[PaleoOrnithology • 2025] Daniadyptes primaevus, Waiparadyptes gracilitarsus, Archaeodyptes waitahaorum & Waimanutaha kenlovei • Multiple exceptionally preserved Fossils from the Paleocene Waipara Greensand inform the Diversity of the Oldest stem group Sphenisciformes and the Formation of their Diving Adaptations

 

Daniadyptes primaevus gen. et sp. nov., Waiparadyptes gracilitarsus gen. et sp. nov., 
Archaeodyptes waitahaorum gen. et sp. nov., Waimanutaha kenlovei gen. et sp. nov.

Mayr, Pietri, Proffitt, Blokland, Clarke, Love, Mannering, Crouch, Reid & Scofield, 2025  

DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf080 

Abstract 

We report new stem group sphenisciforms (ancestral penguins) from the Paleocene of the Waipara Greensand (Canterbury, New Zealand), and describe four new genera and species (Daniadyptes primaevus gen. et sp. nov., Waiparadyptes gracilitarsus gen. et sp. nov., Archaeodyptes waitahaorum gen. et sp. nov., Waimanutaha kenlovei gen. et sp. nov.) and a small species, which is tentatively assigned to the taxon Kupoupou. New material of Muriwaimanu tuatahi includes the first complete skull of this species. The fossils show previously unknown features of the earliest penguins, such as well-developed basipterygoid processes and a long hind toe, and for the first time gastroliths are preserved in a stem group sphenisciform. The very small D. primaevus as well as W. gracilitarsus and A. waitahaorum exhibit plesiomorphic features, which support a position outside a clade formed by M. tuatahi and more crownward taxa. The penguins from the Waipara Greensand show that during early penguin evolution selective forces mainly acted on the wing, pectoral girdle, and foot morphology, whereas the greatly elongated beak remained relatively unchanged for more than 20 Myr. Furthermore, the fossils support the New Zealand region as the centre of origin of sphenisciforms and document multiple radiations of stem group Sphenisciformes throughout the Cenozoic.

Daniadyptes primaevus gen. et sp. nov., 

Waiparadyptes gracilitarsus gen. et sp. nov., 

Archaeodyptes waitahaorum gen. et sp. nov., 

Waimanutaha kenlovei gen. et sp. nov.

Gerald Mayr, Vanesa L De Pietri, James Proffitt, Jacob C Blokland, Julia A Clarke, Leigh Love, Al A Mannering, Erica M Crouch, Catherine Reid and R Paul Scofield. 2025. Multiple exceptionally preserved Fossils from the Paleocene Waipara Greensand inform the Diversity of the Oldest stem group Sphenisciformes and the Formation of their Diving Adaptations. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 204, Issue 4, August 2025, zlaf080. DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf080 [12 August 2025]

[Paleontology • 2025] Tavachelydra stevensoni • A New Pan-chelydrid Turtle (Chelydroidea: Pan-Chelydridae) from the lower Paleocene (early Danian, Puercan) Corral Bluffs Study Area in the Denver Basin, Colorado

Tavachelydra stevensoni

Lyson, Petermann, Bastien, Toth, Tamez-Galvan, Sherman & Joyce, 2025 

 

DOI: doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00375-4

Artwork by Andrey Atuchin  facebook.com/AndreyAtuchin

Abstract

Isolated pan-chelydrid turtle shell fragments are common in Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene sediments across western North America, but more complete and associated specimens are rare, obfuscating our understanding of the group’s early evolution. Here we describe a new genus and species, Tavachelydra stevensoni, of stem-chelydrid turtle from the early Paleocene of the Denver Formation (Danian, Puercan I and II) of Colorado based on complete shells, associated pelvic material, and referred cranial material. Our phylogenetic analysis places T. stevensoni as the immediate sister to crown chelydrids based on, among others, a purely ligamentous attachment of the plastron and carapace. The costiform process of the nuchal, an important character complex in chelydroid turtles, shows variation in either ending in peripheral II or III. The T. stevensoni material was mostly found in laminated fine-grained deposits, suggesting this taxon inhabited ponded-water environments. The referred cranial material shows broad triturating surfaces indicating a durophagous diet, further underscoring durophagy as an important feeding strategy during the early Paleocene.

Testudines, Chelydroidea, Pan-Chelydridae, Taphonomy, Durophagy

A reconstruction of Tavachelydra stevensoni gen. et sp. nov. basking on a log in a ponded water environment.

Artwork by Andrey Atuchin

 

Tyler R. Lyson, Holger Petermann, Salvador Bastien, Natalie Toth, Evan Tamez-Galvan, Sadie M. Sherman and Walter G. Joyce. 2025. A New Pan-chelydrid Turtle, Tavachelydra stevensoni gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Paleocene (early Danian, Puercan) Corral Bluffs Study Area in the Denver Basin, Colorado. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 144; 46. DOI: doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00375-4 [05 August 2025]

 facebook.com/AndreyAtuchin/posts/24564613873132751

[PaleoBotany • 2025] Tarimochara miraclensis • Ordovician marine Charophyceae and insights into land plant derivations

 

Tarimochara miraclensis Liu, Wu & Riding, 
A palaeoecological illustrations of T. miraclensis in Late Ordovician marine carbonate platform environments

in Liu, Han, Zhang, Tang, Pang, Li, Wu, Hua, Guo, Cai et Riding, 2025. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02003-y 

Abstract

The emergence of land plants was a pivotal development in Earth history. It has been postulated that the evolutionary transition from freshwater streptophyte algae to land plants, or the canalization of plant meiosis, was completed during the Middle Ordovician (~460 Ma). However, the absence of undisputed streptophyte algal fossils (for example, Charophyceae) earlier than the late Silurian (~425 Ma) has obscured this link between streptophyte algae and land plants. Here we describe a marine Charophyceae fossil, Tarimochara miraclensis gen. et sp. nov., from early and middle Katian (Late Ordovician, ~453–449 Ma) marine limestones in northwestern China. This discovery demonstrates that at least some species of Charophyceae inhabited shallow normal marine environments at that time. Moreover, these early Charophyceae show that some key morphological innovations associated with an evolutionary transition between streptophyte algae and land plants had occurred before the early Katian. This provides crucial evidence relevant to the origins of land plants.

Morphological and palaeoecological reconstructions of Tarimochara miraclensis gen. et sp. nov.
a, A morphological reconstruction of T. miraclensis based on fossil specimens and present-day Charophyceae analogues, illustrating the differentiation of nodes and internodes (Inter.) of both main axis and branches, and of whorled branchlets; enlargement of T. miraclensis shows cortical (Cor.) cells of axis, branch, .... The rooting system, orders of branching, number of whorled branches and relative positions of gyrogonites (covered by probable utricle) and antheridium are inferred from the extant corticated genus Chara.
 b, A palaeoecological illustrations of T. miraclensis in Late Ordovician marine carbonate platform environments. The community composition is based on common associated taxa, for example, green and red algae, corals, bryozoans, and echinoderms. Credit: X. Liu.

 

Genus Tarimochara Liu, Wu & Riding gen. nov. 

 Tarimochara miraclensis Liu, Wu & Riding sp. nov.

Lijing Liu, Jian Han, Zhifei Zhang, Qing Tang, Ke Pang, Ruiyun Li, Yasheng Wu, Hong Hua, Bin Guo, Chunfang Cai and Robert Riding. 2025. Ordovician marine Charophyceae and insights into land plant derivations. Nature Plants. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02003-y [30 May 2025]

  x.com/NaturePlants/status/1928869309175992480 ||  http://rdcu.be/eoSkA

[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] New remarkably Complete Skeleton of Mixodectes reveals Arboreality in a large Paleocene primatomorphan mammal following the Cretaceous-Paleogene Mass Extinction

  

Mixodectes pungens Cope, 1883

in Chester, Williamson, Crowell, Silcox, Bloch et Sargis, 2025. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90203-z

Abstract

Mixodectids are poorly understood placental mammals from the Paleocene of western North America that have variably been considered close relatives of euarchontan mammals (primates, dermopterans, and scandentians) with hypothesized relationships to colugos, extinct plagiomenids, and/or microsyopid plesiadapiforms. Here we describe the most complete dentally associated skeleton yet recovered for a mixodectid, specifically Mixodectes pungens from the early Paleocene of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico. A partial skull with all the teeth erupted and associated axial skeleton, forelimbs, and hind limbs, with epiphyses fused, indicate that it was a mature adult. Results from cladistic analyses incorporating new data robustly support primatomorphan (Primates + Dermoptera) affinities of Mixodectidae, but relationships within Euarchonta are less clear, with Mixodectes recovered as a stem primatomorphan, stem dermopteran, or stem primate. Analyses of postcrania suggest that M. pungens was a relatively large (~ 1.3 kg), claw-climbing arborealist capable of frequent clinging on large diameter vertical supports. With teeth suggesting an omnivorous diet that included leaves, M. pungens occupied a unique ecological niche in the early Paleocene of North America that differed from contemporary, arboreal plesiadapiforms that were smaller and more frugivorous. Euarchontans were thus a more diverse radiation in the early Cenozoic than previously appreciated.

Keywords: Mixodectidae, Plesiadapiforms, Evolution, Postcranium, Locomotion

Skeleton composite of Mixodectes pungens (NMMNH P-54501) with most elements in ventral view or oriented to illustrate features such as articular surfaces. Many elements of the axial skeleton, manus, and pes could be identified to anatomical region but not to specific position and are presented to illustrate overall completeness of this specimen.

Stephen G. B. Chester, Thomas E. Williamson, Jordan W. Crowell, Mary T. Silcox, Jonathan I. Bloch and Eric J. Sargis. 2025. New remarkably Complete Skeleton of Mixodectes reveals Arboreality in a large Paleocene primatomorphan mammal following the Cretaceous-Paleogene Mass Extinction. Scientific Reports. 15, 8041. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90203-z

 

[PaleoOrnithology • 2024] Paakniwatavis grandei • A new Paleogene fossil and a new dataset for Waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) clarify phylogeny, ecological evolution, and Avian Evolution at the K-Pg Boundary

Paakniwatavis grandei 

Musser & Clarke, 2024 

DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278737

Abstract

Despite making up one of the most ecologically diverse groups of living birds, comprising soaring, diving and giant flightless taxa, the evolutionary relationships and ecological evolution of Anseriformes (waterfowl) remain unresolved. Although Anseriformes have a comparatively rich, global Cretaceous and Paleogene fossil record, morphological datasets for this group that include extinct taxa report conflicting relationships for all known extinct taxa. Correct placement of extinct taxa is necessary to understand whether ancestral anseriform feeding ecology was more terrestrial or one of a set of diverse aquatic ecologies and to better understand avian evolution around the K-T boundary. Here, we present a new morphological dataset for Anseriformes that includes more extant and extinct taxa than any previous anseriform-focused dataset and describe a new anseriform species from the early Eocene Green River Formation of North America. The new taxon has a mediolaterally narrow bill which is rarely found in previously described anseriform fossils. The matrix created to assess the placement of this taxon comprises 41 taxa and 719 discrete morphological characters describing skeletal morphology, musculature, syringeal morphology, ecology, and behavior. We additionally combine the morphological dataset with published sequences using Bayesian methods and perform ancestral state reconstruction for select morphological, ecological and behavioral characters. We recover the new Eocene taxon as the sister taxon to (Anseranatidae+Anatidae) across all analyses, and find that the new taxon represents a novel ecology within known Anseriformes and the Green River taxa. Results provide insight into avian evolution during and following the K-Pg mass extinction and indicate that Anseriformes were likely ancestrally aquatic herbivores with rhamphothecal lamellae..

Photograph (A) and line drawing (B) of the holotype specimen of Paakniwatavis grandei (FMNH PA725). Bone is unfilled. Extremely crushed bone and bone margin is delimited with dashed margins.

Anatomical abbreviations: prx, premaxilla; max, maxilla; jug, jugal; orb, orbital margin; rmf, rostral mandibular fenestra; scl, scleral ossicles; mnd, mandible; rde, radiale; cmc, carpometacarpus.

Photograph (A) and line drawing (B) of the holotype specimen of Paakniwatavis grandei (FMNH PA725). Extremely crushed bone and bone margin is delimited with dashed margins.

Anatomical abbreviations: prx, premaxilla; orb, orbital margin; mnd, mandible; cvt, cervical vertebrae; tvt, thoracic vertebrae; syn, synsacrum; pyg, pygostyle; cor, coracoid; scp, scapula; fur, furcula; str, sternum; rbs, ribs; hum, humerus; uln, ulna; rad, radius; rde, radiale; cmc, carpometacarpus; mII:1, phalanx 1 of manual digit II; mtII:2, phalanx 2 of manual digit II; ili, ilium; fem, femur; tbt, tibiotarsus; tmt, tarsometatarsus; mtI, metatarsal I; I:1, phalanx 1 of pedal digit I; II:1, phalanx 1 of pedal digit II; III:1, phalanx 1 of pedal digit III; IV:1, phalanx 1 of pedal digit IV.

Systematic paleontology

AVES Linnaeus, 1758 

NEOGNATHAE Pycraft, 1900 

ANSERIFORMES Wagler, 1831 

Paakniwatavis grandei, gen. et sp. nov.

Etymology: Paakniwatavis references Paakniwat, used by the Shoshoni tribe indigenous to the region of the recovery site and means “Water Spirit”. The Water Spirits are dangerous supernatural beings that lure people to their death with child-like cries. The name references the aquatic ecology of this taxon. The species honors Dr. Lance Grande, who collected the holotype specimen, in recognition of his leading research on the faunas of the Green River Formation.

 Grace Musser and Julia A. Clarke. 2024. A new Paleogene fossil and a new dataset for waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) clarify phylogeny, ecological evolution, and avian evolution at the K-Pg Boundary. PLoS ONE. 19(7): e0278737. DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278737

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.11.23.517648v1.full

[PaleoBotany • 2025] Zosterophyllum baoyangense • The smallest Zosterophyllum plant from the Lower Devonian of South China and the divergent life-history strategies in zosterophyllopsids

 

Zosterophyllum baoyangense Huang & Xue, 

in Huang, J.-S. Wang, Y.-L. Wang, Liu, Zhao et Xue. 2025. 

 DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2337

Abstract

Plants have evolved different life-history strategies to overcome limited amounts of available resources; however, when and how divergent strategies of sexual reproduction evolved in early land plants are not well understood. As one of the notable and vital components of early terrestrial vegetation, the Zosterophyllopsida and its type genus Zosterophyllum reached maximum species diversity during the Pragian (Early Devonian; ca 410.8–407.6 million years ago). Here we describe a new species, Zosterophyllum baoyangense sp. nov., based on well-preserved specimens from the Pragian-aged Mangshan Group of Duyun, Guizhou Province, China. The new plant is characterized by its small size, K-shaped branching and tiny spikes with 5–10 sporangia. This plant is most likely r-selected, completing its whole lifespan in a short time, and such a strategy contributes to reproduction in a suitable window time. In contrast, most other species of Zosterophyllum and the zosterophyllopsids on a broader scale are larger in body size and have greater investments in fertile tissues, reflected in the size and total number of sporangia. We argue that the zosterophyllopsids probably benefited from the divergence of various life-history strategies and thus constituted a major part of the Early Devonian floras.

Keywords: early land plants, Zosterophyllum baoyangense sp. nov., Early Devonian, life-history strategies

  Zosterophyllum baoyangense sp. nov. (a,b) PB203562, part and counterpart, showing a fertile axis with K-shaped branching and a terminal spike. Arrows highlight branching points. The parts indicated by arrows c and d are enlarged in (c,d), respectively; (c) K-shaped branching; (d) branching point showing a nearby protuberance (arrow); (e,f) Enlarged view of the terminal spike in (a) and (b); (g) enlarged view of the basal part of the spike in (e). Arrow points to the margin of the basal sporangium. (h) Enlargement of the distal sporangia in (f) (arrow h), showing dehiscence line (white arrow) and peripheral rim along the convex distal margin (the area between two black arrows). Scale bars: (a,b), 10 mm; (c–f), 1 mm; (g,h), 0.5 mm.

 Systematic palaeontology

Class: Zosterophyllopsida Hao & Xue [2013]

Order: Zosterophyllales Hao & Xue [2013]

Family: Zosterophyllaceae Banks [1968]

Genus: Zosterophyllum Penhallow [1892]

Type species Z. myretonianum Penhallow [1892]

Zosterophyllum baoyangense Huang & Xue sp. nov.

Specific diagnoses. Rhizome with K-shaped branching. Erect axis with tiny spikes. Axes 0.5−1.3 mm wide. Spikes, 5.8−10.8 mm high and 2.0−2.8 mm in maximum width, consisting of 5–10 sporangia that are spirally arranged. Sporangia oval to semicircular, 1.6−2.0 mm high and 0.9−1.4 mm wide, departing from axis at an acute angle by a short stalk. Thin peripheral rim ca 80 μm wide, extending along the convex distal margin and lacking thickened dehiscence mechanism.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from Baoyang Village, where the fossils were collected.

Holotype designated herein. PB203562 

 Artist’s restoration of part of the Early Devonian Mangshan flora, with plant communities of Zosterophyllum baoyangense sp. nov. at the front, and Teyoua antrorsa, Zosterophyllum australianum and an unnamed zosterophyllopsid to the back.

Locality and horizon. Baoyang Section, Baoyang Village, Duyun City, Guizhou Province; the lower part of the Mangshan Group; Early Devonian (Pragian; see electronic supplementary material, figure S1).

Repository. All specimens are deposited at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

Pu Huang, Jia-Shu Wang, Yi-Ling Wang, Lu Liu, Jing-Yu Zhao and Jin-Zhuang Xue. 2025. The smallest Zosterophyllum plant from the Lower Devonian of South China and the divergent life-history strategies in zosterophyllopsids. Proc. R. Soc. B. 292; 20242337. DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2337

 

 

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Nanxiongilambda yei • First Asian Paleocene pantolambdid pantodont (Mammalia) and its implications to intercontinental faunal exchange

Nanxiongilambda yei 

Quan & Wang, 2024

www.vertpala.ac.cn 

 Researchgate.net/publication/385015091

 Illustrated by Chen Yu

Pantodonta was one of the first groups of eutherians to evolve at the beginning of Cenozoic era, including the largest herbivores at that time. Pantodonta shows considerable diversity during the Paleocene and Eocene, with most of the species having been discovered in Asia and North America. Here, we report on a new pantodont, represented by lower jaws with well-preserved dentition, discovered from the Middle Paleocene Nongshan Formation of the Nanxiong Basin, Guangdong Province, China. Its unique dental and mandibular characteristics distinguish it well from any known Asian pantodont, but are quite consistent with North American taxa, especially Pantolambda and Titanoides. The new specimen is identified as Nanxiongilambda yei gen. et sp. nov., characterized by the combination of the following morphological features: thick and robust mandible with a conspicuous anteroexternal flange, high positioned condyloid process, posteriorly protruding angular process, robust but not elongated lower canines, double-rooted p1, small but distinct talonids on posterior lower premolars, talonids nearly as wide as trigonids on lower molars, and m3 with a well-developed hypoconulid and a distinct entoconid. The new discovery marks the first record of a pantolambdid pantodont outside of North America, suggesting a broader geographical distribution and intercontinental dispersal of this clade during the Paleocene. Considering the more primitive Pantolambda only found from Torrejonian to early Tiffanian NALMA (equivalent to middle-late Shanghuan to early Nongshanian ALMA), which is slightly earlier than Nanxiongilambda (early Nongshanian ALMA), pantolambdids have likely undergone a particular wave of migration from North America to Asia during the Early-Middle Paleocene. Previous researches have suggested that pantodonts had dispersed only from Asia to North America during the Early Paleocene, but our new specimen indicates the biotic dispersal may have occurred in the opposite direction. The new specimen also contributes to the renewal of the evolutionary history of pantodonts and provides further insights into the migration and dispersal of Paleocene mammals.

 Right lower jaw with cheek teeth of Nanxiongilambda yei gen. et sp. nov. (IVPP V33263, Holotype) from Nanxiong, Guangdong, China
 A. lateral view; B. medial view

Abbreviations: agp. angular process; apf. anteroposterior flange; cdp. condyloid process; cop. coronoid process; maf. masseteric fossa; mdf. mandibular foramen; mf. mental foramina

 Lower jaws with teeth of Nanxiongilambda yei gen. et sp. nov. (IVPP V33263, Holotype) from Nanxiong, Guangdong, China
A. left and right mandible in occlusal view; B. left mandible in lateral view; C. left mandible in medial view; D. right cheek teeth (p2-p4 and m2-m3) in occlusal view; E. left cheek teeth (p1-m1) in occlusal view

Abbreviations: end. entoconid; hyd. hypoconid; hyld. hypoconulid; med. metaconid; pad. paraconid; prd. protoconid; tad. talonid

Head reconstruction of Nanxiongilambda yei gen. et sp. nov.
Nanxiongilambda from the Middle Paleocene Nongshan Formation of the Nanxiong Basin, Guangdong Province, China is a pantolambdid, belonging to the order Pantodonta, an extinct group of “archaic ungulates”. Members of Pantolambdidae were previously only known from the lower–middle Paleocene in North America. This finding extends the geographical distribution of Pantolambdidae. Nanxiongilambda yei represents the first known Asian Cenozoic mammal with reliable North American affinity prior to the Late Paleocene, which indicates a particular wave of migration from North America to Asia during the late Early-early Middle Paleocene.

(Illustrated by Chen Yu).

QUAN Shuo-Shuo and WANG Yuan-Qing. 2024. First Asian Paleocene pantolambdid pantodont (Mammalia) and its implications to intercontinental faunal exchange. Vertebrata Palasiatica. 62(4); 291-312.  DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.240829  

https://www.vertpala.ac.cn/EN/10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.240829

  Researchgate.net/publication/385015091_First_Asian_Paleocene_pantodont_Mammalia

[PaleoOrnithology • 2023] Anachronornis anhimops • Basal Anseriformes from the Early Paleogene of North America and Europe

 Anachronornis anhimops 

Houde, Dickson & Camarena, 2023 

   

 DOI:  10.3390/d15020233  

Abstract

We describe nearly complete skeletons of basal Anseriformes from the Latest Paleocene to the early Eocene of North America and Europe. Collectively, these birds appear to be representative of anseriforms near the divergence of Anhimae and Anseres, but their exact positions relative to these clades remains uncertain. A new family, Anachronornithidae nov. fam., is erected on the basis of one of these, Anachronornis anhimops nov. gen., nov. gen. et sp., to which the others cannot be confidently assigned. The new fossils augment a growing collection of early Pan-Anseriformes, which in their diversity do not paint an unambiguous picture of phylogeny or character state evolution on the path to or within crown-Anseriformes. Anachronornis nov. gen. is similar in some aspects of both cranial and postcranial anatomy to other well-represented early Paleogene Anseriformes and members of Anseres, such as Presbyornis Wetmore, 1926. However, it exhibits a more landfowl-like bill, like that of Anhimae and unlike the spatulate bill of Anseres. Additional specimens of similar basal Anseriformes of uncertain affinities from the early Eocene of North America and Europe further complicate interpretation of character state polarity due to the mosaicism of primitive and derived characters they exhibit.  

Keywords: Anseriformes; Anseres; Anhimidae; Anachronornithidae; Presbyornis; Anatalavis; Nettapterornis; Anachronornis; Danielsavis

 

  Holotype of Anachronornis anhimops nov. gen. et sp. (USNM 496700):
skull, ventral (A), dorsal (B), right lateral (C), right lateral in matrix (D), caudal (E); mandible with heavy gauge wire glued to medial side of right dentary, right lateral (F), dorsal (G), oblique caudomedial aspect of right side (K), right caudal (O); quadrates, left lateral (H), right lateral (I), left medial (L), right medial (M); basihyal (Q), costal fragment with uncinate process (R), left palatine (S), right thoracic vertebrae (T). Quadrate (USNM 496701; Anseriformes fam. incertae sedis): right lateral (J), right medial (N).
Holotype of Danielsavis nazensis nov. gen. et sp. (NMS.Z.2021.40.1): right caudal mandible (P).

All but (D,P) are coated with ammonium hydroxide. Scale bar 1 cm.

 Class Aves Linnaeus, 1758

Order Anseriformes Wagler, 1831

Family Anachronornithidae nov. fam. Houde, Dickson, and Camarena

 

Included genus Anachronornis nov. gen.

Diagnosis: Anachronornithidae nov. fam. is distinguished from all known Anhimidae and Anseres by a lack of unambiguous synapomorphies diagnosing those respective clades and in many respects is intermediate between the two.

Anachronornis nov. gen. Houde, Dickson, and Camarena

 

Etymology: From the Greek ἀναχρονισμός, out of time, and ὄρνις, bird, alluding to the unexpectedly late occurrence of what may be, or may be close to, the most recent common ancestor of the two crown-anseriform lineages, Anhimae and Anseres.

Type and only known species: Anachronornis anhimops nov. gen. et sp.

Occurrence: Late Paleocene of North America.

Diagnosis: As for the family, by monotypy. (Full account of all putative apomorphies by dataset in Supplemental Materials and Supplementary Appendices A3, B2, C2, D2, F3, G6 and G7).

Anachronornis anhimops nov. gen. et sp. Houde, Dickson, and Camarena

Etymology: From the generic name Anhima, a screamer, and ops (Greek, face, countenance, appearance of the face). The name is intended to refer to the screamer-like bill and appearance of the head, particularly like that of Anhima in which the supraorbital region may be somewhat narrower than in Chauna.

 Peter Houde, Meig Dickson and Dakota Camarena. 2023. Basal Anseriformes from the Early Paleogene of North America and Europe. Diversity. 15(2); 233. DOI:  10.3390/d15020233  

 

  

[PaleoBotany • 2023] Bauhinia tibetensis • The Oldest Fossil Record of Bauhinia s.s. (Fabaceae) from the Tibetan Plateau sheds light on its Evolutionary and Biogeographic Implications

  

 Bauhinia tibetensis Y. Gao & T. Su, 
 

in Gao, Song, Deng, Chen, Liu, ... et Su, 2023. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2023.2244495 

english.CAS.cn

Abstract

Bauhinia s.s. is a large genus in the family Fabaceae, but its evolutionary and biogeographical history is still unclear due to the scarcity of fossil records compared to the highly diverse modern species in pantropic regions. Here, we report the earliest fossil record of Bauhinia s.s., namely Bauhinia tibetensis Y. Gao et T. Su sp. nov., based on leaves from the latest Paleocene of the southern Tibetan region. Combined with palaeoecological niche simulations and ancestral state reconstruction, the new fossils suggested a Paleocene origin of Bauhinia s.s. in the Afrotropical realm that subsequently dispersed to the Neotropical and Indomalayan realms. Bauhinia tibetensis belongs to the Asian clade of Bauhinia s.s. that reached the southern Tibetan region from the Afrotropical realm via the Kohistan-Ladakh Island Arc in the early Paleocene. This clade spread to south-eastern China during the Oligocene and entered northern India during the Neogene or earlier. The discovery of the oldest Bauhinia s.s. from what is now the southern Tibetan Plateau updates our understanding of the biogeographical history of this genus and demonstrates that the Kohistan-Ladakh Island Arc is an ancient corridor for floristic interchange between Africa and India.

Keywords: Bauhinia s.s., biogeography, diversification, Paleocene, leaf fossil, palaeoecological niche simulations

 

Yi Gao, Ai Song, Wei-Yu-Dong Deng, Lin-Lin Chen, Jia Liu, Wei-Cheng Li, Gaurav Srivastava, Robert A. Spicer, Zhe-Kun Zhou and Tao Su. 2023. The Oldest Fossil Record of Bauhinia s.s. (Fabaceae) from the Tibetan Plateau sheds light on its Evolutionary and Biogeographic Implications. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 21(1); 2244495. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2023.2244495

 english.CAS.cn/newsroom/research_news/life/202311/t20231101_467162.shtml

  x.com/AsiaPaleofloras/status/1715100959364317389

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Militocodon lydae • A New periptychid Mammal (Mammalia : Periptychidae) from the lower Paleocene Denver Formation of Colorado (Corral Bluffs, El Paso County)

Militocodon lydae

Weaver, Crowell, Chester & Lyson, 2024

DOI: 10.1007/s10914-024-09716-5

  facebook.com: Luke Weaver 

 Researchgate.net/publication/380211959

Artwork by Andrey Atuchin

Abstract

The Periptychidae, an extinct group of archaic ungulates (‘condylarths’), were the most speciose eutherian mammals in the earliest Paleocene of North America, epitomizing mammalian ascendency after the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) mass extinction. Although periptychids are mostly known from fragmentary gnathic remains, the Corral Bluffs area within the Denver Basin, Colorado, has yielded numerous exceptionally well-preserved mammalian fossils, including periptychids, from the earliest Paleocene. Here we describe a partial cranium and articulated dentaries plus an additional unassociated dentary fragment of a small-bodied (~273–455 g) periptychid from ca. 610 thousand years after the K–Pg mass extinction (Puercan 2 North American Land Mammal ‘age’) at Corral Bluffs. Based on these new fossils we erect Militocodon lydae gen. et sp. nov. The dentition of M. lydae exhibits synapomorphies that diagnose the Conacodontinae, but it is plesiomorphic relative to Oxyacodon, resembling putatively basal periptychids like Mimatuta and Maiorana in several dental traits. As such, we interpret M. lydae as a basal conacodontine. Its skull anatomy does not reveal clear periptychid synapomorphies and instead resembles that of arctocyonids and other primitive eutherians. M. lydae falls along a dental morphocline from basal periptychids to derived conacodontines, which we hypothesize reflects a progressive, novel modification of the hypocone to enhance orthal shearing and crushing rather than grinding mastication. The discovery and thorough descriptions and comparisons of the partial M. lydae skull represent an important step toward unraveling the complex evolutionary history of periptychid mammals.

Keywords: Archaic ungulates, Condylarths, Eutherians, Periptychidae, Puercan

Holotype of Militocodon lydae gen. et sp. nov. (DMNH EPV.136181) in right (a) and left (b) lateral views. Scale bar equals 2 cm

MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758

EUTHERIA Gill, 1872

?UNGULATA Linnaeus, 1758

PERIPTYCHIDAE Cope, 1882

CONACODONTINAE Archibald, Schoch, and Rigby, 1983

Militocodon gen. nov.

Etymology. In honor of Sharon Milito, for her dedication to paleontology and education in the Denver Basin and for finding referred specimen DMNH EPV.103390.

Distribution. Puercan 2 of the Denver Formation, D1 Sequence at Corral Bluffs (El Paso County, Colorado).

Diagnosis. Resembling the Conacodontinae (sensu Archibald et al. 1983b) in: M1–3 hypocone large and lingually expanded; protocone absent on P3. Resembling Oxyacodon (sensu Archibald et al. 1983a) in: premolars slightly inflated but P/p4 shorter or subequal in length to M/m1; para- and metastylar lobes on M1–3 more buccally expanded than in Alticonus, Ampliconus, Miniconus, Tinuviel, Anisonchus, Conacodon, Haploconus, and Hemithlaeus; metacingulum continuous with metastylar region; paraconule absent with postparaconule wing meeting preprotocrista near apex of protocone; hypocone expanded lingually beyond the protocone; paraconid on p4 small, situated near the base of the crown; narrow buccal cingulid present on lower molars and lingual cingulid absent on lower premolars and molars. Differing from Oxyacodon in: greater expansion of para- and metastylar lobes on P4, with the former also projecting farther mesially; hypocone lingual face more vertically oriented on M2–3, not sloping prominently lingually; hypocone apex distinctly distal to protocone apex, especially on M2, resulting in a more rectangular (rather than triangular) occlusal outline; paraconid on m1–3 not closely appressed to metaconid, resulting in a mesiolingually open trigonid basin; trigonid taller relative to talonid, due in part to a taller protoconid.

Militocodon lydae sp. nov.

Etymology. In honor of Lyda Hill, a longtime champion of Colorado Springs and key supporter of post-K–Pg recovery research at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Holotype. DMNH EPV.136181, partial skull, including posterior maxillae and dentaries, RP/p4–M/m3 and LP/p3–M/m3, and partial neuro- and basicranium.

Lucas N. Weaver, Jordan W. Crowell, Stephen G. B. Chester and Tyler R. Lyson. 2024. Skull of A New periptychid Mammal from the lower Paleocene Denver Formation of Colorado (Corral Bluffs, El Paso County). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31, 16. DOI: 10.1007/s10914-024-09716-5

  facebook.com/LukeWeaver731/posts/7798559490183707

 Researchgate.net/publication/380211959_a_new_periptychid_mammal_from_Paleocene_Denver_Formation_of_Colorado

[PaleoOrnithology • 2023] Kumimanu fordycei & Petradyptes stonehousei • Largest-known Fossil Penguin provides insight into the early Evolution of sphenisciform Body Size and Flipper Anatomy

 

 Kumimanu fordycei & Petradyptes stonehousei

 Ksepka, Field, Heath, Pett, Thomas, Giovanardi & Tennyson, 2023

DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2022.88

otago.ac.nz

Life reconstructions by Simone Giovanardi.

 twitter.com/GiovaFavazzi

Abstract

Recent fossil discoveries from New Zealand have revealed a remarkably diverse assemblage of Paleocene stem group penguins. Here, we add to this growing record by describing nine new penguin specimens from the late Paleocene (upper Teurian local stage; 55.5–59.5 Ma) Moeraki Formation of the South Island, New Zealand. The largest specimen is assigned to a new species, Kumimanu fordycei n. sp., which may have been the largest penguin ever to have lived. Allometric regressions based on humerus length and humerus proximal width of extant penguins yield mean estimates of a live body mass in the range of 148.0 kg (95% CI: 132.5 kg–165.3 kg) and 159.7 kg (95% CI: 142.6 kg–178.8 kg), respectively, for Kumimanu fordycei. A second new species, Petradyptes stonehousei n. gen. n. sp., is represented by five specimens and was slightly larger than the extant emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri. Two small humeri represent an additional smaller unnamed penguin species. Parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses recover Kumimanu and Petradyptes crownward of the early Paleocene mainland NZ taxa Waimanu and Muriwaimanu, but stemward of the Chatham Island taxon Kupoupou. These analyses differ, however, in the placement of these two taxa relative to Sequiwaimanu, Crossvallia, and Kaiika. The massive size and placement of Kumimanu fordycei close to the root of the penguin tree provide additional support for a scenario in which penguins reached the upper limit of sphenisciform body size very early in their evolutionary history, while still retaining numerous plesiomorphic features of the flipper.

 

Life reconstructions of Kumimanu fordycei and Petradyptes stonehousei,

by Simone Giovanardi. twitter.com/GiovaFavazzi

Skeletal reconstructions of (left to right) Kumimanu fordycei, Petradyptes stonehousei, and Aptenodytes forsteri a modern emperor penguin.

Daniel T. Ksepka, Daniel J. Field, Tracy A. Heath, Walker Pett, Daniel B. Thomas, Simone Giovanardi and Alan J.D. Tennyson. 2023. Largest-known Fossil Penguin provides insight into the early Evolution of sphenisciform Body Size and Flipper Anatomy. Journal of Paleontology. First View , pp. 1 - 20

DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2022.88

UUID: zoobank.org/15b1d5b2-a5a0-4aa5-ba0a-8ef3b8461730

 www.otago.ac.nz/otagobulletin/news/otago0241045.html 

 twitter.com/GiovaFavazzi/status/1623393800134754304