302007"
}

Sauria is the crown-group of Diapsida and is subdivided into Lepidosauromorpha and Archosauromorpha, comprising a high percentage of the diversity of living and fossil tetrapods. The split between lepidosauromorphs and archosauromorphs (the crocodile-lizard, or bird-lizard, divergence) is considered one of the key calibration points for molecular analyses of tetrapod phylogeny. Saurians have a very rich Mesozoic and Cenozoic fossil record, but their late Paleozoic (Permian) record is problematic. Several Permian specimens have been referred to Sauria, but the phylogenetic affinity of some of these records remains questionable. We reexamine and review all of these specimens here, providing new data on early saurian evolution including osteohistology, and present a new morphological phylogenetic dataset. We support previous studies that find that no valid Permian record for Lepidosauromorpha, and we also reject some of the previous referrals of Permian specimens to Archosauromorpha. The most informative Permian archosauromorph is Protorosaurus speneri from the middle Late Permian of Western Europe. A historically problematic specimen from the Late Permian of Tanzania is redescribed and reidentified as a new genus and species of basal archosauromorph: Aenigmastropheus parringtoni. The supposed protorosaur Eorasaurus olsoni from the Late Permian of Russia is recovered among Archosauriformes and may be the oldest known member of the group but the phylogenetic support for this position is low. The assignment of Archosaurus rossicus from the latest Permian of Russia to the archosauromorph clade Proterosuchidae is supported. Our revision suggests a minimum fossil calibration date for the crocodile-lizard split of 254.7 Ma. The occurrences of basal archosauromorphs in the northern (30°N) and southern (55°S) parts of Pangea imply a wider paleobiogeographic distribution for the group during the Late Permian than previously appreciated. Early archosauromorph growth strategies appear to be more diverse than previously suggested based on new data on the osteohistology of Aenigmastropheus.

@article{doi101371journalpone0089165,
    author = "Ezcurra, Martín D. and Scheyer, Torsten M. and Butler, Richard J.",
    title = "The Origin and Early Evolution of Sauria: Reassessing the Permian Saurian Fossil Record and the Timing of the Crocodile-Lizard Divergence",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "PLoS ONE",
    abstract = "Sauria is the crown-group of Diapsida and is subdivided into Lepidosauromorpha and Archosauromorpha, comprising a high percentage of the diversity of living and fossil tetrapods. The split between lepidosauromorphs and archosauromorphs (the crocodile-lizard, or bird-lizard, divergence) is considered one of the key calibration points for molecular analyses of tetrapod phylogeny. Saurians have a very rich Mesozoic and Cenozoic fossil record, but their late Paleozoic (Permian) record is problematic. Several Permian specimens have been referred to Sauria, but the phylogenetic affinity of some of these records remains questionable. We reexamine and review all of these specimens here, providing new data on early saurian evolution including osteohistology, and present a new morphological phylogenetic dataset. We support previous studies that find that no valid Permian record for Lepidosauromorpha, and we also reject some of the previous referrals of Permian specimens to Archosauromorpha. The most informative Permian archosauromorph is Protorosaurus speneri from the middle Late Permian of Western Europe. A historically problematic specimen from the Late Permian of Tanzania is redescribed and reidentified as a new genus and species of basal archosauromorph: Aenigmastropheus parringtoni. The supposed protorosaur Eorasaurus olsoni from the Late Permian of Russia is recovered among Archosauriformes and may be the oldest known member of the group but the phylogenetic support for this position is low. The assignment of Archosaurus rossicus from the latest Permian of Russia to the archosauromorph clade Proterosuchidae is supported. Our revision suggests a minimum fossil calibration date for the crocodile-lizard split of 254.7 Ma. The occurrences of basal archosauromorphs in the northern (30°N) and southern (55°S) parts of Pangea imply a wider paleobiogeographic distribution for the group during the Late Permian than previously appreciated. Early archosauromorph growth strategies appear to be more diverse than previously suggested based on new data on the osteohistology of Aenigmastropheus.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089165",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0089165",
    openalex = "W2018954165",
    references = "doi101002jmor10470, doi101016jannpal200803002, doi101016s0753396903000053, doi101098rstb19570003, doi101098rstb19830079, doi101144sp33415, doi1011861471214813208, doi101371journalpone0017114, doi10167102724634200727350asoitp20co2, doi1031610680390210, openalexw2261909166"
}

@incollection{barber2015black,
    author = "Barber, Tamsin",
    title = "Black British, White British, ‘Oriental British’?",
    year = "2015",
    booktitle = "Oriental Identities in Super-Diverse Britain",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137275196\_5",
    doi = "10.1057/9781137275196\_5",
    pages = "130-165"
}

@article{doi101016jcretres201506013,
    author = "Canudo, José Ignacio and Oms, Oriol and Vila, Bernat and Galobart, Àngel and Fondevilla, Víctor and Puértolas‐Pascual, Eduardo and Sellés, Albert G. and Cruzado‐Caballero, Penélope and Dinarès‐Turell, Jaume and Vicens, Enric and Castanera, Diego and Burrel, Laura and Estrada, Rita and Marmi, Josep and Blanco, Alejandro",
    title = "The upper Maastrichtian dinosaur fossil record from the southern Pyrenees and its contribution to the topic of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction event",
    year = "2015",
    journal = "Cretaceous Research",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2015.06.013",
    doi = "10.1016/j.cretres.2015.06.013",
    openalex = "W835809690",
    references = "doi101371journalpone0115837"
}

@article{doi101016jcretres201506016,
    author = "Marmi, Josep and Blanco, Alejandro and Fondevilla, Víctor and Vecchia, Fabio M. Dalla and Sellés, Albert G. and Vicente, Alba and Martín‐Closas, Carles and Oms, Oriol and Galobart, Àngel",
    title = "The Molí del Baró-1 site, a diverse fossil assemblage from the uppermost Maastrichtian of the southern Pyrenees (north-eastern Iberia)",
    year = "2015",
    journal = "Cretaceous Research",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2015.06.016",
    doi = "10.1016/j.cretres.2015.06.016",
    openalex = "W1014154399",
    references = "doi101371journalpone0115837"
}

Sir Richard Owen (1804–92) coined the term 'Dinosauria' in 1842 for the remains of three animals named from the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rocks of southern England: Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus. In his monograph on the Wealden and Purbeck Reptilia (published in five parts with nine supplements in 1853–79) he confirms the distinctiveness of this newly recognised group, building on earlier work by Gideon Mantell and others. Owen also reviewed the other reptiles then known from these Early Cretaceous faunas, including turtles, crocodiles and lizards. This work initiated major interest in the earliest Cretaceous Purbeck Limestone Group fauna, which remains one of the most diverse small reptile faunas known from the Mesozoic, as well as consolidating the international importance of the Wealden Group in dinosaur studies. The monograph remains a benchmark for many of the species described, particularly the crocodiles and turtles.

@misc{owen2015monograph,
    author = "Owen, Richard",
    title = "Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations",
    year = "2015",
    abstract = "Sir Richard Owen (1804–92) coined the term 'Dinosauria' in 1842 for the remains of three animals named from the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rocks of southern England: Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus. In his monograph on the Wealden and Purbeck Reptilia (published in five parts with nine supplements in 1853–79) he confirms the distinctiveness of this newly recognised group, building on earlier work by Gideon Mantell and others. Owen also reviewed the other reptiles then known from these Early Cretaceous faunas, including turtles, crocodiles and lizards. This work initiated major interest in the earliest Cretaceous Purbeck Limestone Group fauna, which remains one of the most diverse small reptile faunas known from the Mesozoic, as well as consolidating the international importance of the Wealden Group in dinosaur studies. The monograph remains a benchmark for many of the species described, particularly the crocodiles and turtles.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781316146286",
    doi = "10.1017/cbo9781316146286",
    openalex = "W2529555041"
}

The fossil record is a rich source of information about biological diversity in the past. However, the fossil record is not only incomplete but has also inherent biases due to geological, physical, chemical and biological factors. Our knowledge of past life is also biased because of differences in academic and amateur interests and sampling efforts. As a result, not all individuals or species that lived in the past are equally likely to be discovered at any point in time or space. To reconstruct temporal dynamics of diversity using the fossil record, biased sampling must be explicitly taken into account. Here, we introduce an approach that uses the variation in the number of times each species is observed in the fossil record to estimate both sampling bias and true richness. We term our technique TRiPS (True Richness estimated using a Poisson Sampling model) and explore its robustness to violation of its assumptions via simulations. We then venture to estimate sampling bias and absolute species richness of dinosaurs in the geological stages of the Mesozoic. Using TRiPS, we estimate that 1936 (1543-2468) species of dinosaurs roamed the Earth during the Mesozoic. We also present improved estimates of species richness trajectories of the three major dinosaur clades: the sauropodomorphs, ornithischians and theropods, casting doubt on the Jurassic-Cretaceous extinction event and demonstrating that all dinosaur groups are subject to considerable sampling bias throughout the Mesozoic.

@article{doi101098rstb20150219,
    author = "Starrfelt, Jostein and Liow, Lee Hsiang",
    title = "How many dinosaur species were there? Fossil bias and true richness estimated using a Poisson sampling model",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences",
    abstract = "The fossil record is a rich source of information about biological diversity in the past. However, the fossil record is not only incomplete but has also inherent biases due to geological, physical, chemical and biological factors. Our knowledge of past life is also biased because of differences in academic and amateur interests and sampling efforts. As a result, not all individuals or species that lived in the past are equally likely to be discovered at any point in time or space. To reconstruct temporal dynamics of diversity using the fossil record, biased sampling must be explicitly taken into account. Here, we introduce an approach that uses the variation in the number of times each species is observed in the fossil record to estimate both sampling bias and true richness. We term our technique TRiPS (True Richness estimated using a Poisson Sampling model) and explore its robustness to violation of its assumptions via simulations. We then venture to estimate sampling bias and absolute species richness of dinosaurs in the geological stages of the Mesozoic. Using TRiPS, we estimate that 1936 (1543-2468) species of dinosaurs roamed the Earth during the Mesozoic. We also present improved estimates of species richness trajectories of the three major dinosaur clades: the sauropodomorphs, ornithischians and theropods, casting doubt on the Jurassic-Cretaceous extinction event and demonstrating that all dinosaur groups are subject to considerable sampling bias throughout the Mesozoic.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0219",
    doi = "10.1098/rstb.2015.0219",
    openalex = "W2952205160",
    references = "doi101111brv12038"
}

Pterosaurs, a Mesozoic group of flying archosaurs, have become a focal point for debates pertaining to the impact of sampling biases on our reading of the fossil record, as well as the utility of sampling proxies in palaeodiversity reconstructions. The completeness of the pterosaur fossil specimens themselves potentially provides additional information that is not captured in existing sampling proxies, and might shed new light on the group's evolutionary history. Here we assess the quality of the pterosaur fossil record via a character completeness metric based on the number of phylogenetic characters that can be scored for all known skeletons of 172 valid species, with averaged completeness values calculated for each geological stage. The fossil record of pterosaurs is observed to be strongly influenced by the occurrence and distribution of Lagerstätten. Peaks in completeness correlate with Lagerstätten deposits, and a recovered correlation between completeness and observed diversity is rendered non-significant when Lagerstätten species are excluded. Intervals previously regarded as potential extinction events are shown to lack Lagerstätten and exhibit low completeness values: as such, the apparent low diversity in these intervals might be at least partly the result of poor fossil record quality. A positive correlation between temporal patterns in completeness of Cretaceous pterosaurs and birds further demonstrates the prominent role that Lagerstätten deposits have on the preservation of smaller bodied organisms, contrasting with a lack of correlation with the completeness of large-bodied sauropodomorphs. However, we unexpectedly find a strong correlation between sauropodomorph and pterosaur completeness within the Triassic-Jurassic, but not the Cretaceous, potentially relating to a shared shift in environmental preference and thus preservation style through time. This study highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between various taphonomic controls when correcting for sampling bias, and provides additional evidence for the prominent role of sampling on observed patterns in pterosaur macroevolution.

@article{doi101111pala12225,
    author = "Dean, Christopher D. and Mannion, Philip D. and Butler, Richard J.",
    title = "Preservational bias controls the fossil record of pterosaurs",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Palaeontology",
    abstract = "Pterosaurs, a Mesozoic group of flying archosaurs, have become a focal point for debates pertaining to the impact of sampling biases on our reading of the fossil record, as well as the utility of sampling proxies in palaeodiversity reconstructions. The completeness of the pterosaur fossil specimens themselves potentially provides additional information that is not captured in existing sampling proxies, and might shed new light on the group's evolutionary history. Here we assess the quality of the pterosaur fossil record via a character completeness metric based on the number of phylogenetic characters that can be scored for all known skeletons of 172 valid species, with averaged completeness values calculated for each geological stage. The fossil record of pterosaurs is observed to be strongly influenced by the occurrence and distribution of Lagerstätten. Peaks in completeness correlate with Lagerstätten deposits, and a recovered correlation between completeness and observed diversity is rendered non-significant when Lagerstätten species are excluded. Intervals previously regarded as potential extinction events are shown to lack Lagerstätten and exhibit low completeness values: as such, the apparent low diversity in these intervals might be at least partly the result of poor fossil record quality. A positive correlation between temporal patterns in completeness of Cretaceous pterosaurs and birds further demonstrates the prominent role that Lagerstätten deposits have on the preservation of smaller bodied organisms, contrasting with a lack of correlation with the completeness of large-bodied sauropodomorphs. However, we unexpectedly find a strong correlation between sauropodomorph and pterosaur completeness within the Triassic-Jurassic, but not the Cretaceous, potentially relating to a shared shift in environmental preference and thus preservation style through time. This study highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between various taphonomic controls when correcting for sampling bias, and provides additional evidence for the prominent role of sampling on observed patterns in pterosaur macroevolution.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12225",
    doi = "10.1111/pala.12225",
    openalex = "W2236071552",
    references = "doi101002mmng20010040112"
}

Estimating divergence times on phylogenies is critical in paleontological and neontological studies. Chronostratigraphically-constrained fossils are the only direct evidence of absolute timing of species divergence. Strict temporal calibration of fossil-only phylogenies provides minimum divergence estimates, and various methods have been proposed to estimate divergences beyond these minimum values. We explore the utility of simultaneous estimation of tree topology and divergence times using BEAST tip-dating on datasets consisting only of fossils by using relaxed morphological clocks and birth-death tree priors that include serial sampling (BDSS) at a constant rate through time. We compare BEAST results to those from the traditional maximum parsimony (MP) and undated Bayesian inference (BI) methods. Three overlapping datasets were used that span 250 million years of archosauromorph evolution leading to crocodylians. The first dataset focuses on early Sauria (31 taxa, 240 chars.), the second on early Archosauria (76 taxa, 400 chars.) and the third on Crocodyliformes (101 taxa, 340 chars.). For each dataset three time-calibrated trees (timetrees) were calculated: a minimum-age timetree with node ages based on earliest occurrences in the fossil record; a 'smoothed' timetree using a range of time added to the root that is then averaged over zero-length internodes; and a tip-dated timetree. Comparisons within datasets show that the smoothed and tip-dated timetrees provide similar estimates. Only near the root node do BEAST estimates fall outside the smoothed timetree range. The BEAST model is not able to overcome limited sampling to correctly estimate divergences considerably older than sampled fossil occurrence dates. Conversely, the smoothed timetrees consistently provide node-ages far older than the strict dates or BEAST estimates for morphologically conservative sister-taxa when they sit on long ghost lineages. In this latter case, the relaxed-clock model appears to be correctly moderating the node-age estimate based on the limited morphological divergence. Topologies are generally similar across analyses, but BEAST trees for crocodyliforms differ when clades are deeply nested but contain very old taxa. It appears that the constant-rate sampling assumption of the BDSS tree prior influences topology inference by disfavoring long, unsampled branches.

@article{doi101371journalpone0169885,
    author = "Turner, Alan H. and Pritchard, Adam C. and Matzke, Nicholas J.",
    title = "Empirical and Bayesian approaches to fossil-only divergence times: A study across three reptile clades",
    year = "2017",
    journal = "PLoS ONE",
    abstract = "Estimating divergence times on phylogenies is critical in paleontological and neontological studies. Chronostratigraphically-constrained fossils are the only direct evidence of absolute timing of species divergence. Strict temporal calibration of fossil-only phylogenies provides minimum divergence estimates, and various methods have been proposed to estimate divergences beyond these minimum values. We explore the utility of simultaneous estimation of tree topology and divergence times using BEAST tip-dating on datasets consisting only of fossils by using relaxed morphological clocks and birth-death tree priors that include serial sampling (BDSS) at a constant rate through time. We compare BEAST results to those from the traditional maximum parsimony (MP) and undated Bayesian inference (BI) methods. Three overlapping datasets were used that span 250 million years of archosauromorph evolution leading to crocodylians. The first dataset focuses on early Sauria (31 taxa, 240 chars.), the second on early Archosauria (76 taxa, 400 chars.) and the third on Crocodyliformes (101 taxa, 340 chars.). For each dataset three time-calibrated trees (timetrees) were calculated: a minimum-age timetree with node ages based on earliest occurrences in the fossil record; a 'smoothed' timetree using a range of time added to the root that is then averaged over zero-length internodes; and a tip-dated timetree. Comparisons within datasets show that the smoothed and tip-dated timetrees provide similar estimates. Only near the root node do BEAST estimates fall outside the smoothed timetree range. The BEAST model is not able to overcome limited sampling to correctly estimate divergences considerably older than sampled fossil occurrence dates. Conversely, the smoothed timetrees consistently provide node-ages far older than the strict dates or BEAST estimates for morphologically conservative sister-taxa when they sit on long ghost lineages. In this latter case, the relaxed-clock model appears to be correctly moderating the node-age estimate based on the limited morphological divergence. Topologies are generally similar across analyses, but BEAST trees for crocodyliforms differ when clades are deeply nested but contain very old taxa. It appears that the constant-rate sampling assumption of the BDSS tree prior influences topology inference by disfavoring long, unsampled branches.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169885",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0169885",
    openalex = "W2587225768",
    references = "doi10166612089"
}

@article{doi1010800891296320252594006,
    author = "Lerzo, Lucas Nicolás",
    title = "The lost fossil of the first discovered rebbachisaurid: reassessment of Nopcsaspondylus alarconensis (Diplodocoidea, Sauropoda)",
    year = "2026",
    journal = "Historical Biology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2594006",
    doi = "10.1080/08912963.2025.2594006",
    openalex = "W7123552983",
    references = "doi10268791518"
}