2018 in archosaur paleontology


The year 2018 in archosaur paleontology was eventful. Archosaurs include the only living dinosaur group — birds — and the reptile crocodilians, plus all extinct dinosaurs, extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosaur palaeontology is the scientific study of those animals, especially as they existed before the Holocene Epoch began about 11,700 years ago. The year 2018 in paleontology included various significant developments regarding archosaurs.
This article records new taxa of fossil archosaurs of every kind that have been described during the year 2018, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of archosaurs that occurred in the year 2018.

General research

Pseudosuchians

Research

Birds

Research

  • Dinosaur-like ossification pattern of skull bones is reported in bird embryos by Smith-Paredes et al..
  • A study evaluating whether eggs of early birds from the Mesozoic could have borne the weight of incubating adults is published by Deeming & Mayr.
  • A study on the formation of the pygostyle in extant birds and its evolution in Mesozoic birds is published by Rashid et al., who interpret their findings as indicating that the lack of pygostyle in Zhongornis haoae and other juvenile Mesozoic birds does not necessarily indicate that they are intermediate species in the long- to short-tailed evolutionary transition, and that feathered coelurosaur tail preserved in Burmese amber which was described by Xing et al. might be avian.
  • A study on the anatomy of the braincase of birds and non-avian dinosaurs, evaluating whether there is a link between changes in brain anatomy and loss of flight, is published by Gold & Watanabe.
  • A study on the preservation potential of feather keratin in the fossil record is published by Schweitzer et al. ; the study is subsequently criticized by Saitta & Vinther.
  • Description of 31 samples of Cretaceous amber from Myanmar that contain feathers, providing new information on the morphology and variability of rachis-dominated feathers of Cretaceous birds, is published by Xing et al..
  • A pseudoscorpion attached to barbules of a contour feather, possibly documenting a phoretic association between pseudoscorpions and Mesozoic birds, is described from the Cretaceous amber from Myanmar by Xing, McKellar & Gao.
  • A redescription of the bird trackway originally labeled Aquatilavipes anhuiensis from the Lower Cretaceous Qiuzhuang Formation is published by Xing et al., who transfer this ichnospecies to the ichnogenus Koreanaornis.
  • Early Cretaceous bird footprints are described from the Kitadani Formation by Imai, Tsukiji & Azuma.
  • New avian ichnospecies Ignotornis canadensis is described from the Lower Cretaceous Gates Formation by Buckley, McCrea & Xing.
  • Ignotornid tracks are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Jiangsu by Xing et al., representing the first known record of the ichnogenus Goseongornipes from China.
  • The twelfth specimen of Archaeopteryx, the oldest reported so far, is described by Rauhut, Foth & Tischlinger. This was named as the new genus Alcmonavis in 2019.
  • A study on the geometric properties of the wing bones of Archaeopteryx is published by Voeten et al., who interpret their findings as indicating that Archaeopteryx was able to actively use its wings to take to the air.
  • Gastrolith masses preserved in five specimens of Jeholornis will be described by O'Connor et al..
  • A new confuciusornithid specimen, most similar to Eoconfuciusornis zhengi but also sharing traits with Confuciusornis, will be described from the Upper Cretaceous Huajiying Formation by Navalón et al..
  • A study on the morphology of the skull of Confuciusornis sanctus is published by Elżanowski, Peters & Mayr.
  • An exceptionally-preserved specimen of Confuciusornis, preserving elaborate plumage patterning, is described from the Lower Cretaceous deposits in Fengning County estimated to be equivalent with the Dawangzhangzi Member of the Yixian Formation by Li et al..
  • An articulated skeleton of an enantiornithine bird preserved in the Cretaceous amber from Myanmar is described by Xing et al..
  • An early juvenile enantiornithine specimen, providing new information on the osteogenesis in members of Enantiornithes, is described from the Lower Cretaceous Las Hoyas deposits of Spain by Knoll et al..
  • A study evaluating the capacity of the enantiornithines Concornis lacustris and Eoalulavis hoyasi to use intermittent flight is published by Serrano et al..
  • A study on the morphology and diversity of enantiornithine coracoids from the Upper Cretaceous Bissekty Formation is published by Panteleev.
  • O'Connor et al. propose criteria for identifying medullary bone in fossils, and report probable medullary bone from a pengornithid enantiornithine specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation.
  • A specimen of Archaeorhynchus spathula with extensive soft tissue preservation, revealing a tail morphology previously unknown in Mesozoic birds and an exceptional occurrence of fossilized lung tissue, is described from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation by Wang et al..
  • Wang et al. report the presence of distinct salt gland fossa on the frontal of a bird similar to Iteravis huchzermeyeri and Gansus zheni from the Lower Cretaceous Sihedang locality ; the authors also consider I. huchzermeyeri and G. zheni to be probably synonymous.
  • Abundant black flies, thought to have inhabited the same environments as Cretaceous ornithurine birds and most likely fed on them, are described from the Santonian Taimyr amber by Perkovsky, Sukhomlin & Zelenkov, who use these insects as an indicator of a bird community, and argue that advanced ornithuromorph birds might have originated at higher latitudes.
  • Field et al. report new specimens and previously overlooked elements of the holotype of Ichthyornis dispar, and generate a nearly complete three-dimensional reconstruction of the skull of this species.
  • A study on the impact of the widespread destruction of forests during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event on bird evolution, as indicated by ancestral state reconstructions of neornithine ecology and inferences about enantiornithine ecology, is published by Field et al., who interpret their findings as indicating that the global forest collapse at the end of the Cretaceous caused extinction of predominantly tree-dwelling birds, while bird groups that survived the extinction and gave rise to extant birds were non-arboreal.
  • A study on the evolution of the anatomy of the crown-bird skull is published by Felice & Goswami, who also present a hypothetical reconstruction of the ancestral crown-bird skull.
  • A fossil tinamou belonging to the genus Eudromia, exceeding the size range of living species of the genus, is described from the Lujanian sediments in Marcos Paz County by Cenizo et al..
  • A study on the dietary behavior of four species of the moa and their interactions with parasites based on data from their coprolites is published by Boast et al..
  • A study on the seeds preserved in moa coprolites is published by Carpenter et al., who question the hypothesis that some of the largest-seeded plants of New Zealand were dispersed by moas.
  • A study on the genetic and morphological diversity of the emus, including extinct island populations, is published by Thomson et al..
  • A study on the timing of first human arrival in Madagascar, as indicated by evidence of prehistoric human modification of multiple elephant bird postcranial elements, is published by Hansford et al..
  • A study on the anatomy of the brains of elephant birds Aepyornis maximus and A. hildebrandti, and on its implications for inferring the ecology and behaviour of these birds, is published by Torres & Clarke.
  • A model of development of bony pseudoteeth of the odontopterygiform birds is proposed by Louchart et al..
  • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the taxa assigned to the family Vegaviidae by Agnolín et al. is published by Mayr et al..
  • A study on the adaptations for filter-feeding in the feeding apparatus of modern ducks, evaluating whether they could be also found in the skull of Presbyornis, is published by Zelenkov & Stidham, who argue that Presbyornis most likely was a poorly specialized filter-feeder.
  • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species Chendytes lawi and the Labrador duck is published by Buckner et al..
  • Schmidt interprets more than 1000 large, near-circular gravel mounds from western New South Wales as likely to be nest mounds constructed by an extinct bird, similar to the malleefowl but larger.
  • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of Foro panarium is published by Field & Hsiang, who consider this species to be a stem-turaco.Petralca austriaca, originally thought to be an auk, is reinterpreted as a member of Gaviiformes by Göhlich & Mayr.
  • Globuli ossei are reported for the first time in a bird by Garcia Marsà, Tambussi & Cerda.
  • Redescription of the anatomy of the fossil penguin Madrynornis mirandus and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of this species is published by Degrange, Ksepka & Tambussi.
  • Fossil material attributed to the extinct Hunter Island penguin is reinterpreted as assemblage of remains from three extant penguin species by Cole et al..
  • A study on the history of penguin colonization of the Vestfold Hills, indicating that penguins started colonizing the northern Vestfold Hills around 14.6 thousand years before present, is published by Gao et al..
  • A study on the history of active and abandoned Adélie penguin colonies at Cape Adare, based on new excavations and radiocarbon dating, is published by Emslie, McKenzie & Patterson.
  • A study on the mummified Adélie penguin carcasses and associated sediments from the Long Peninsula, and on their implications for inferring the causes of the abandonment of numerous penguin sub-colonies in this area during the 2nd millennium, is published by Gao et al..
  • New bird fossils, including the first reported tarsometatarsus of the plotopterid Tonsala hildegardae are described from the late Eocene/early Oligocene Makah Formation and the Oligocene Pysht Formation by Mayr & Goedert, who name a new plotopterid subfamily Tonsalinae.
  • A well-preserved scapula of a plotopterid, enabling the reconstruction of the triosseal canal in plotopterids, is described from the Oligocene Jinnobaru Formation by Ando & Fukata.
  • Fossil remains of the spectacled cormorant are described from the upper Pleistocene of Shiriya by Watanabe, Matsuoka & Hasegawa.
  • Extinct lowland kagu is reinterpreted as synonymous with extant kagu by Theuerkauf & Gula.
  • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the Rodrigues scops owl and Mauritius scops owl is published by Louchart et al..
  • Fossils of the barn owl are described from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave system by Kruger & Badenhorst, who also evaluate how these bird bones were introduced into the Dinaledi Chamber.
  • New fossils of stem-mousebirds belonging to the family Sandcoleidae, providing new information on the anatomy of members of this family, are described from the Eocene of the Messel pit by Mayr.
  • Partial skeleton of an early member of Coraciiformes of uncertain generic and specific assignment, showing several previously unknown features of the skull and vertebral column of early coraciiforms, is described from the Lower Eocene London Clay by Mayr & Walsh.
  • New phorusrhacid fossils are described from the Pleistocene of Uruguay by Jones et al., providing evidence of survival of phorusrhacids until the end of the Pleistocene.
  • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the extinct Cuban macaw is published by Johansson et al..
  • A study on an ancient DNA of scarlet macaws recovered from archaeological sites in Chaco Canyon and the contemporaneous Mimbres area of New Mexico is published by George et al., who report low genetic diversity in this sample, and interpret their findings as indicating that people at an undiscovered Pre-Hispanic settlement dating between 900 and 1200 CE managed a macaw breeding colony outside their endemic range.
  • A study on the bird fossils from the Olduvai Gorge site and their implications for inferring the environmental context of the site during the Oldowan-Acheulean transitional period is published by Prassack et al..
  • A study on the bird fossil assemblage from the Pleistocene of the Rio Secco Cave and its implications for the palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of the site is published by Carrera et al..
  • Oswald & Steadman report nearly 500 bird fossils collected on New Providence in 1958 and 1960.
  • A study on the fossils of Pleistocene birds collected on Picard Island in 1987 is published by Hume, Martill & Hing.
  • A revision of non-passeriform landbird fossils from the Pleistocene of Shiriya is published by Watanabe, Matsuoka & Hasegawa.
  • Remains of 32 species of seabirds and related taxa are reported from the middle–late Pleistocene Shiriya local fauna by Watanabe, Matsuoka & Hasegawa.
  • Description of Late Pleistocene bird fauna from Buso Doppio del Broion Cave, including fossils of the snowy owl and the northern hawk-owl and the first Italian Pleistocene fossil remains of the Eurasian wren and the black redstart, is published by Carrera et al..
  • Bird eggshell fragments are described from the Fitterer Ranch locality within the Oligocene Brule Formation by Lawver & Boyd, who name a new ootaxon Metoolithus jacksonae.

Pterosaurs

Research

Other archosaurs

Research

  • A study on the anatomy of Teleocrater rhadinus is published by Nesbitt et al..
  • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of lagerpetid dinosauromorphs is published by Müller, Langer & Dias-da-Silva.
  • New specimen of Dromomeron romeri is described from the Owl Rock Member of the Chinle Formation by Marsh.
  • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of Pisanosaurus mertii is published by Agnolín & Rozadilla, who interpret the taxon as a likely silesaurid.
  • Reevaluation of Caseosaurus crosbyensis and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by Baron & Williams.
  • Fossils of a member of the genus Smok of uncertain specific assignment are described from the Upper Triassic Marciszów site by Niedźwiedzki & Budziszewska-Karwowska.