bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The significance of vertebrate microfossil size and shape distributions for faunal abundance reconstructions: a Late Cretaceous example
Authors: Blob Richard W. , Fiorillo Anthony R.
Published: July 2016

Faunal abundance and fossil size and shape data from microvertebrate localities in the Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation of south-central Montana illustrate that even when located in similar sedimentary facies, concentrations of vertebrate microfossils may exhibit strikingly different taphonomic profiles. Degrees of microfossil size and shape sorting may vary even among sites from the same sedimentary facies. In some instances, such variations may make it impossible to disregard taphonomic causes for differences sites exhibit in paleofaunal abundances. To limit the possibility that taphonomically generated faunal differences might be mistaken for true differences in paleoecology, comparisons of paleofaunal abundances should be restricted to microvertebrate sites both from similar sedimentary facies and with similar profiles of fossil sizes and shapes.
The roles of mass extinction and biotic interaction in large-scale replacements: a reexamination using the fossil record of stromboidean gastropods
Authors: Roy Kaustuv
Published: July 2016

The macroevolutionary processes underlying large-scale biotic replacements are still poorly understood. Opinion remains divided regarding the roles of mass extinction, biotic interaction, and environmental perturbations in these replacement events. Previous attempts to test replacement hypotheses have largely focused on taxonomic diversity patterns. Taxonomic data alone, however, provide little insight about ecological interactions and hence other approaches are needed to understand mechanics of biotic replacements. Here I propose a conceptual model of replacement based on predation-mediated biotic interactions, and attempt a test using analysis of the Cenozoic replacement of the gastropod family Aporrhaidae by a closely related group, the Strombidae.

Taxonomic, morphologic, and geographic data analyzed in this study all suggest a replacement of aporrhaids by strombids following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. While most of the taxonomic replacement was associated with a mass extinction, some replacement also occurred during background times and was mediated by higher origination rates in strombids rather than by higher extinction rates in aporrhaids. Morphologically, the replacement was largely confined to the portion of the morphospace unaffected by the end-Cretaceous extinction. At a global scale, the geographic overlap between the two groups declined through the Cenozoic, reflecting increasing restriction of aporrhaids to colder, temperate waters while strombids flourished in the tropics. However, at a finer geographic scale a more mosaic pattern of replacement is evident and coincides with Eocene and Oligocene climatic fluctuations.

The results of this study suggest that mass extinction, long-term biotic interaction, and environmental change can all play significant roles in biotic replacements. Since the relative importance of each factor would vary from one event to another, an understanding of the general nature of large-scale biotic replacements requires a knowledge of the relative intensities of each of these processes.
Aerodynamics and thermoregulatory function of the dorsal sail of Edaphosaurus
Authors: Bennett S. Christopher
Published: July 2016

Dorsal sails supported by hyperelongate neural spines of dorsal vertebrae were evolved by various tetrapods, but most work on their function has centered on the pelycosaur Dimetrodon, in which the sail has generally been interpreted as a thermoregulatory structure that would permit rapid warming in the morning and cooling during the hot midday. The pelycosaur Edaphosaurus differed from other sailed tetrapods in that the neural spines supporting the sail had laterally directed tubercles or cross-bars. Past interpretations of Edaphosaurus suggested that the cross-bars were embedded in a thick fat-storage structure or extended from a thin sail to enhance its utility for intraspecific display. However, wind tunnel modeling of air flow over a thin sail with laterally projecting cross-bars supports a thermoregulatory interpretation of the sail of Edaphosaurus. The cross-bars would produce a turbulent flow, which would increase the effectiveness of convective cooling. Measurements of heat flow in an instrumented model show that cross-bars increase heat loss from the sail. The cross-bars may have enabled Edaphosaurus to thermoregulate effectively with a smaller and lower dorsal sail than would have been required without them.
Ancient feeding ecology and niche differentiation of Pleistocene mammalian herbivores from Tarija, Bolivia: morphological and isotopic evidence
Authors: MacFadden Bruce J. , Shockey Bruce J.
Published: July 2016

The exceedingly rich middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna from the classic Ensenadan Tarija basin in southern Bolivia contains a diversity of medium to large-bodied herbivores consisting of both endemic (†Toxodontia, †Litopterna, Xenarthra) and immigrant (Rodentia, Proboscidea, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla) taxa. In order to characterize feeding ecology and niche differences, a suite of morphological characters was measured for each of 13 species of herbivorous mammals from the Pleistocene of Tarija; these were combined with carbon isotopic results from tooth enamel. (The Xenarthra were excluded from this study because they lack tooth enamel.)

Several different bivariate and multivariate combinations of characters can be used to characterize the feeding adaptations, niches, and guild composition of the Tarija mammalian herbivores. During the Pleistocene the browsing guild in the Tarija basin is interpreted to include the tapir (Tapirus tarijensis), extinct llama (Palaeolama weddelli), peccary (Tayassusp.), and deer (Hippocamelussp.). The mixed-feeding guild included two horse species (Hippidion principaleandOnohippidium devillei), litoptern (Macrauchenia patachonica), and capybara (Neochoerus tarijensis). The grazing guild included the numerically dominant horse (Equus insulatus), two lamine species (Lama angustimaxillaand cf.Vicugna, provicugna), notoungulate (Toxodon platensis), and gomphothere proboscidean (Cuvieronius hyodon). The grazing guild has the widest range of body sizes relative to the two other guilds. Closely related sympatric species within the Equidae and Camelidae differentiate their niches from one another using a combination of body size, feeding ecology, and probably local habitat. Most of the paleoecological reconstructions resulting from this combined morphological and isotopic analysis corroborate previous studies based primarily on morphology; there are, however, some notable surprises.
Stable isotopes, hypsodonty, and the paleodiet ofHemiauchenia(Mammalia: Camelidae): a morphological specialization creating ecological generalization
Authors: Feranec Robert S.
Published: July 2016

Morphological adaptations may indicate increased specialization (narrowing of ecological niche) or expansion of the suite of lifestyles available to an organism (increasing niche breadth). Hypsodonty in mammals generally has been interpreted as a specialization into a grazing niche from a browsing niche. Here I examine the feeding strategy of the extinct hypsodont camelHemiaucheniathrough an analysis of stable carbon isotope values from its tooth enamel, which was used to clarify its feeding strategy and to resolve conflicting interpretations of dental versus muzzle attributes. The paleodiet ofHemiaucheniais then used to test whether hypsodonty correlates to grazing within fossil Lamini. This study focuses on fossils from Florida, which is geographically ideal because unlike other regions of the country almost all extant plants on which animals browse use the C3photosynthetic pathway. In contrast, most of the grasses and sedges utilized by grazers use the C4photosynthetic pathway. IfHemiaucheniawas an obligate grazer, the stable carbon isotope values of tooth enamel should reflect primarily a diet of C4grass and sedge (>−1.3%). IfHemiaucheniawas mainly a browser, the isotopic value should be considerably more negative reflecting ingestion primarily of C3browse (<−7.9%). The mean δ13C values forHemiaucheniaduring each time interval average more negative than −8.0%, indicating a dominantly C3browse diet, and there is no evidence for abandonment of the browsing niche from the Hemphillian through the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Ages. However, an increase in the range of isotopic values indicates a diet with a higher proportion of C4grasses and sedges through time. This study therefore suggests thatHemiaucheniawas a hypsodontintermediate feeder with preference for browseduring the past 5 million years. Hypsodonty is not strictly associated with obligate grazing; instead it may, in this case, represent an adaptation to widen niche breadth that allowed grazing as well as browsing.
When are leaves good thermometers? A new case for Leaf Margin Analysis
Authors: Wilf Peter
Published: July 2016

Precise estimates of past temperatures are critical for understanding the evolution of organisms and the physical biosphere, and data from continental areas are an indispensable complement to the marine record of stable isotopes. Climate is considered to be a primary selective force on leaf morphology, and two widely used methods exist for estimating past mean annual temperatures from assemblages of fossil leaves. The first approach, Leaf Margin Analysis, is univariate, based on the positive correlation in modern forests between mean annual temperature and the proportion of species in a flora with untoothed leaf margins. The second approach, known as the Climate-Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program, is based on a modern data set that is multivariate. I argue here that the simpler, univariate approach will give paleotemperature estimates at least as precise as the multivariate method because (1) the temperature signal in the multivariate data set is dominated by the leaf-margin character; (2) the additional characters add minimal statistical precision and in practical use do not appear to improve the quality of the estimate; (3) the predictor samples in the univariate data set contain at least twice as many species as those in the multivariate data set; and (4) the presence of numerous sites in the multivariate data set that are both dry and extremely cold depresses temperature estimates for moist and nonfrigid paleofloras by about 2°C, unless the dry and cold sites are excluded from the predictor set.

New data from Western Hemisphere forests are used to test the univariate and multivariate methods and to compare observed vs. predicted error distributions for temperature estimates as a function of species richness. Leaf Margin Analysis provides excellent estimates of mean annual temperature for nine floral samples. Estimated temperatures given by 16 floral subsamples are very close both to actual temperatures and to the estimates from the samples. Temperature estimates based on the multivariate data set for four of the subsamples were generally less accurate than the estimates from Leaf Margin Analysis. Leaf-margin data from 45 transect collections demonstrate that sampling of low-diversity floras at extremely local scales can result in biased leaf-margin percentages because species abundance patterns are uneven. For climate analysis, both modern and fossil floras should be sampled over an area sufficient to minimize this bias and to maximize recovered species richness within a given climate.
Locomotor evolution in the earliest cetaceans: functional model, modern analogues, and paleontological evidence
Authors: Thewissen J. G. M. , Fish F. E.
Published: July 2016

We discuss a model for the origin of cetacean swimming that is based on hydrodynamic and kinematic data of modern mammalian swimmers. The model suggests that modern otters (Mustelidae: Lutrinae) display several of the locomotor modes that early cetaceans used at different stages in the transition from land to water. We use mustelids and other amphibious mammals to analyze the morphology of the Eocene cetaceanAmbulocetus natans, and we conclude thatAmbulocetusmay have locomoted by a combination of pelvic paddling and dorsoventral undulations of the tail, and that its locomotor mode in water resembled that of the modern otterLutramost closely. We also suggest that cetacean locomotion may have resembled that of the freshwater otterPteronuraat a stage beyondAmbulocetus.
Species level phenotypic variation in lower Paleozoic trilobites
Authors: Smith Loren H.
Published: July 2016

Phenotypic variation within species provides the raw material acted upon by natural selection and other evolutionary mechanisms. As such, the range and variation of morphology within a species can play an important role in determining the tempo of evolution. The range and variance of aspects of cranidial morphology for nine lower Paleozoic trilobites were measured to identify microevolutionary correlates of macroevolutionary patterns. Comparisons were made among sets of homologous landmarks or upon partial warp vector matrices containing similar proportions of variance. Rarefaction and bootstrap analyses helped estimate the effects of sampling. Levels of variance and range of morphology differed considerably within and among time periods. There is no significant temporal decline in the variance or range of morphology, suggesting that developmental or genomic constraints may not have been the primary factors controlling the tempo of trilobite macroevolution. The spatial distribution of cranidial variance differed considerably among taxa, suggesting that a complex set of developmental processes governed the morphogenesis of cranidia within trilobites.
Differences between evolution of mean form and evolution of new morphotypes: an example from Late Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera
Authors: Kucera Michal , Malmgren Björn A.
Published: July 2016

Morphological evolution in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)Contusotruncanalineage of planktonic foraminifera was studied at DSDP Sites 525 (South Atlantic) and 384 (North Atlantic). A multivariable approach was used to separate aspects of form controlled by geographical variation (size, spiral roundness of the test, percentage of kummerform specimens) from those due to changes that occurred simultaneously in geographically distant populations of the lineage (shell conicity, number of chambers in the last whorl).

A gradual increase in mean shell conicity was observed over the last 3 million years of the Cretaceous. It arose from the combination of a rapid development of highly conical shells after 68.5 Ma and a long-term trend of progressive disappearance of the ancestral morphotype. Therefore, despite the gradual change in “mean form,” the morphological evolution in theContusotruncanalineage differs from the classical image of phyletic gradualism. The gradual increase in mean shell conicity in the lineage was accompanied by a remarkable decrease in its absolute abundance (shell accumulation rate), suggesting that the changes in shell morphology might not have been neutral with respect to natural selection. Apparently, gradual change in “mean form” of fossil lineages does not require an equally gradual development of morphological novelties. It may be caused by natural selection operating on a constant range of variation in populations living in environments without geographical barriers.
Crocodilian diversity in space and time: the role of climate in paleoecology and its implication for understanding K/T extinctions
Authors: Markwick Paul J.
Published: July 2016

The taxonomic diversity of crocodilians (Crocodylia) through the last 100 million years shows a general decline in the number of genera and species to the present day. But this masks a more complex pattern. This is investigated here using a comprehensive database of fossil crocodilians that provides the opportunity to examine spatial and temporal trends, the influence of sampling, and the role of climate in regulating biodiversity.

Crown-group crocodilians, comprising the extant families Alligatoridae, Crocodylidae, and Gavialidae, show the following trend: an initial exponential diversification through the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene that is restricted to the Northern Hemisphere until after the K/T boundary; relatively constant diversity from the Paleocene into the middle Eocene that may be an artifact of sampling, which might mask an actual decline in numbers; low diversity during the late Eocene and Oligocene; a second exponential diversification during the Miocene and leveling off in the late Miocene and Pliocene; and a precipitous drop in the Pleistocene and Recent. The coincidence of drops in diversity with global cooling is suggestive of a causal link—during the initial glaciation of Antarctica in the Eocene and Oligocene and the Northern Hemisphere glaciation at the end of the Pliocene. However, matters are complicated in the Northern Hemisphere by the climatic effects of regional uplift.

Although the global trend of diversification is unperturbed at the K/T boundary, this is largely due to the exceptionally high rate of origination in the early Paleocene. Nonetheless, the survival of such a demonstrably climate-sensitive group strongly suggests that a climatic explanation for the K/T mass extinctions, especially the demise of the dinosaurs, must be reconsidered.
An evaluation of a hierarchical branching process as a model for species diversification
Authors: Przeworski Molly , Wall Jeffrey D.
Published: July 2016

A hierarchical birth-death process is often used as a model for the diversification of species and higher taxa. We evaluate the validity of this null hypothesis by introducing a new measure: the distribution of species within higher taxa. The proportion of monotypic taxa and the number of species in the largest taxon generated by 1000 simulations are compared with extant mammalian data. The initial model is amended to include two sampling patterns, polyphyletic origins as well as ecological and genetic constraints on higher taxon origination rates. Simulated results are extremely variable. For genera, they are found to predict the true distribution of species quite well. For families, however, the null hypothesis is rejected in all its forms. Simulated distributions have both too many monotypic taxa and too large a dominant taxon. The latter finding stands in contrast to previous claims. Interestingly, although polyphyly and constraints slightly improve the fit of the simulations to the data, sampling does not. Finally, Smith and Patterson's dismissal of monotypic taxa is reviewed in light of this model. We argue that while some apparently monotypic taxa are sampling artifacts, this observation has no bearing on the true proportion of monotypic taxa.
Biophysical constraints on the thermal ecology of dinosaurs
Authors: O'Connor Michael P. , Dodson Peter
Published: July 2016

A physical, model-based approach to body temperatures in dinosaurs allows us to predict what ranges of body temperatures and what thermoregulatory strategies were available to those dinosaurs. We argue that

1.

The huge range of body sizes in the dinosaurs likely resulted in very different thermal problems and strategies for animals at either end of this size continuum.

2.

Body temperatures of the smallest adult dinosaurs and of hatchlings and small juveniles would have been largely insensitive to metabolic rates in the absence of insulation. The smallest animals in which metabolic heating resulted in predicted body temperatures ≥ 2°C above operative temperatures (Te) weigh 10 kg. Body temperature would respond rapidly enough to changes in Te to make behavioral thermoregulation possible.

3.

Body temperatures of large dinosaurs (>1000 kg) likely were sensitive to both metabolic rate and the delivery of heat to the body surface by blood flow. Our model suggests that they could adjust body temperature by adjusting metabolic rate and blood flow. Behavioral thermoregulation by changing microhabitat selection would likely have been of limited utility because body temperatures would have responded only slowly to changes in Te.

4.

Endothermic metabolic rates may have put large dinosaurs at risk for overheating unless they had adaptations to shed the heat as necessary. This would have been particularly true for dinosaurs with masses > 10,000 kg, but simulations suggest that for animals as small as 1000 kg in the Tropics and in temperate latitudes during the summer, steady-state body temperatures would have exceeded 40°C. Slow response of body temperatures to changes in Te suggests that use of day-night thermal differences would have buffered dinosaurs from diel warming but would not have lowered body temperatures sufficiently for animals experiencing high mean daily Te.

5.

Endothermic metabolism and metabolic heating might have been useful for intermediate and large-sized (100–3000 kg) dinosaurs but often in situations that demanded marked seasonal adjustment of metabolic rates and/or precise control of metabolism (and heat-loss mechanisms) as typically seen in endotherms.
Segregation and speciation in the Neogene planktonic foraminiferal clade Globoconella
Authors: Schneider Cynthia E. , Kennett James P.
Published: July 2016

The origin of the Neogene planktonic foraminifer Globorotalia (Globoconella) pliozea in the subtropical southwest Pacific has been attributed to its isolation resulting from intensification of the Subtropical Divergence (Tasman Front). Oxygen isotopic analyses suggest that, although the Subtropical Divergence may have played a role, the evolution of Gr. (G.) pliozea was facilitated by depth segregation of Gr. (G.) conomiozea morphotypes (low and high conical) during an interval of near-surface warming and increasing thermal gradient. Oxygen isotopic analyses suggest that low conical morphotypes of Gr. (G.) conomiozea inhabited greater depths than high conical morphotypes. Low conical forms of Gr. (G.) conomiozea are considered ancestral to the low conical species, Gr. (G.) pliozea. Oxygen isotopes indicate that Gr. (G.) pliozea inhabited greater depths than its ancestor, Gr. (G.) conomiozea.

These data are consistent with depth-parapatric and depth-allopatric models, but not with a sympatric model of speciation. In the allopatric model, reproduction at different water depths acts as a barrier between morphotypes. In the parapatric model, clinal variation along a depth gradient acts as a barrier between morphotypes living at the limits of the gradient. Depth segregation in both models results in genetic isolation and evolutionary divergence. Our data support a correlation between morphological evolution and habitat changes in the Globoconella clade, implying separation of populations as a driving force for morphological evolution.

Ecological segregation of morphotypes and species may be related to morphology (height of the conical angle), based on the data from Gr. (G.) conomiozea and Gr. (G.) pliozea. However, morphological differences alone do not necessarily produce depth differences. Large morphological differences between Gr. (G.) pliozea and closely related Gr. (G.) puncticulata did not result in isotopic and therefore depth differences between these species. These species coexisted at the same water depths for nearly 1 m.y. Thus, it is unlikely that the extinction of Gr. (G.) pliozea in the middle Pliocene resulted from competition with Gr. (G.) puncticulata, as previously suggested.
Pattern and process in paleobiology: the role of cladistic analysis in systematic paleontology
Authors: Cracraft Joel
Published: July 2016

Systematics and paleontology have had a long conceptual relationship, united by the common goal of reconstructing the history of life. Yet, with few exceptions, paleontologists have had little input into formulating systematic theory and methodology. The reasons for this apparently relate to two conceptual-philosophical traditions of post-Darwinian paleontology: (1) the widespread adoption of a species concept in which taxa are viewed as nondiscrete, arbitrarily designated segments of evolutionary continua, and (2) the belief that phylogenetic reconstruction is primarily an empirical matter of tracing evolutionary change through the stratigraphic record.

Available systematic evidence supports the hypothesis that species are real, discrete units in space and time and that, unless they are postulated to be directly ancestral to another species, they can be defined by the possession of one or more evolutionary novelties (derived characters). Species beginnings are delineated by speciation (vicariance) events and their terminations by subsequent speciation events or by extinctions.

Natural groups are composed of taxa that have shared a common genealogical history. Cladistic analysis is a method to construct and test hypotheses of monophyly and thereby define natural groups. Cladistic hypotheses are necessary to investigate many of the major questions within contemporary paleobiology. Virtually no studies of evolutionary rates, patterns of taxonomic diversity, modes of taxic evolution, and patterns of morphological diversification can be undertaken without reference to cladistic hypotheses about the composition of natural groups.

Because paleobiology is historical in its content, paleontologists are greatly limited in their ability to use paleontological data to investigate questions about the evolutionary process. According to current evolutionary theory, the concepts of adaptation and natural selection relate to genetic and ecological processes that take place within local populations (microevolution). If so, then data relevant to examining these phenomena are likely to be lacking in paleontological samples. Consequently, explanations of paleontological pattern that include process-related concepts such as adaptation and natural selection are axiomatic in their logical structure and thus cannot be falsified or critically evaluated by that paleontological pattern.
Heterochrony: beyond words
Authors: McKinney Michael L.
Published: July 2016

“It's not all heterochrony.” Raff (1996)

“Heterochrony … explains everything.” McNamara (1997)

Few evolutionary topics have generated more confusion and controversy than heterochrony. Commonly defined as “evolution via change in rate or timing of development,” heterchrony has historically become associated with genocidal ideologies, simple-minded theories of evolution, and a bloated, baroque jargon describing patterns produced by largely unknown mechanisms. With a track record like that, perhaps the most surprising aspect of heterochrony is its continued, even rapid, growth as an area of productive scientific inquiry. For example, the number of papers devoted to heterochronic topics continues to increase in many evolutionary journals and books (reviews in Reilly et al. 1997; Klingenberg 1998), including those devoted to human development (Bogin 1997) and evolution (Vrba 1998; McKinney 1998; Parker and McKinney 1999).
Comparison of in situ mineral-associated lipid compositions in modern invertebrate skeletons: preliminary evidence of dietary and environmental influence
Authors: CoBabe Emily A. , Ptak Amy J.
Published: July 2016

Lipids found associated with skeletons represent an important avenue of study in molecular paleontology, because the chemical nature of these compounds means they are often biogenically specific and can survive in the geologic record over millions of years. Though it is clear that these skeletal compounds originate from the mineralizing organism, our understanding of the distributions and nutritional sources of lipids among invertebrates is still limited, requiring that baseline studies of modern taxa be completed to evaluate the potential of skeletal lipids in paleoecological studies.

In this study, skeletal lipids from nine modern invertebrate taxa (five mollusks, a brachiopod, an echinoid, a coral, and a barnacle) were extracted and analyzed. Though the major classes of lipids found in the skeletons are remarkably consistent, the sterol profiles from these organisms contain both dietary and environmental information. The skeletons of filter feeders generally have two to three times the variety of sterols as compared with carnivores and grazers. In addition, specific steroidal contributions from several plant and algal groups (including dinosterol, 22-dehydrocholesterol, and β- and γ-sitosterol) can be identified. The limited nature and distribution of sterols in the carnivore skeleton implies that both sterol-recycling and some degree of molecular selectivity may be occurring in this taxon. Taxa living in nearshore shallow marine habitats have significant sterol contributions from higher plants, while deepwater organisms have relatively little. Since the geologically stable form of sterols often retains the three-dimensional structure necessary to recognize the biological precursor, these compounds may be used for determining the ecology of fossil invertebrates.
Titanosaurs and the origin of “wide-gauge” trackways: a biomechanical and systematic perspective on sauropod locomotion
Authors: Wilson Jeffrey A. , Carrano Matthew T.
Published: July 2016

Two major ichnotypes of sauropod trackways have been described: “narrow-gauge,” in which both manus and pes prints approach or intersect the trackway midline, and “wide-gauge,” in which these prints are well apart from the midline. This gauge disparity could be the result of differences in behavior, body size, or morphology between the respective trackmakers. However, the biomechanics of locomotion in large terrestrial vertebrates suggest that sauropods were probably restricted in locomotor behavior, and the lack of systematic size differences between footprint gauges argues against body-size-related influences. We argue that skeletal morphology is responsible for gauge differences and integrate data from locomotor biomechanics and systematics with the track record to predict the hindlimb morphology of wide-gauge trackmakers. Broader foot stances in large, graviportal animals entail predictable mechanical consequences and hindlimb modifications. These could include outwardly angled femora, offset knee condyles, and a more eccentric femoral midshaft cross-section. A survey of sauropod hindlimb morphology reveals that these features are synapomorphies of titanosaurs, suggesting that they were the makers of wide-gauge trackways. The temporal and geographic distribution of titanosaurs is consistent with this hypothesis because wide-gauge trackways predominate during the Cretaceous and are found worldwide. Additional appendicular synapomorphies of titanosaurs are interpreted in light of identifying these animals as wide-gauge trackmakers. We suggest that titanosaurs may have used a bipedal stance more frequently than did other sauropods. These correlations between ichnology, biomechanics, and systematics imply that titanosaurs were unique among sauropods in having a more varied repertoire of locomotor habits.
VI. Antiquities discovered in Lancaster, 1776. By Mr. West, Author of the “Antiquities of Furness.” Communicated by Mr. Lort
Authors: West
Published: July 2016

On sinking the cellars for a large house at the upper part of Church-street in this town, now building by Daniel Wilson, esq. on the site of which stood some very old houses (formerly called the Judge's lodgings), was discovered, at about six feet below the present surface of the street, a supposed Roman burying-place; as burnt wood, bones, and ashes, broken paterae, urns, Roman brick, gutter tiles, coins, horns of animals, &c. were found; also, two fragments of thick walls, at about five yards distant from each other, in a direction from front to back, and seeming to continue under Church-street, be-twixt which were several large stones, some of which were hewn. By this it may be conjectured, to have been a vault to deposit the ashes of the dead, and fallen-in, or pulled down, at some time, as there were found, within the walls, several pieces of urns, an earthen sepulchral lamp entire (the end of the spout where the wick came out was burnt black), broken paterae, burnt bones, ashes, a large human skull, Roman coins, &c. also, at the North-end a well, filled with hewn stones, but not meddled with.
XIII. Examination of the mistaken Opinion that Ireland and Thanet were void of Serpents. By Mr. Pegge
Authors: Pegge
Published: July 2016

There are yet many points in natural history which want to be cleared. It is not certainly known whether the elephant casts its teeth; the bee-fanciers have lately been very generally of opinion, that the working bees are of no sex; but as this is contrary to analogy, or the usual course of nature in her productions, it has been called in question, and with much appearance of reason, insomuch that this matter wants to be better ascertained.
XXVII. An important historical Passage of Gildas amended and explained. By the Rev. Mr. Pegge
Authors: Pegge
Published: July 2016

There is a passage in Gildas which is become very famous, partly on account of the various reading, but chiefly of the sense and meaning of it; authors disagreeing widely in the interpretation. It is indeed a paragraph of consequence, as it concerns a portion of the British history at a very critical time, and as such may well deserve a minute and particular discussion.
XXVIII. Description of a third unpublished royal Seal, in the Possession of Owen Salusbury Brereton, Esq.
Authors: Brereton Owen Salusbury
Published: July 2016

This seal of brass very finely cut, belongs to Henrietta Maria, daughter of the Great Henry IV. of France, and wife to our Charles I. The arms are England, France, and Navarre, borne separately in a lozenge, with the words Henretta Maria, dei gratiae Angliae, Scotiae, Fravnciae, et Hiberniae, Reginae round it. The supporters of the arms are, the Lion of England and the St. Michael powdered with fleurs de lis. On the reverse, the queen at full length, under a canopy, crowned and in royal robes, with the scepter in her right hand, and the globe in her left; the arms of England on her right side and of France without Navarre, on her left; both crowned with Imperial crowns, and the same inscription round the whole.
XXXV. Some Observations on the Horns given by Henry I. to the Cathedral of Carlisle. By the Rev. Mr. Cole, F.A.S. In a Letter to the President
Authors: Cole
Published: July 2016

This curious and perfect Roman fibula, which I have the honour to send to you by my friend Mr. Lort for your inspection, was found at no great distance from Rome, about the year 1770, at a place called Rocca Priore, between Frescati and Palestrina, by a peasant, who sold it, together with some coins, to my friend Mr. Kerrich, fellow of Magdalen college, Cambridge, from whom I received it very lately.
II. Observations on an Inscription at Spello, by F. Passarini, and Roger Gale, Esq.
Authors: Passarini F. , Gale Roger
Published: July 2016

The late earl of Colerane presented to the Society a collection of inscriptions given to him by Ferdinand Passarini, who transcribed them from stones found at Spello, the antient Hispellum, and illustrated them with short notes. The first and most considerable of them on a pedestal six palms high and four square, with a hole in the top, formerly standing near the amphitheatre, but at this time on the right hand of the door of the town-house, had been before incorrectly published by Fabretti. A fuller and more critical commentary upon the same inscription was afterwards drawn up by the late Roger Gale, esq; which, being read to the Society, was entered in their minute book, whence it is now published, together with the notes by the antiquary of Spello:
XIV. Observations on an Altar, with a Greek Inscription, at Corbridge, in Northumberland. By the Rev. Dr. Pettingal
Authors: Pettingal
Published: July 2016

The person who communicated this inscription to the Society a few years ago, informed us that it was found about Corbridge, in Northumberland, near the wall; where, as there were many Roman legions, particularly the Legio Secunda Augusta, and Vicesima Victrix ordered thither, the first from Isca Silurum, the other from Deva, or Chester, in order to keep the wall in repair, and defend it.
XIX. Observations on Stone Hammers. By Mr. Pegge
Authors: Pegge
Published: July 2016

We have had two stone instruments lately discovered in this island, which are supposed, and I think with reason, to be British, and of a very remote antiquity. They were exhibited at the Society accompanied with learned dissertations by the respective members; the first by the late worthy president, the bishop of Carlisle, and the second by the Rev. Mr. Lort. Another of these instruments has lately fallen into my hands, on which occasion, as there seems to remain some doubt concerning the use of them amongst our ancestors, I shall take the liberty of giving my opinion upon that head, together with the grounds thereof.
XXV. A Dissertation on the Crane, as a Dish served up at great Tables in England. By the Reverend Mr. Pegge
Authors: Pegge
Published: July 2016

It appears from Horace, Epod. ii. that the ancients used the Crane as a viand; and what may seem more extraordinary, and even new to many people, our ancestors in this island formerly on great occasions, and in splendid entertainments, often served up the Crane as a sumptuous dish. I shall here produce some instances of this, and, as I imagine, enough to put the matter beyond all dispute.
V. Extract from the Will of Thomas Earl of Ormond, dated July 31, 1515. From the Register called Holder in the Prerogative Office, Communicated by Thomas Astle, Esquire
Authors: Astle Thomas
Published: July 2016

I, Thomas Butler knt. erle of Ormond, do make this my last will and testam't, &c. Item I give and devise to my dar dame Anne St. Leger—to my dar dame Marg't. Bolin, late the wife of Sir Wm. Bolin knt. my manor of Newhall in Essex—Item when my lorde my father, whole soul God assoile, left and delivered unto me a lytle whyte horne of ivory, garnished at both thendes with gold, and corse thereunto of whyte sylke, barred with barres of gold, and a tyret of golde thereupon, which was myn auncetours at fyrst time they were called to honour, and hath sythen contynually remained in the same blode, for wych cause my seid lord and father commanded me upon his blessing, that I shuld doo my devoir to cause it to contynue still in my blode as far furth as that myght lye in me soo to be doone to the honor of the same blode. Therefore for the accomplishment of my seid father's will, as farr as it is in me to execute the same, I woll that my executors delyver unto Sir Tho. Boleyn knt. son and heir apparent of my said dar Margaret, the said lytle white horn and corse, he to keep the same to the use of thissue male of his body lawfully begotten.
XIX. Ἀλεκτϱυόνων Ἀγών. A Memoir on Cock-fighting; wherein the Antiquity of it, as a Pastime, is examined and stated; some Errors of the Moderns concerning it are corrected; and the Retention of it amongst Christians is absolutely condemned and proscribed. By the Rev. Mr. Pegge
Authors: Pegge
Published: July 2016

I have often thought it most astonishing, that a mode of diversion so cruel and inhuman as that of cockfighting, should so generally prevail; that not only the ancients, barbarians, Greeks and Romans, should have adopted it, but that a practice so savage and heathenish should be continued by Christians of all sorts, and even pursued in these better and more enlightened times.
XLI. An Account of Some Irish Antiquities. By Governor Pownall
Authors: Pownall
Published: July 2016

In the course of last year I exhibited to the Society two swords, and some other fragments said to have been parts of an image found in a bog at Cullen, in the county of Tipperary, in Ireland, on the lands of Lord Milton. These are now in the posession of that noble lord; and his politeness gave me an opportunity of communicating them.
VI. An Account of some Antiquities discovered, on digging into a large Roman Barrow, at Ellenborough, in Cumberland, 1763. By the Reverend Mr. Head, Prebendary of Carlisle
Authors: Head
Published: July 2016

That judicious Antiquary Mr. Horsley says, there is no one Roman station in Britain, where, he believes, so great a number of inscriptions have been discovered, as at Ellenborough, in Cumberland, and most of the original inscribed stones were yet preserved at Ellenborough hall (now called Nether-hall,) the seat of Humphry Senhouse, esq; proprietor of the ground where the station was and lineal descendant from John Senhouse, esq; praised by Mr. Camden, for his great civility to Sir Robert Cotton and himself when they visited these parts; also for his excellent skill in antiquities, and for the care he took in preserving such valuable literary curiosities.
XII. Observations on the Round Tower at Brechin, in Scotland. By Richard Gough, Esq.
Authors: Gough Richard
Published: July 2016

Mr. Gordon, in his Itinerarium Septentrionale, p. 164, 165, and pl. LXII. has described and exhibited two round towers in Scotland; one at Abernethy, near Perth, the other at Brechin. The first being in the capital city of the Picts, of whom it is the only remain, has probably occasioned these monuments to be called Pictish. But as they are more numerous in Ireland, where we have no reason to think that people ever were, and all in that kingdom, as well as in Scotland, stand near parochial or cathedral churches, or churches of some consideration, it seems a more probable conjecture that they were erected in the earliest ages of Christianity, before the introduction of bells (which were first invented or made use of in the 6th or 7th century), from whence to call the people to church by the found of trumpets or horns, such having been found near several in Ireland. That at Ardmore has since been used as a belfry; and Mr. Smith describes two channels cut in the door fill, to let the rope out, the ringer standing below the door, on the outside: in which manner the bells are still rung at Kelso in Scotland, and at the cathedral of Kildare, unless it be objected that this last may only prove its application as a belfry since it was first built.
XIV. Observations on an Altar, with a Greek Inscription, at Corbridge, in Northumberland. By the Rev. Dr. Pettingal
Authors: Pettingal
Published: July 2016

The person who communicated this inscription to the Society a few years ago, informed us that it was found about Corbridge in Northumberland, near the wall; where, as there were many Roman legions, particularly the Legio Secunda Augusta, and Vicesima Victrix ordered thither, the first from Isca Silurum, the other from Deva, or Chester, in order to keep the wall in repair, and defend it. We can make no doubt of its being Roman, notwithstanding it is written in Greek characters; for this manner of writing inscriptions was an affectation frequently to be met with in the Lower Empire, or after the time of Constantine; and was sometimes carried so far, as that when the language was entirely Latin, the character was Greek, and vice versa: examples of which are to be found in Fabretti, Inscript. p. 390, and 465.
XIX. Observations on Stone Hammers By Mr. Pegge
Authors: Pegge
Published: July 2016

We have had two stone instruments lately discovered in this island, which are supposed, and I think with reason, to be British, and of a very remote antiquity. They were exhibited at the Society, accompanied by learned dissertations by the respective members; the first by the late worthy president, the bishop of Carlisle, and the second by the Rev. Mr. Lort. Another of these instruments has lately fallen into my hands, on which occasion, as there seems to remain some doubt concerning the use of them among our ancestors, I shall take the liberty of giving my opinion upon that head, together with the grounds thereof.
XXX. An Account of an Illuminated Manuscript in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Authors: Tyson
Published: July 2016

Mr Vertue, in his account prefixed to the portraits of our kings, says, that “the picture of that most glorious “prince, Henry V. is preserved in vellum MSS. of that time;” but does not inform us where he met with them. The accurate researches of an ingenious friend in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, have brought to light a very curious resemblance of that illustrious hero. The generality of illuminated portraits, it is true, are not greatly to be depended upon; they are frequently only the imaginary creatures of the illuminator, drawn with little skill or truth. The disposition of figures, the drawing, the colouring, of this miniature, all shew the hand of an abler master. It appears also, that the book in which this illumination is preserved was originally presented to the king himself, and was afterwards his property. This is another mark of the resemblance being genuine; for it cannot be suppofed that the author would have presented the king with so laboured a miniature of his majesty, if he had not been able to procure a real likeness. Besides these proofs of its authenticity, the profile at Kensington, and the figure of the king in the historical picture belonging to Mr. West, are plainly intended for the same person represented in this MS; and no one has yet called in question the genuineness of the two former.
XXXV. A Description of the Sepulchral Monument at New Grange, near Drogheda, in the County of Meath, in Ireland. By Thomas Pownall, Esq; in a Letter to the Rev. Gregory Sharpe, D. D. Master of the Temple
Authors: Pownall Thomas
Published: July 2016

The sole object I had in view when I first sat down to write, was to give you an account of a very singular and curious monument of antiquity at New Grange, in the county of Meath, in Ireland; and I meant to have confined this account to a mere description of particulars. But when I came to consider these particulars under reference to the general customs of times more remote than the highest antiquity this monument can be supposed to boast, that consideration opened a field for disquisitions of a much more general and extensive scope.
II. A Description of a Mitre and Crosier, part of the ancient Pontificalia of the See of Limerick. By the Rev. John Milner, D.D. F.A.S. in a Letter to Nicholas Carlisle, Esq. Secretary
Authors: Milner John
Published: July 2016

In a tour, which I made last autumn through part of the west of Ireland, I met with certain articles of antiquity, in the possession of a friend of mine at Limerick, which, I am of opinion, the Society will think curious. I shall therefore proceed here to give an account of them. They consist of the most important part of the ancient Pontificalia of the See of Limerick; namely, of the best or precious Mitre, and of what, no doubt, was the best crosier belonging to it; being each of them exquisitely rich and beautiful; as likewise, of the Episcopal Register, from the middle of the twelfth, down to the middle of the fifteenth, century. All these articles are in high preservation.
V. King Charles the First's Warrant to Admiral Pennington to deliver the Fleet under his command to the French. Communicated by George Duckett, Esq. F.R.S. and S.A. in a Letter to the Secretary, Nicholas Carlisle, Esq.
Authors: Duckett George
Published: July 2016

As Mr. Hume, in his Observations upon the Conduct of King Charles the First and the Duke of Buckingham, seems to imply a doubt of the truth of the assertion, that was made at the time, namely, that Charles ordered the officer, who commanded the naval force employed against Rochelle, in 1625, to surrender the ships to the French Monarch, I take the liberty, first of inserting the passage, extracted from Mr. Hume's History, and, in the next place, of sending you a true copy of the original Warrant of King Charles the First, which warrant is in my possession.