Thuja sutchuenensis: a rediscovered species of the Cupressaceae

After more than a century, the only conifer species listed as being extinct in the wild (EW) by IUCN-SSC has been rediscovered in the Dabashan Mountains of central China. The history, taxonomy, ecology and conservation of Thuja sutchuenensis are described, and illustrations, based on both the earliest and latest collection of botanical material of this tree, are provided. The taxonomic context of this rare species is discussed.  © 2002 The Linnean Society of London , Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 139 , 305–310.     

Crocodilus affuvelensis Matheron, 1869 from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: a reassessment

Hitherto unpublished crocodylian remains, including four skull fragments, from the lignite-bearing localities of Valdonne and Fuveau (Santonian–Campanian), south-eastern France, are described. They complement the original material of ' Crocodilus affuvelensis ' described by Matheron (1869) and Repelin (1930). Based on overlapping specimens, available elements of the rostrum, the palate, the skull table, the mandible and the pterygoid can be shown to belong to a single taxon, for which a reconstruction is proposed. Designation of a neotype has been proposed to the ICZN committee. A new genus, Massaliasuchus , is proposed here to designate the crocodylian originally described as Crocodilus affuvelensis . This crocodylian presents affinities with basal alligatoroids and complements the picture of crocodylian diversity during the Late Cretaceous in the European archipelago. Massaliasuchus affuvelensis is compared with other European taxa and with basal alligatoroids from North America. The putative basal position of Massaliasuchus as well as its early geological age suggest that the geographical origin of the Alligatoroidea is still uncertain.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 152 , 567–580.     

New data on the braincase of the aetosaurian archosaur (Reptilia: Diapsida) Stagonolepis robertsoni Agassiz

New data on the braincase of the aetosaurian archosaur Stagonolepis robertsoni Agassiz are presented, based on new preparation, synthetic casting, and interpretation of fossil material from the Triassic Elgin Sandstones, Scotland. The metotic fissure is not divided by bone. The perilymphatic foramen is completely bound by bone, and faces away from the otic capsule in a posterolateral direction. A prominent subvertical ridge on the anterolateral edge of the exoccipital and upper part of the basioccipital cannot be directly associated with the subcapsular process of the chondrocranium of extant crocodilians. This ridge projects laterally beyond the ventral ramus of the opisthotic, and lies anterior to the external foramina for the hypoglossal nerve. The overall structure of the braincases (especially the otic region) of S. robertsoni and other aetosaurians, where known, is more similar (in terms of derived archosaurian characters) to those of crocodylomorphs than are the braincases of other major suchian groups. This provides evidence for the currently unorthodox hypothesis that, among major suchian clades, Aetosauria and Crocodylomorpha are each others' closest relatives. Support for this hypothesis is found in features of the palatine and prefrontal that have not been considered in recent studies of suchian phylogeny. This alternative phylogenetic hypothesis demands further investigation but, combined with the new morphological data that it explains, it provides a framework for the understanding of the evolution of the derived and distinctive braincase structure of extant crocodilians.  © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2002, 136 , 7−23.     

Body size of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in Spain: the effect of agriculture

The body size of animals is affected by several factors, including ambient temperature and food availability. Ambient temperature is often negatively related to body size (Bergmann's rule) whereas an improved diet, especially during growth, has a positive effect. Animals commensal with man commonly exploit additional food sources (e.g. garbage dumps), thereby increasing their food supply. Using museum material, we studied morphological variation in skull size (and thus body size) among Spanish red foxes. Four measurements were taken of each skull and were related to the habitat from which the foxes were collected (agricultural and non-agricultural), and to latitude as a proxy for ambient temperature. The skull size of foxes collected in agricultural areas during the late 20th Century was significantly larger than that of those from non-agricultural areas, and was negatively related to latitude, thus contradicting Bergmann's rule. We suggest that increased food availability from animal husbandry is the cause for the observed increase in skull size (and thus body size).  © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 90 , 729–734.     

A new stereospondyl from the German Middle Triassic, and the origin of the Metoposauridae

Recent finds of well-preserved temnospondyl skeletons from the Lower Keuper (Ladinian, Middle Triassic) in southern Germany are assigned to a new genus and species, Callistomordax kugleri . This taxon is characterized by the following autapomorphies: (1) wide unpaired frontal; (2) vomerine fangs greatly enlarged to occupy entire width of element; (3) intercentra elongated and massive, anterior face being convex; (4) humerus semilunar with enlarged deltopectoral crest; (5) cleithrum strongly curved and bow-shaped; (6) trunk extremely elongated to reach three times the length of the skull. Callistomordax shares with the Metoposauridae the pattern of dermal ornamentation, the proportion of both posterior skull table and snout, the position of the lacrimal, the morphology of the basicranial region, and the structure of the clavicle and interclavicle. Phylogenetic analysis suggests Callistomordax to be the sister taxon of the Metoposauridae, nested within a grade formed by various trematosaurian taxa. In this assemblage, Lyrocephaliscus and a clade formed by Almasaurus , Rileymillerus , Callistomordax , and the Metoposauridae are sister taxa. In all variants of the cladistic analysis, Callistomordax and the Metoposauridae form immediate sister groups. According to the present findings, neither plagiosaurids nor brachyopoids and rhytidosteids are closely related to this 'trematosaurian' monophylum, although these taxa share a range of homoplasies.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 152 , 79–113.     

Feeding mechanics in Triassic stem-group sauropterygians: the anatomy of a successful invasion of Mesozoic seas

The jaw adductor musculature in Triassic stem-group sauropterygians is reconstructed on the basis of a paradigmatic model of muscle architecture (functional equivalence of sarcomeres) and using invariant traits of the anatomy of the trigeminal jaw adductor muscles in extant reptiles. The reconstructed jaw adductor musculature predicts trophic specializations in stem-group sauropterygians. Suction feeding is a component in prey capture for some benthic feeding, as well as for some pelagic feeding taxa. The differentiation of 'pincer' jaws is correlated with the potential for rapid, snapping bites. There is some evidence for habitat partitioning among Triassic stem-group sauropterygians with respect to trophic specialization. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 135 , 33–63.     

The plagiosaurid temnospondyl Plagiosuchus pustuliferus (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) from the Middle Triassic of Germany: anatomy and functional morphology of the skull

The cranial anatomy of the plagiosaurid temnospondyl Plagiosuchus pustuliferus, from the Middle Triassic of Germany, is described in detail on the basis of a newly discovered skull and mandibular material. The highly derived skull is characterized by huge orbitotemporal fenestrae, a reduction of the circumorbital bones – the prefrontal, postfrontal and (probably) postorbital are lost – and the expansion of the jugal to occupy most of the lateral skull margin. Ventrally the extremely long subtemporal vacuities correlate with the elongate adductor fossa of the mandible. The dentition is feebly developed on both skull and mandible. Ossified ?ceratobranchials and ‘branchial denticles’ indicate the presence of open gills clefts in life. The remarkably divergent cranial morphology of P. pustuliferus highlights the extraordinary cranial diversity within the Plagiosauridae, probably unsurpassed within the Temnospondyli. Specific structural aspects of the skull – including an extremely short marginal tooth row, feeble dentition and an elongated chamber for adductor musculature – together with evidence for a hyobranchial skeleton, suggests that P. pustuliferus utilized directed suction feeding for prey capture. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 155 , 348–373.