Abstract Strophomenoid brachiopods had thin, concavo-convex shells, were ubiquitous colonizers of Palaeozoic muddy seafloors, and are hypothesized to have filter-fed in a concave-upward orientation. This orientation would elevate their line of commissure out of potentially lethal lophophore-clogging mud. The paradox is that epibiont distributions on strophomenoids support a convex-upward life position, as do studies of strophomenoid stability and trace fossils formed by strophomenoid sediment-clearing. A premise of the concave-upward orientation hypothesis is a narrow gape, which causes narrow ..read more

Abstract This research explores the significance of rapid burial in preserving fossils, with a particular focus on free-living echinoderms. Experiments were based on ophiuroids to simulate burial under different turbiditic flows. The results showed that a bed thickness of around 10 cm is a limit for the preservation of whole skeletons in most cases. The type of sediment can affect the integrity of the buried skeletons, with sand deposition resulting in higher rates of autotomy. However, mud deposition did not show any numbing effect, as previously believed for echinoderms. In contrast, freshwa ..read more

Abstract The Mediterranean Sea is recognized as a hotspot of marine biodiversity. Analysing its past biodiversity can help in understanding species' response to climate change. We built a species-level dataset of bivalve occurrences across the Zanclean–Calabrian interval, a time characterized by significant changes in climate, and by bivalve extinctions. The dataset includes more than 400 species distributed from the eastern to the western Mediterranean Sea. We measured changes in richness and turnover through time, for the entire dataset, and for different palaeoenvironments and combinations ..read more

Abstract To reconstruct a fossil forest in three dimensions, an accurate estimation of tree height is crucial. However, modelling the height–diameter relationship of ancient trees is difficult, because the trunks of fossil trees are usually fragmentary, making direct height measurements impossible. One practical approach for reconstructing ancient tree height is to use growth models based on the height–diameter relationships of the nearest living relatives of fossil taxa. Here we apply 19 models to describe height–diameter relationships of living Araucaria trees for establishing appropriate mo ..read more

Palaeontology, Volume 67, Issue 2, March/April 2024 ..read more

Palaeontology, Volume 67, Issue 1, January/February 2024 ..read more

Abstract Tridentinosaurus antiquus represents one of the oldest fossil reptiles and one of the very few skeletal specimens with evidence of soft tissue preservation from the Cisuralian (Early Permian) of the Italian Alps. The preservation and appearance of the fossil have puzzled palaeontologists for decades and its taphonomy and phylogenetic position have remained unresolved. We reanalysed T. antiquus using ultraviolet light (UV), 3D surface modelling, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), micro x-ray diffraction (μ-XRD), Raman and attenuated ..read more

Abstract Polyene pigments represent a major class of pigments in present-day organisms. Their occurrence in fossils has been frequently discussed, but to date no spectroscopic evidence has been found. Here, we use in situ Raman spectroscopy to examine the chemistry of exceptionally well-preserved gastropod shells with colour preservation from the Middle Miocene of the Vienna Basin (Austria, Hungary). Raman signals indicative of the presence of intact (i.e. non-hydrogenated) polyene pigments were obtained from fossil shells with reddish colour patterns, thus revealing the first record of intact ..read more

Abstract Adaptation to specialist ecological niches is a key innovation that has contributed to the evolutionary success of many vertebrate clades, underpinning the acquisition of diverse skull morphologies. Dinosaurs, which dominated Mesozoic terrestrial faunas, acquired herbivory multiple times, and evolution of these herbivorous adaptations is linked to drastic changes in dental and craniomandibular functional morphology, yet whether changes in functionally relevant phenotypic traits occurred more rapidly in herbivorous lineages compared to in carnivorous lineages remains largely untested i ..read more

Abstract The Cambrian and Ordovician radiations marked the origins of all major echinoderm clades and established their Phanerozoic ecological blueprint. Recent claims of modest innovation of early echinoderms and other animals suggest constraints on novelty during the origins of phyla. Here, we document the life-habit richness, body size, tiering, habitat usage, mobility, diet and foraging habits of 366 Cambrian–Ordovician echinoderm genera across a time-scaled phylogeny to identify the timing and impact of novelty. Most early echinoderms were sedentary, filter-feeding microbivores, and their ..read more