Deinocheirids

@misc{osmolska1969deinocheiridae1,
    author = "Osmolska, H. and Roniewicz, E",
    title = "Deinocheiridae, a new family of theropod dinosaurs",
    year = "1969",
    howpublished = "Palaeont. Polonica, v. 21, p. 6-19",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Osmolska, H., and Roniewicz, E., 1969, Deinocheiridae, a new family of theropod dinosaurs: Palaeont. Polonica, v. 21, p. 6-19.}"
}

@article{buffetaut1986prismatic,
    author = "Buffetaut, E. and Dauphin, Y. and Jaeger, J. J. and Martin, M. and Mazin, J. M. and Tong, H.",
    title = "Prismatic dental enamel in theropod dinosaurs",
    year = "1986",
    journal = "Naturwissenschaften",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00451481",
    doi = "10.1007/bf00451481",
    number = "6",
    openalex = "W2162714953",
    pages = "326-327",
    volume = "73",
    references = "doi101007bf00338540, doi101111j109636421984tb00543x, doi101111j146979981973tb04654x, doi10117700220345840630051101"
}

@misc{reid1987claws2,
    author = "Reid, R. E. H",
    title = "Claws' claws",
    year = "1987",
    howpublished = "Nature, v. 325, p. 487",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Reid, R. E. H., 1987, Claws' claws: Nature, v. 325, p. 487.}"
}

Tyrannosaurus rex is unquestionably the most famous dinosaur, probably because of its awesome size and appearance, and its apparent strength, agility and prowess. In spite of its fame, the anatomy and relationships of Tyrannosaurus and its kin remain poorly understood. By Late Cretaceous times (about 65 to 100 million years ago), carnivorous dinosaurs (theropods) had reached their peak of diversity in the Northern Hemisphere, and there were many specialized species of all sizes.

@article{currie1989theropod,
    author = "Currie, Philip J.",
    title = "Theropod Dinosaurs of the Cretaceous",
    year = "1989",
    journal = "Short Courses in Paleontology",
    abstract = "Tyrannosaurus rex is unquestionably the most famous dinosaur, probably because of its awesome size and appearance, and its apparent strength, agility and prowess. In spite of its fame, the anatomy and relationships of Tyrannosaurus and its kin remain poorly understood. By Late Cretaceous times (about 65 to 100 million years ago), carnivorous dinosaurs (theropods) had reached their peak of diversity in the Northern Hemisphere, and there were many specialized species of all sizes.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/s2475263000000908",
    doi = "10.1017/s2475263000000908",
    openalex = "W4244494002",
    pages = "113-120",
    volume = "2"
}

@article{doi101017cbo9780511608377011,
    author = "Currie, P. and Rigby, J. and Sloan, R. E.",
    title = "Dinosaur Systematics: Theropod teeth from the Judith River Formation of southern Alberta, Canada",
    year = "1990",
    booktitle = "Dinosaur Systematics",
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/fedead3cc1ae0ec35f3954946391d9906ed25ae7",
    doi = "10.1017/CBO9780511608377.011",
    is_oa = "true",
    pages = "107-126",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "246",
    semanticscholar_id = "fedead3cc1ae0ec35f3954946391d9906ed25ae7"
}

An embryonic skeleton of a nonavian theropod dinosaur was found preserved in an egg from Upper Cretaceous rocks in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Cranial features identify the embryo as a member of Oviraptoridae. Two embryo-sized skulls of dromaeosaurids, similar to that of Velociraptor, were also recovered in the nest. The eggshell microstructure is similar to that of ratite birds and is of a type common in the Djadokhta Formation at the Flaming Cliffs (Bayn Dzak). Discovery of a nest of such eggs at the Flaming Cliffs in 1923, beneath the Oviraptor philoceratops holotype, suggests that this dinosaur may have been a brooding adult.

@article{doi101126science2665186779,
    author = "Norell, Mark A. and Clark, James M. and Demberelyin, Dashzeveg and Rhinchen, Barsbold and Chiappe, Luis M. and Davidson, Amy R. and McKenna, Malcolm C. and Altangerel, Perle and Novacek, Michael J.",
    title = "A Theropod Dinosaur Embryo and the Affinities of the Flaming Cliffs Dinosaur Eggs",
    year = "1994",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "An embryonic skeleton of a nonavian theropod dinosaur was found preserved in an egg from Upper Cretaceous rocks in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Cranial features identify the embryo as a member of Oviraptoridae. Two embryo-sized skulls of dromaeosaurids, similar to that of Velociraptor, were also recovered in the nest. The eggshell microstructure is similar to that of ratite birds and is of a type common in the Djadokhta Formation at the Flaming Cliffs (Bayn Dzak). Discovery of a nest of such eggs at the Flaming Cliffs in 1923, beneath the Oviraptor philoceratops holotype, suggests that this dinosaur may have been a brooding adult.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.266.5186.779",
    doi = "10.1126/science.266.5186.779",
    openalex = "W2086035298",
    references = "doi101002jmor1051000302, doi1010160195667191900155, doi10108002724634198710011638, doi10108002724634199510011250, doi101111j174966321940tb57047x, doi101139e93196, doi1023073514816, doi105281zenodo16171435, openalexw2131558500, openalexw633579066, sues1977dentaries"
}

Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a low sail over the hips. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enlarged thumb claw and robust forelimb evolved during the Jurassic, before the elongated snout and other fish-eating adaptations in the skull. The close phylogenetic relationship between the new African spinosaurid and Baryonyx from Europe provides evidence of dispersal across the Tethys seaway during the Early Cretaceous.

@article{doi101126science28253921298,
    author = "Sereno, Paul C. and Beck, Allison L. and Dutheil, Didier B. and Gado, Boubacar and Larsson, Hans C. E. and Lyon, Gabrielle H. and Marcot, Jonathan D. and Rauhut, Oliver W. M. and Sadleir, Rudyard W. and Sidor, Christian A. and Varricchio, David D. and Wilson, Gregory P. and Wilson, Jeffrey A.",
    title = "A Long-Snouted Predatory Dinosaur from Africa and the Evolution of Spinosaurids",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a low sail over the hips. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enlarged thumb claw and robust forelimb evolved during the Jurassic, before the elongated snout and other fish-eating adaptations in the skull. The close phylogenetic relationship between the new African spinosaurid and Baryonyx from Europe provides evidence of dispersal across the Tethys seaway during the Early Cretaceous.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5392.1298",
    doi = "10.1126/science.282.5392.1298",
    openalex = "W2161814413",
    references = "doi101016s0195667105800199, doi101038324359a0, doi101093sysbio461195, doi101111j136531211989tb00328x, doi101126science2725264986, doi101127njgpa1991996151, doi101144gsjgs15310005, doi102113gssgfbulliv2335, doi105860choice331556, openalexw2989049194"
}

@article{unwin1998feathers,
    author = "Unwin, D. M.",
    title = "Feathers, filaments and theropod dinosaurs",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/34279",
    doi = "10.1038/34279",
    number = "6663",
    openalex = "W1533761559",
    pages = "119-120",
    volume = "391",
    references = "doi10103834356, doi101038379032a0, doi10103838918, doi10108002724634199610011281, doi101144gsjgs15440587, openalexw424753225"
}

@article{naish1999fossils,
    author = "Naish, Darren",
    title = "Fossils explained 27: Theropod dinosaurs",
    year = "1999",
    journal = "Geology Today",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2451.1999.00008.x",
    doi = "10.1046/j.1365-2451.1999.00008.x",
    number = "6",
    openalex = "W2045370023",
    pages = "234-239",
    volume = "15",
    references = "doi101017s0022336000026706, doi10103831635, doi101038378774a0, doi10108002724634199710010977, doi101126science2725264971, doi101126science28053661048, doi101139e93179, doi1015468p4gnhz, doi105281zenodo1038220"
}

@article{larsson2000forebrain,
    author = "Larsson, Hans C. E. and Sereno, Paul C. and Wilson, Jeffrey A.",
    title = "Forebrain enlargement among nonavian theropod dinosaurs",
    year = "2000",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0615:feantd]2.0.co;2",
    doi = "10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0615:feantd]2.0.co;2",
    number = "3",
    openalex = "W2176027078",
    pages = "615-618",
    volume = "20",
    references = "doi101016b9780123852502500183, doi101038063003a0, doi10103831635, doi101111j146979981985tb04915x, doi101126science2725264986, doi101127njgpa210199841, doi1023072407154, openalexw1606260882, openalexw1964182146, sereno1997the"
}

@article{christiansen2004mass,
    author = "Christiansen, P. and Fariña †, R.A.",
    title = "Mass Prediction in Theropod Dinosaurs",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Historical Biology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/08912960412331284313",
    doi = "10.1080/08912960412331284313",
    number = "2-4",
    openalex = "W2034352770",
    pages = "85-92",
    volume = "16",
    references = "doi101017cbo9781139167826, doi101017cbo9781139878302, doi101086277182, doi101111j146979981985tb04915x, doi101139e93179, doi103998mpub9690664, doi105860choice290302, openalexw1558456135, openalexw1577806554"
}

@article{stevens2006binocular,
    author = "Stevens, Kent A.",
    title = "Binocular vision in theropod dinosaurs",
    year = "2006",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[321:bvitd]2.0.co;2",
    doi = "10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[321:bvitd]2.0.co;2",
    number = "2",
    openalex = "W2134261983",
    pages = "321-330",
    volume = "26",
    references = "crossref1943the, crossref1976allosaurus, doi1010079781461501619, doi10100797836426690714, doi101016s0002939414766085, doi1010370033295x875411, doi101113jphysiol1965sp007784, doi1023071421958, doi105962bhltitle7369, merriman1943the"
}

Interpreting key ecological parameters, such as diet, of extinct organisms without the benefit of direct observation or explicit fossil evidence poses a formidable challenge for paleobiological studies. To date, dietary categorizations of extinct taxa are largely generated by means of modern analogs; however, for many species the method is subject to considerable ambiguity. Here we present a refined approach for assessing trophic habits in fossil taxa and apply the method to coelurosaurian dinosaurs--a clade for which diet is particularly controversial. Our findings detect 21 morphological features that exhibit statistically significant correlations with extrinsic fossil evidence of coelurosaurian herbivory, such as stomach contents and a gastric mill. These traits represent quantitative, extrinsically founded proxies for identifying herbivorous ecomorphology in fossils and are robust despite uncertainty in phylogenetic relationships among major coelurosaurian subclades. The distribution of these features suggests that herbivory was widespread among coelurosaurians, with six major subclades displaying morphological evidence of the diet, and that contrary to previous thought, hypercarnivory was relatively rare and potentially secondarily derived. Given the potential for repeated, independent evolution of herbivory in Coelurosauria, we also test for repetitive patterns in the appearance of herbivorous traits within sublineages using rank concordance analysis. We find evidence for a common succession of increasing specialization to herbivory in the subclades Ornithomimosauria and Oviraptorosauria, perhaps underlain by intrinsic functional and/or developmental constraints, as well as evidence indicating that the early evolution of a beak in coelurosaurians correlates with an herbivorous diet.

@article{doi101073pnas1011924108,
    author = "Zanno, Lindsay E. and Makovicky, Peter J.",
    title = "Herbivorous ecomorphology and specialization patterns in theropod dinosaur evolution",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = "Interpreting key ecological parameters, such as diet, of extinct organisms without the benefit of direct observation or explicit fossil evidence poses a formidable challenge for paleobiological studies. To date, dietary categorizations of extinct taxa are largely generated by means of modern analogs; however, for many species the method is subject to considerable ambiguity. Here we present a refined approach for assessing trophic habits in fossil taxa and apply the method to coelurosaurian dinosaurs--a clade for which diet is particularly controversial. Our findings detect 21 morphological features that exhibit statistically significant correlations with extrinsic fossil evidence of coelurosaurian herbivory, such as stomach contents and a gastric mill. These traits represent quantitative, extrinsically founded proxies for identifying herbivorous ecomorphology in fossils and are robust despite uncertainty in phylogenetic relationships among major coelurosaurian subclades. The distribution of these features suggests that herbivory was widespread among coelurosaurians, with six major subclades displaying morphological evidence of the diet, and that contrary to previous thought, hypercarnivory was relatively rare and potentially secondarily derived. Given the potential for repeated, independent evolution of herbivory in Coelurosauria, we also test for repetitive patterns in the appearance of herbivorous traits within sublineages using rank concordance analysis. We find evidence for a common succession of increasing specialization to herbivory in the subclades Ornithomimosauria and Oviraptorosauria, perhaps underlain by intrinsic functional and/or developmental constraints, as well as evidence indicating that the early evolution of a beak in coelurosaurians correlates with an herbivorous diet.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1011924108",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.1011924108",
    openalex = "W2133829099",
    references = "doi10103831635, doi101038nature00930, doi101038nature08322, doi10108008912960600719988, doi101098rspb19940006, doi101111j1469185x201000137x, doi101126science1161833, doi101126science13334591105, doi101139e03011, doi101139e72031, doi101159000156416, doi1023072285423, doi105281zenodo1040385, doi105860choice326223, doi105860choice392183, openalexw2097385721, openalexw2611511275"
}

Little is known about the olfactory capabilities of extinct basal (non-neornithine) birds or the evolutionary changes in olfaction that occurred from non-avian theropods through modern birds. Although modern birds are known to have diverse olfactory capabilities, olfaction is generally considered to have declined during avian evolution as visual and vestibular sensory enhancements occurred in association with flight. To test the hypothesis that olfaction diminished through avian evolution, we assessed relative olfactory bulb size, here used as a neuroanatomical proxy for olfactory capabilities, in 157 species of non-avian theropods, fossil birds and living birds. We show that relative olfactory bulb size increased during non-avian maniraptoriform evolution, remained stable across the non-avian theropod/bird transition, and increased during basal bird and early neornithine evolution. From early neornithines through a major part of neornithine evolution, the relative size of the olfactory bulbs remained stable before decreasing in derived neoavian clades. Our results show that, rather than decreasing, the importance of olfaction actually increased during early bird evolution, representing a previously unrecognized sensory enhancement. The relatively larger olfactory bulbs of earliest neornithines, compared with those of basal birds, may have endowed neornithines with improved olfaction for more effective foraging or navigation skills, which in turn may have been a factor allowing them to survive the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

@article{doi101098rspb20110238,
    author = "Zelenitsky, Darla K. and Therrien, François and Ridgely, Ryan C. and McGee, Amanda and Witmer, Lawrence M.",
    title = "Evolution of olfaction in non-avian theropod dinosaurs and birds",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences",
    abstract = "Little is known about the olfactory capabilities of extinct basal (non-neornithine) birds or the evolutionary changes in olfaction that occurred from non-avian theropods through modern birds. Although modern birds are known to have diverse olfactory capabilities, olfaction is generally considered to have declined during avian evolution as visual and vestibular sensory enhancements occurred in association with flight. To test the hypothesis that olfaction diminished through avian evolution, we assessed relative olfactory bulb size, here used as a neuroanatomical proxy for olfactory capabilities, in 157 species of non-avian theropods, fossil birds and living birds. We show that relative olfactory bulb size increased during non-avian maniraptoriform evolution, remained stable across the non-avian theropod/bird transition, and increased during basal bird and early neornithine evolution. From early neornithines through a major part of neornithine evolution, the relative size of the olfactory bulbs remained stable before decreasing in derived neoavian clades. Our results show that, rather than decreasing, the importance of olfaction actually increased during early bird evolution, representing a previously unrecognized sensory enhancement. The relatively larger olfactory bulbs of earliest neornithines, compared with those of basal birds, may have endowed neornithines with improved olfaction for more effective foraging or navigation skills, which in turn may have been a factor allowing them to survive the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.0238",
    doi = "10.1098/rspb.2011.0238",
    openalex = "W2144479326",
    references = "doi101002ar20983, doi101016s0065345413600017, doi101038nature02706, doi101073pnas1006970107, doi101086284325, doi101093sysbio423265, doi101098rspb20090885, doi101111j155856461951tb02756x, doi101126science1157704, doi101126science2865440711, doi101136bjo592111c, doi1012019781420064452, doi1012060003009020042860001mptaso20co2, doi101242jeb002246, doi101371journalpone0007390, doi1023072407154, doi105860choice421568, larsson2000forebrain, openalexw2611511275, russell1969a"
}

(.aligncenter.size-full.wp-image-8226 loading="lazy" attachment-id="8226" permalink="http://svpow.com/2013/04/08/night-at-the-museum-lacms-camp-dino/sculpey-allosaur-claws/" orig-file="https://svpow.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sculpey-allosaur-claws.jpg" orig-size="2272,1704" comments-opened="1"

@misc{wedel2013diy,
    author = "Wedel, Matt",
    title = "DIY Dinosaurs, Part 2: sculpting dino claws",
    year = "2013",
    abstract = {(.aligncenter.size-full.wp-image-8226 loading="lazy" attachment-id="8226" permalink="http://svpow.com/2013/04/08/night-at-the-museum-lacms-camp-dino/sculpey-allosaur-claws/" orig-file="https://svpow.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sculpey-allosaur-claws.jpg" orig-size="2272,1704" comments-opened="1"},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.59350/s739m-bhn17",
    doi = "10.59350/s739m-bhn17",
    openalex = "W4387571664"
}

@incollection{crossref2014relationships,
    title = "Relationships of the theropod dinosaurs",
    year = "2014",
    booktitle = "Flying Dinosaurs",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.7312/pick17178-014",
    doi = "10.7312/pick17178-014",
    openalex = "W2522214723",
    pages = "176-176"
}

Theropod dinosaurs form a highly diversified clade, and their teeth are some of the most common components of the Mesozoic dinosaur fossil record. This is the case in the Lourinhã Formation (Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) of Portugal, where theropod teeth are particularly abundant and diverse. Four isolated theropod teeth are here described and identified based on morphometric and anatomical data. They are included in a cladistic analysis performed on a data matrix of 141 dentition-based characters coded in 60 taxa, as well as a supermatrix combining our dataset with six recent datamatrices based on the whole theropod skeleton. The consensus tree resulting from the dentition-based data matrix reveals that theropod teeth provide reliable data for identification at approximately family level. Therefore, phylogenetic methods will help identifying theropod teeth with more confidence in the future. Although dental characters do not reliably indicate relationships among higher clades of theropods, they demonstrate interesting patterns of homoplasy suggesting dietary convergence in (1) alvarezsauroids, therizinosaurs and troodontids; (2) coelophysoids and spinosaurids; (3) compsognathids and dromaeosaurids; and (4) ceratosaurids, allosauroids and megalosaurids. Based on morphometric and cladistic analyses, the biggest tooth from Lourinhã is referred to a mesial crown of the megalosaurid Torvosaurus tanneri, due to the elliptical cross section of the crown base, the large size and elongation of the crown, medially positioned mesial and distal carinae, and the coarse denticles. The smallest tooth is identified as Richardoestesia, and as a close relative of R. gilmorei based on the weak constriction between crown and root, the "eight-shaped" outline of the base crown and, on the distal carina, the average of ten symmetrically rounded denticles per mm, as well as a subequal number of denticles basally and at mid-crown. Finally, the two medium-sized teeth belong to the same taxon and exhibit pronounced interdenticular sulci between distal denticles, hooked distal denticles for one of them, an irregular enamel texture, and a straight distal margin, a combination of features only observed in abelisaurids. They provide the first record of Abelisauridae in the Jurassic of Laurasia and one of the oldest records of this clade in the world, suggesting a possible radiation of Abelisauridae in Europe well before the Upper Cretaceous.

@article{doi1011646zootaxa375911,
    author = "Hendrickx, Christophe and Mateus, Octávio",
    title = "Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Late Jurassic of Portugal and dentition-based phylogeny as a contribution for the identification of isolated theropod teeth",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "Zootaxa",
    abstract = {Theropod dinosaurs form a highly diversified clade, and their teeth are some of the most common components of the Mesozoic dinosaur fossil record. This is the case in the Lourinhã Formation (Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) of Portugal, where theropod teeth are particularly abundant and diverse. Four isolated theropod teeth are here described and identified based on morphometric and anatomical data. They are included in a cladistic analysis performed on a data matrix of 141 dentition-based characters coded in 60 taxa, as well as a supermatrix combining our dataset with six recent datamatrices based on the whole theropod skeleton. The consensus tree resulting from the dentition-based data matrix reveals that theropod teeth provide reliable data for identification at approximately family level. Therefore, phylogenetic methods will help identifying theropod teeth with more confidence in the future. Although dental characters do not reliably indicate relationships among higher clades of theropods, they demonstrate interesting patterns of homoplasy suggesting dietary convergence in (1) alvarezsauroids, therizinosaurs and troodontids; (2) coelophysoids and spinosaurids; (3) compsognathids and dromaeosaurids; and (4) ceratosaurids, allosauroids and megalosaurids. Based on morphometric and cladistic analyses, the biggest tooth from Lourinhã is referred to a mesial crown of the megalosaurid Torvosaurus tanneri, due to the elliptical cross section of the crown base, the large size and elongation of the crown, medially positioned mesial and distal carinae, and the coarse denticles. The smallest tooth is identified as Richardoestesia, and as a close relative of R. gilmorei based on the weak constriction between crown and root, the "eight-shaped" outline of the base crown and, on the distal carina, the average of ten symmetrically rounded denticles per mm, as well as a subequal number of denticles basally and at mid-crown. Finally, the two medium-sized teeth belong to the same taxon and exhibit pronounced interdenticular sulci between distal denticles, hooked distal denticles for one of them, an irregular enamel texture, and a straight distal margin, a combination of features only observed in abelisaurids. They provide the first record of Abelisauridae in the Jurassic of Laurasia and one of the oldest records of this clade in the world, suggesting a possible radiation of Abelisauridae in Europe well before the Upper Cretaceous.},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3759.1.1",
    doi = "10.11646/zootaxa.3759.1.1",
    openalex = "W2141232902",
    references = "benson2008a, carpenter2005the, crossref1976allosaurus, doi101002ara20206, doi101002jmor10372, doi101007bf02987808, doi101017s0016756804000330, doi101038324359a0, doi10103832884, doi10103835047056, doi101073pnas1011924108, doi101080027246342013820113, doi101098rspb20110410, doi101098rspb20120660, doi101098rspl18870117, doi101111j109600311994tb00179x, doi101111j10960031200800217x, doi101111j109636421978tb01049x, doi1011270077774920100125, doi101139e10005, doi10120600030082200635451andtfu20co2, doi1012063521, doi1012066481, doi101371journalpone0017932, doi101371journalpone0054329, doi1016660022336020010750208lcsdaf20co2, doi1016660022336020020760751stabtf20co2, doi101671027246342003231apfast20co2, doi1016710272463420050250865hitrif20co2, doi1016710272463420072787antdtf20co2, doi102475ajss319111253, doi1034191b109, doi104202app20120121, doi105281zenodo1048848, doi105281zenodo16171435, mateus2010a, openalexw1821824396, openalexw1879660213, openalexw2764433274, openalexw3215057009, openalexw834136096, rauhut2003a, sues1978a, zhao1998the"
}

Theropod dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic of Gondwana are still poorly known, with Elaphrosaurus bambergiJanensch, 1920, from the late Kimmeridgian of Tendaguru, Tanzania, being the only taxon represented by more than isolated remains from Africa. Having long been considered a coelurosaurian, more specifically an ornithomimosaur, Elaphrosaurus is currently regarded as a basal ceratosaur. Here, we revise the osteology and phylogenetic position of this important taxon. Elaphrosaurus shows many unusual osteological characters, including extremely elongated and constricted cervical vertebrae, an expansive shoulder girdle with strongly modified forelimbs, a relatively small ilium, and elongate hindlimbs with a very small ascending process of the astragalus that is fused to the tibia. We found this taxon to share many derived characters with noasaurids, such as: strongly elongate cervical and dorsal vertebrae; low, rectangular neural spines in the mid-caudal vertebrae; presence of only an anterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in anterior caudal vertebrae; presence of a wide, U–shaped notch between the glenoid and the anteroventral hook in the coracoid; a laterally flared postacetabular blade of the ilium; a flat anterior side of the distal tibia; and a reduced shaft of metatarsal II. Our analysis placed Elaphrosaurus within a dichotomous Noasauridae as part of a Jurassic subclade, here termed Elaphrosaurinae, that otherwise includes taxa from eastern Asia. These results underscore the long and complex evolutionary history of abelisauroids, which is still only beginning to be understood.

@article{doi101111zoj12425,
    author = "Rauhut, Oliver W. M. and Carrano, Matthew T.",
    title = "The theropod dinosaur Elaphrosaurus bambergi Janensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru, Tanzania",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society",
    abstract = "Theropod dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic of Gondwana are still poorly known, with Elaphrosaurus bambergiJanensch, 1920, from the late Kimmeridgian of Tendaguru, Tanzania, being the only taxon represented by more than isolated remains from Africa. Having long been considered a coelurosaurian, more specifically an ornithomimosaur, Elaphrosaurus is currently regarded as a basal ceratosaur. Here, we revise the osteology and phylogenetic position of this important taxon. Elaphrosaurus shows many unusual osteological characters, including extremely elongated and constricted cervical vertebrae, an expansive shoulder girdle with strongly modified forelimbs, a relatively small ilium, and elongate hindlimbs with a very small ascending process of the astragalus that is fused to the tibia. We found this taxon to share many derived characters with noasaurids, such as: strongly elongate cervical and dorsal vertebrae; low, rectangular neural spines in the mid-caudal vertebrae; presence of only an anterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in anterior caudal vertebrae; presence of a wide, U–shaped notch between the glenoid and the anteroventral hook in the coracoid; a laterally flared postacetabular blade of the ilium; a flat anterior side of the distal tibia; and a reduced shaft of metatarsal II. Our analysis placed Elaphrosaurus within a dichotomous Noasauridae as part of a Jurassic subclade, here termed Elaphrosaurinae, that otherwise includes taxa from eastern Asia. These results underscore the long and complex evolutionary history of abelisauroids, which is still only beginning to be understood.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12425",
    doi = "10.1111/zoj.12425",
    openalex = "W2340352440",
    references = "crossref1998encyclopedia, doi101002mmng200900004, doi101016jcretres201304001, doi101016jpgeola201205008, doi101017s0016756804000330, doi101017s0025315400028575, doi10108002724634199610011283, doi101098rspb20120660, doi101098rspl18870117, doi1011112041210x12226, doi101111j10960031200800217x, doi101126science28454232137, doi101371journalpone0062047, doi102475ajss319111253, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi105860choice353642, openalexw1565584485, openalexw3215057009, openalexw3217097258"
}

Countershading is common across a variety of lineages and ecological time [1-4]. A dark dorsum and lighter ventrum helps to mask the three-dimensional shape of the body by reducing self-shadowing and decreasing conspicuousness, thus helping to avoid detection by predators and prey [1, 2, 4, 5]. The optimal countershading pattern is dictated by the lighting environment, which is in turn dependent upon habitat [1, 3, 5, 6]. With the discovery of fossil melanin [7, 8], it is possible to infer original color patterns from fossils, including countershading [3, 9, 10]. Applying these principles, we describe the pattern of countershading in the diminutive theropod dinosaur Sinosauropteryx from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of Liaoning, China. From reconstructions based on exceptional fossils, the color pattern is compared to predicted optimal countershading transitions based on 3D reconstructions of the animal's abdomen, imaged in different lighting environments. Reconstructed patterns match well with those predicted for animals living in open habitats. Jehol is presumed to have been a predominantly closed forested environment [3, 11, 12], but our results indicate a more heterogeneous range of habitats. Sinosauropteryx is also shown to exhibit a "bandit mask," a common pattern in many living vertebrates, particularly birds, that serves multiple functions including camouflage [13-18]. Sinosauropteryx therefore shows multiple color pattern features likely related to the habitat in which it lived. Our results show how reconstructing the color of extinct animals can inform on their ecologies beyond what may be obvious from skeletal remains alone. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

@article{doi101016jcub201709032,
    author = "Smithwick, Fiann M. and Nicholls, Robert D. and Cuthill, Innes C. and Vinther, Jakob",
    title = "Countershading and Stripes in the Theropod Dinosaur Sinosauropteryx Reveal Heterogeneous Habitats in the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota",
    year = "2017",
    journal = "Current Biology",
    abstract = {Countershading is common across a variety of lineages and ecological time [1-4]. A dark dorsum and lighter ventrum helps to mask the three-dimensional shape of the body by reducing self-shadowing and decreasing conspicuousness, thus helping to avoid detection by predators and prey [1, 2, 4, 5]. The optimal countershading pattern is dictated by the lighting environment, which is in turn dependent upon habitat [1, 3, 5, 6]. With the discovery of fossil melanin [7, 8], it is possible to infer original color patterns from fossils, including countershading [3, 9, 10]. Applying these principles, we describe the pattern of countershading in the diminutive theropod dinosaur Sinosauropteryx from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of Liaoning, China. From reconstructions based on exceptional fossils, the color pattern is compared to predicted optimal countershading transitions based on 3D reconstructions of the animal's abdomen, imaged in different lighting environments. Reconstructed patterns match well with those predicted for animals living in open habitats. Jehol is presumed to have been a predominantly closed forested environment [3, 11, 12], but our results indicate a more heterogeneous range of habitats. Sinosauropteryx is also shown to exhibit a "bandit mask," a common pattern in many living vertebrates, particularly birds, that serves multiple functions including camouflage [13-18]. Sinosauropteryx therefore shows multiple color pattern features likely related to the habitat in which it lived. Our results show how reconstructing the color of extinct animals can inform on their ecologies beyond what may be obvious from skeletal remains alone. VIDEO ABSTRACT.},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.032",
    doi = "10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.032",
    openalex = "W2765091439",
    references = "doi101016jcub201606065, doi101016jsemcdb201303016, doi101111j15585646201101334x, stevens2006binocular"
}

Tooth replacement rate is an important contributor to feeding ecology for polyphyodont animals. Dinosaurs exhibit a wide range of tooth replacement rates, mirroring their diverse craniofacial specializations, but little is known about broad-scale allometric or evolutionary patterns within the group. In the current broad but sparse dinosaurian sample, only three non-avian theropod tooth replacement rates have been estimated. We estimated tooth formation and replacement rates in three additional non-avian theropod dinosaurs, the derived latest Cretaceous abelisaurid Majungasaurus and the more generalized Late Jurassic Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus. We created the largest dental histological and CT dataset for any theropod dinosaur, sectioning and scanning over a dozen toothed elements of Majungasaurus and several additional elements from the other two genera. Using this large sample, we created models of tooth formation time that allow for theropod replacement rates to be estimated non-destructively. In contrast to previous results for theropods, we found high tooth replacement rates in all three genera, with Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus rates of \textasciitilde 100 days and 56 days for Majungasaurus. The latter rate is on par with those of derived herbivorous dinosaurs including some neosauropods, hadrosaurids, and ceratopsians. This elevated rate may be a response to high rates of tooth wear in Majungasaurus. Within Dinosauria, there is no relationship between body mass and tooth replacement rate and no trends in replacement rate over time. Rather, tooth replacement rate is clade-specific, with elevated rates in abelisaurids and diplodocoids and lower rates in coelurosaurs.

@article{doi101371journalpone0224734,
    author = "D'Emic, Michael D and O'Connor, Patrick M and Pascucci, Thomas R and Gavras, Joanna N and Mardakhayava, Elizabeth and Lund, Eric K",
    title = "Evolution of high tooth replacement rates in theropod dinosaurs.",
    year = "2019",
    journal = "PloS one",
    abstract = "Tooth replacement rate is an important contributor to feeding ecology for polyphyodont animals. Dinosaurs exhibit a wide range of tooth replacement rates, mirroring their diverse craniofacial specializations, but little is known about broad-scale allometric or evolutionary patterns within the group. In the current broad but sparse dinosaurian sample, only three non-avian theropod tooth replacement rates have been estimated. We estimated tooth formation and replacement rates in three additional non-avian theropod dinosaurs, the derived latest Cretaceous abelisaurid Majungasaurus and the more generalized Late Jurassic Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus. We created the largest dental histological and CT dataset for any theropod dinosaur, sectioning and scanning over a dozen toothed elements of Majungasaurus and several additional elements from the other two genera. Using this large sample, we created models of tooth formation time that allow for theropod replacement rates to be estimated non-destructively. In contrast to previous results for theropods, we found high tooth replacement rates in all three genera, with Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus rates of \textasciitilde 100 days and 56 days for Majungasaurus. The latter rate is on par with those of derived herbivorous dinosaurs including some neosauropods, hadrosaurids, and ceratopsians. This elevated rate may be a response to high rates of tooth wear in Majungasaurus. Within Dinosauria, there is no relationship between body mass and tooth replacement rate and no trends in replacement rate over time. Rather, tooth replacement rate is clade-specific, with elevated rates in abelisaurids and diplodocoids and lower rates in coelurosaurs.",
    url = "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6880968/",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0224734",
    openalex = "W2997465389",
    pmcid = "PMC6880968",
    pmid = "31774829",
    references = "doi101007s0011401006506, doi101073pnas932514623, doi1011112041210x12226, doi101186174170071060, doi101371journalpbio1001853, doi101371journalpone0001230, doi1016710272463420072732caomct20co2, doi104202app20080102, doi105962bhltitle52196, openalexw2183707334"
}

Pittman, Michael, Xu, Xing (2020): Pennaraptoran Theropod Dinosaurs Past Progress And New Frontiers. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2020 (440): 1-353, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.440.1.1, URL: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090.440.1.1

@article{doi1012060003009044011,
    author = "Pittman, Michael and Xu, Xing",
    title = "Pennaraptoran Theropod Dinosaurs Past Progress and New Frontiers",
    year = "2020",
    journal = "Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History",
    abstract = "Pittman, Michael, Xu, Xing (2020): Pennaraptoran Theropod Dinosaurs Past Progress And New Frontiers. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2020 (440): 1-353, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.440.1.1, URL: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090.440.1.1",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090.440.1.1",
    doi = "10.1206/0003-0090.440.1.1",
    openalex = "W3000686130",
    references = "cau2018redescription, doi101002ar24241, doi101007s0011401209171, doi101007s0011401311075, doi101007s0011401411439, doi101016jcretres200806007, doi101016jcub201508003, doi101016jcub201804062, doi101016jcub202006105, doi101016jjsames201810005, doi101016jpalaeo201206027, doi101017njg201815, doi1010292018gc007584, doi101038nature13467, doi101038nature14423, doi101038nature19417, doi101038nature24679, doi101038ncomms14972, doi101038s4146701909259x, doi101073pnas1006970107, doi101073pnas1813206116, doi101080027246342012717567, doi101080027246342012719176, doi101080147720192010488045, doi101098rsbl20060523, doi101111cla12160, doi101111evo12150, doi101111j109600311993tb00209x, doi101111j109600311999tb00278x, doi101111j10960031200800217x, doi101111j109636421978tb01049x, doi101126science1126377, doi101126science1157704, doi101126science1253451, doi101127njgpm19821982440, doi101139cjes20170031, doi101139cjes20170034, doi101144001676492006032, doi101371journalpone0014329, doi101371journalpone0036790, doi101371journalpone0080557, doi101371journalpone0092022, doi101371journalpone0112055, doi101371journalpone0126791, doi1015468gcrned, doi10159023174889201500020001, doi101590s000137652011000100008, doi1016660022336020010750208lcsdaf20co2, doi10166613052, doi1016710272463420050250897anotmf20co2, doi1016710272463420072787antdtf20co2, doi1017161paleo180818764, doi1022179revmacn12239, doi1022179revmacn8325, doi1033740140540102, doi103389feart201800252, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi105962p339375, doi107717peerj1032, doi107717peerj2159, doi107717peerj4558, doi107717peerj7247, lee2019a, longrich2008a, osmólska1982hulsanpes, sues1978a, xu2010a"
}

@misc{crossrefNoneevolution,
    title = "Evolution of aplacophoran mollusks",
    year = "None",
    booktitle = "AccessScience",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.yb150943",
    doi = "10.1036/1097-8542.yb150943"
}