Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses
- H. Ketchum, R. Benson
- BiologyBiological Reviews of The Cambridge Philosophical…
- 1 May 2010
A new phylogenetic data set of 66 taxa (67% of ingroup taxa examined directly) and 178 characters (eight new) is presented, indicating that the large‐headed, short‐necked ‘pliosauromorph’ body plan evolved twice within Plesiosauria.
A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)
- E. Tschopp, O. Mateus, R. Benson
- BiologyPeerJ
- 7 April 2015
The use of a specimen-, rather than species-based approach increases knowledge of intraspecific and intrageneric variation in diplodocids, and the study demonstrates how specimen-based phylogenetic analysis is a valuable tool in sauropod taxonomy, and potentially in paleontology and taxonomy as a whole.
The latitudinal biodiversity gradient through deep time.
- P. Mannion, P. Upchurch, R. Benson, A. Goswami
- Environmental Science, GeographyTrends in Ecology & Evolution
- 2014
The cranial anatomy and taxonomy of Peloneustes philarchus (Sauropterygia, Pliosauridae) from the Peterborough Member (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of the United Kingdom
- H. Ketchum, R. Benson
- Geography
- 1 May 2011
Well-preserved material clearly indicates that P. philarchus lacked nasals, but possessed a lacrimal, and a previously unrecognised ‘palpebral’ forms part of the dorsal orbit margin adjacent to the prefrontal.
A new pliosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of England: evidence for a gracile, longirostrine grade of Early-Middle Jurassic pliosaurids
- H. Ketchum, R. Benson
- Environmental Science, Geography
- 2011
A partial skeleton from the Sigiloceras enodatum ammonite Subzone (lower Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of the Oxford Clay Formation of Quest Pit, near Stewartby, Bedfordshire, UK, represents one of the…
Extinction of fish-shaped marine reptiles associated with reduced evolutionary rates and global environmental volatility
- V. Fischer, N. Bardet, R. Benson, M. Arkhangelsky, M. Friedman
- Environmental Science, GeographyNature Communications
- 8 March 2016
It is shown that ichthyosaurs maintained high but diminishing richness and disparity throughout the Early Cretaceous, and that global environmental change resulted in a major, temporally staggered turnover event that profoundly reorganized marine ecosystems during the Cenomanian.
A New Elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Bearpaw Shale (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of Montana Demonstrates Multiple Evolutionary Reductions of Neck Length Within Elasmosauridae
- Danielle J. Serratos, P. Druckenmiller, R. Benson
- Environmental ScienceJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology
- 4 March 2017
ABSTRACT
Plesiosauria is a diverse clade of marine reptiles that have been studied since the early 19th century. However, phylogenetic relationships within the group have been contentious due to…
New information on Hauffiosaurus (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) based on a new species from the Alum Shale Member (Lower Toarcian: Lower Jurassic) of Yorkshire, UK
- R. Benson, H. Ketchum, L. Noè, M. Gómez-Pérez
- Geography, Environmental Science
- 1 May 2011
Abstract: An almost complete, three‐dimensionally preserved plesiosaurian from the Hildoceras bifrons Zone of the Alum Shale Member (Whitby Limestone Formation; Lower Toarcian) of Yorkshire, UK, is…
Virtual reconstruction of the endocranial anatomy of the early Jurassic marine crocodylomorph Pelagosaurus typus (Thalattosuchia)
- S. Pierce, M. Williams, R. Benson
- BiologyPeerJ
- 25 April 2017
Using µCT data to virtually reconstruct the endocranial anatomy of Pelagosaurus typus indicates that physiological and sensory adaptations to marine life occurred early in thalattosuchian evolution, predating the origins of flippers, tail flukes, and hydrodynamic body forms seen later in metriorhynchoids.
Geological and anthropogenic controls on the sampling of the terrestrial fossil record: a case study from the Dinosauria
- P. Upchurch, P. Mannion, R. Benson, R. Butler, M. Carrano
- Environmental Science, Geography
- 2011
Abstract Dinosaurs provide excellent opportunities to examine the impact of sampling biases on the palaeodiversity of terrestrial organisms. The stratigraphical and geographical ranges of 847…
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