Phylogeny of Basal Amniota What We Used to Think

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Phylogeny of Basal Amniota What We Used to Think Stuart S. Sumida Biology 342 Phylogeny of Basal Amniota What we used to think... Mammals Birds “Mammal-like Reptiles” PRIMITIVE REPTILES Amphibians Um.........NO. Mammals Birds “Mammal-like Reptiles” PRIMITIVE REPTILES Amphibians Panderichthyid Most Reptilia Sarcoptrygians Amphibians Diadectomorpha Synapsida (including Aves) Panderichthyid Most Synapsida Reptilia Sarcoptrygians Amphibians Diadectomorpha (Mammals) (including Aves) AMNIOTA (FOR SURE) Panderichthyid Most Synapsida Reptilia Sarcoptrygians Amphibians Diadectomorpha (Mammals) (including Aves) AMNIOTA (FOR SURE) Amniota? Panderichthyid Most Synapsida Reptilia Sarcoptrygians Amphibians Diadectomorpha (Mammals) (including Aves) AMNIOTA (FOR SURE) Amniota? TETRAPODA Panderichthyid Most Synapsida Reptilia Sarcoptrygians Amphibians Diadectomorpha (Mammals) (including Aves) AMNIOTA (FOR SURE) Amniota? Other Sarcopterygians Panderichthyids Ichthyostegalia Dissorophoids Lissamphibia Sarcopterygii Anthracosauria Tetrapoda Seymouriamorpha Diadectomorpha The road to reptiles Amniota Advanced Seymouriamorpha Amphibian: Seymouria sanjuanensis – from the Early Permian of Europe and the U.S. Amniotes: have four embryonic structures that reside outside the embryo to help it survive: •Amnion •Yolk sac •Chorion •Allantois Other Sarcopterygians Panderichthyids Ichthyostegalia Dissorophoids Lissamphibia Sarcopterygii Anthracosauria Tetrapoda Seymouriamorpha Diadectomorpha The road to reptiles Amniota Diadectomorpha: •No intertemporal bone like other amniotes •Very terrestrially adapted Orobates pabsti, a new genus of diadectomorph– found in both North America and central Germany Orobates pabsti, a new genus of diadectomorph– found in both North America and central Germany 10 cm Orobates pabsti, a new genus of diadectomorph– found in both North America and central Germany 1 cm Diadectes – this genus found in Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and central Germany “Amphibia” Amniota Seymouriamorpha Diadectomorpha Synapsida Parareptilia Captorhinidae Diapsida Archosauromorpha Reptilia Amniota Amniotes: have four embryonic structures that reside outside the embryo to help it survive: •Amnion •Yolk sac •Chorion •Allantois Remember, we’re studying AMNIOTES. Defined by: EMBRYOLOGICAL FEATURES: amnion, chorion, allantois, yolk sac. ANATOMICAL FEATURES: lack of an intertemporal bone. ALSO, FUNCTIONAL FEATURES: •Costal breathing (inhaling using movement of the ribs). •Active exhalation using movement of ribs to push air out. “Amphibia” Amniota Seymouriamorpha Diadectomorpha Synapsida Parareptilia Captorhinidae Diapsida Archosauromorpha Reptilia Amniota Basal Synapsida (“Pelycosauria”): A single opening on side of skull “Amphibia” Amniota Seymouriamorpha Diadectomorpha Synapsida Parareptilia Captorhinidae Diapsida Archosauromorpha Reptilia Amniota PARAREPTILIA Includes: •Mesosauria •Bolosauridae •Procolophonia •Paraiesauria Mesosaurus: A member of Mesosauria Eudibamus cursoris (a bolosaur) The earliest known bipedal vertebrate From the Early Permian (~280 million years old) of central Germany. Bradysaurus: A member of the Parieasauria Parieasaurs have lumpy, bumpy skulls Scutosaurus “Amphibia” Amniota Seymouriamorpha Diadectomorpha Synapsida Parareptilia Captorhinidae Diapsida Archosauromorpha Reptilia Amniota Basal Captorhinid: Eocaptorhinus 1 cm New taxon: (Albright, in prep) New, miniature, captorhinid with three rows of dentary and maxillary teeth. 1 cm Size Range in Captorhinid Reptiles 1 cm New taxon (All specimens collected by Everett C. Olson.) “Amphibia” Amniota Seymouriamorpha Diadectomorpha Synapsida Parareptilia Captorhinidae Diapsida Archosauromorpha Reptilia Amniota Basal Diapsid: Petrolacosaurus Note: TWO holes (fenestrae) on side of skull Known back to Late Pennsylvanian Diapsida includes: •Many extinct forms •Squamata •Archosauromorpha Squamata includes living lizards and snakes. .
Recommended publications
  • JVP 26(3) September 2006—ABSTRACTS
    Neoceti Symposium, Saturday 8:45 acid-prepared osteolepiforms Medoevia and Gogonasus has offered strong support for BODY SIZE AND CRYPTIC TROPHIC SEPARATION OF GENERALIZED Jarvik’s interpretation, but Eusthenopteron itself has not been reexamined in detail. PIERCE-FEEDING CETACEANS: THE ROLE OF FEEDING DIVERSITY DUR- Uncertainty has persisted about the relationship between the large endoskeletal “fenestra ING THE RISE OF THE NEOCETI endochoanalis” and the apparently much smaller choana, and about the occlusion of upper ADAM, Peter, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; JETT, Kristin, Univ. of and lower jaw fangs relative to the choana. California, Davis, Davis, CA; OLSON, Joshua, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los A CT scan investigation of a large skull of Eusthenopteron, carried out in collaboration Angeles, CA with University of Texas and Parc de Miguasha, offers an opportunity to image and digital- Marine mammals with homodont dentition and relatively little specialization of the feeding ly “dissect” a complete three-dimensional snout region. We find that a choana is indeed apparatus are often categorized as generalist eaters of squid and fish. However, analyses of present, somewhat narrower but otherwise similar to that described by Jarvik. It does not many modern ecosystems reveal the importance of body size in determining trophic parti- receive the anterior coronoid fang, which bites mesial to the edge of the dermopalatine and tioning and diversity among predators. We established relationships between body sizes of is received by a pit in that bone. The fenestra endochoanalis is partly floored by the vomer extant cetaceans and their prey in order to infer prey size and potential trophic separation of and the dermopalatine, restricting the choana to the lateral part of the fenestra.
    [Show full text]
  • Morphology, Phylogeny, and Evolution of Diadectidae (Cotylosauria: Diadectomorpha)
    Morphology, Phylogeny, and Evolution of Diadectidae (Cotylosauria: Diadectomorpha) by Richard Kissel A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy Graduate Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto © Copyright by Richard Kissel 2010 Morphology, Phylogeny, and Evolution of Diadectidae (Cotylosauria: Diadectomorpha) Richard Kissel Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto 2010 Abstract Based on dental, cranial, and postcranial anatomy, members of the Permo-Carboniferous clade Diadectidae are generally regarded as the earliest tetrapods capable of processing high-fiber plant material; presented here is a review of diadectid morphology, phylogeny, taxonomy, and paleozoogeography. Phylogenetic analyses support the monophyly of Diadectidae within Diadectomorpha, the sister-group to Amniota, with Limnoscelis as the sister-taxon to Tseajaia + Diadectidae. Analysis of diadectid interrelationships of all known taxa for which adequate specimens and information are known—the first of its kind conducted—positions Ambedus pusillus as the sister-taxon to all other forms, with Diadectes sanmiguelensis, Orobates pabsti, Desmatodon hesperis, Diadectes absitus, and (Diadectes sideropelicus + Diadectes tenuitectes + Diasparactus zenos) representing progressively more derived taxa in a series of nested clades. In light of these results, it is recommended herein that the species Diadectes sanmiguelensis be referred to the new genus
    [Show full text]
  • Noise Annoys Not Mouriamorphs Filled a Niche THESE Days, Our Ears Are Too Sensitive for That Made Their Preserva­ Their Own Good
    NEWS AND VIEWS DAEDALUS--------~ An orthodox interpret­ ation might be that sey­ Noise annoys not mouriamorphs filled a niche THESE days, our ears are too sensitive for that made their preserva­ their own good. Primitive tribes, with only tion unlikely until the begin­ natural sounds to listen to, retain their ning of the acute hearing into late age. Modern Permian, at which point civilization, however, batters our ears into taphonomic circumstances early deafness. They have a natural changed and they were protection mechanism, but it badly needs suddenly abundantly pre­ upgrading. served, both in Euramerica It uses two tiny muscles, the tensor and in those plates newly tympani and the stapedius, which reduce accreting to Euramerica in the ear's sensitivity by stiffening the the Lower Permian. How­ joints of its transmission bones. They are ever, with tetrapods also tensed automatically by loud noise. They FIG. 2 Discosauriscus, a small, probably larval seymouri­ diversifying in East Gond­ worked well in prehistoric times, when amorph from the Lower Permian of the Czech Republic. Cal­ wana in the Early Carbonif­ most noises built up slowly. But they ibrated scale bar, 5 cm. (Science Museum of Minnesota; erous, it is equally possible photograph by A. M.) cannot react fast enough to modern that seymouriamorphs first bangs and crashes, and sustained uproar apparently centred on equatorial appeared there and, instead of spreading fatigues them. Daedalus wants to warn Euramerica, was largely a process of westwards, spread or hopped north across them of noise in advance. ecological niche-hopping within a s ingle the chain of North China, Tarim and A sound wave launched upwards into continent.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Tetrapod Relationships Revisited
    Biol. Rev. (2003), 78, pp. 251–345. f Cambridge Philosophical Society 251 DOI: 10.1017/S1464793102006103 Printed in the United Kingdom Early tetrapod relationships revisited MARCELLO RUTA1*, MICHAEL I. COATES1 and DONALD L. J. QUICKE2 1 The Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637-1508, USA ([email protected]; [email protected]) 2 Department of Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire SL57PY, UK and Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW75BD, UK ([email protected]) (Received 29 November 2001; revised 28 August 2002; accepted 2 September 2002) ABSTRACT In an attempt to investigate differences between the most widely discussed hypotheses of early tetrapod relation- ships, we assembled a new data matrix including 90 taxa coded for 319 cranial and postcranial characters. We have incorporated, where possible, original observations of numerous taxa spread throughout the major tetrapod clades. A stem-based (total-group) definition of Tetrapoda is preferred over apomorphy- and node-based (crown-group) definitions. This definition is operational, since it is based on a formal character analysis. A PAUP* search using a recently implemented version of the parsimony ratchet method yields 64 shortest trees. Differ- ences between these trees concern: (1) the internal relationships of aı¨stopods, the three selected species of which form a trichotomy; (2) the internal relationships of embolomeres, with Archeria
    [Show full text]
  • A Re-Examination of the Enigmatic Russian Tetrapod Phreatophasma Aenigmaticum and Its Evolutionary Implications
    Foss. Rec., 20, 87–93, 2017 www.foss-rec.net/20/87/2017/ doi:10.5194/fr-20-87-2017 © Author(s) 2017. CC Attribution 3.0 License. A re-examination of the enigmatic Russian tetrapod Phreatophasma aenigmaticum and its evolutionary implications Neil Brocklehurst1 and Jörg Fröbisch1,2,3 1Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany 2Institut für Biologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstraße 110, 10115 Berlin, Germany 3Evolutionary Studies Institute & School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa Correspondence to: Neil Brocklehurst ([email protected]) Received: 4 October 2016 – Revised: 31 January 2017 – Accepted: 3 February 2017 – Published: 21 February 2017 Abstract. Phreatophasma aenigmaticum is a mysterious 1 Introduction tetrapod from the earliest middle Permian of Russia, repre- sented by a single femur. At various times since its origi- nal description it has been considered a therapsid synapsid, The early–middle Permian transition was a crucial period in a pelycosaurian-grade synapsid from the family Caseidae, the evolution of early synapsids. During the Cisuralian, ter- and most recently a seymouriamorph amphibian. Using up- restrial faunas were dominated by a paraphyletic grade of to-date knowledge of the postcranial morphology and evo- six synapsid families known as pelycosaurs. However, at the lution of early synapsids, the specimen is re-evaluated and start of the Guadalupian these declined in diversity, possibly subjected to cladistic analysis. Seymouriamorph and therap- due to a mass extinction event (Sahney and Benton, 2008; sid affinities are rejected, and a caseid affinity is supported Brocklehurst et al., 2013), and the Therapsida (the clade con- based on the deep intertrochanteric fossa; the widely spaced taining mammals) became more diverse and abundant.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    CURRICULUM VITAE AMY C. HENRICI Collection Manager Section of Vertebrate Paleontology Carnegie Museum of Natural History 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-4080, USA Phone:(412)622-1915 Email: [email protected] BACKGROUND Birthdate: 24 September 1957. Birthplace: Pittsburgh. Citizenship: USA. EDUCATION B.A. 1979, Hiram College, Ohio (Biology) M.S. 1989, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Geology) CAREER Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) Laboratory Technician, Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1979 Research Assistant, Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1980 Curatorial Assistant, Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1980-1984 Scientific Preparator, Section of Paleobotany, 1985-1986 Scientific Preparator, Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1985-2002 Acting Collection Manager/Scientific Preparator, 2003-2004 Collection Manager, 2005-present PALEONTOLOGICAL FIELD EXPERIENCE Late Pennsylvanian through Early Permian of Colorado, New Mexico and Utah (fish, amphibians and reptiles) Early Permian of Germany, Bromacker quarry (amphibians and reptiles) Triassic of New Mexico, Coelophysis quarry (Coelophysis and other reptiles) Upper Jurassic of Colorado (mammals and herps) Tertiary of Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming (mammals and herps) Pleistocene of West Virginia (mammals and herps) Lake sediment cores and lake sediment surface samples, Wyoming (pollen and seeds) PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS Associate Editor, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1998-2000. Research Associate in the Science Division, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 2007-present. PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Paleontological Society LECTURES and TUTORIALS (Invited and public) 1994. Middle Eocene frogs from central Wyoming: ontogeny and taphonomy. California State University, San Bernardino 1994. Mechanical preparation of vertebrate fossils. California State University, San Bernardino 1994. Mechanical preparation of vertebrate fossils. University of Chicago 2001.
    [Show full text]
  • Frequently Asked Questions Reverse-Engineering the Locomotion of a Stem Amniote John A
    Frequently Asked Questions Reverse-engineering the locomotion of a stem amniote John A. Nyakatura, Kamilo Melo, Tomislav Horvat, Kostas Karakasiliotis, Vivian R. Allen, Amir Andikfar, Emanuel Andrada, Patrick Arnold, Jonas Lauströer, John R. Hutchinson, Martin S. Fischer and Auke J. Ijspeert. Nature 565, 351–355; 2019. ​ ​ ​ ​ Why was a robot useful for this study? 2 Why is Orobates important? 2 Why do you use the term reverse engineering? 2 Who Funded the project? 2 Where was Orobates found? 2 Where could this method or research be taken in the future? 2 What were some of the considerations that came into play as you reconstructed the way this animal walked? 3 What was the most surprising finding in this work? 3 What made Orobates such a good candidate for this kind of analysis? 3 What is new compared to other projects involving simulations or robots? 3 What is a stem amniote? 3 What does the term ‘stem’ mean? 3 What does the term “advanced locomotion” in the context of the study mean? 4 What do the terms amniote and anamniote mean? 4 What did you learn that you didn't know before? 4 What are the dimensions of the OroBot? 4 Were you surprised at the result that Orobates had a more "advanced" locomotion? 4 How was it possible to link the fossil trackways to the body fossil of Orobates? 4 How useful is this work to other fields? 4 How long did the project take and who was involved? 5 How expensive is the robot? 5 How did you validate your simulations? 5 Have there been similar robotic or simulation studies of fossils before? Can you give some examples? 5 Is Orobates older than dinosaurs? 6 Can the robot swim? 6 Can OroBOT be used to study other extinct animals as well? 6 1 Why was a robot useful for this study? Our robotic model allowed us to test our hypotheses about the animal’s locomotion dynamics, otherwise elusive to explore in an extinct animal.
    [Show full text]
  • Physical and Environmental Drivers of Paleozoic Tetrapod Dispersal Across Pangaea
    ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07623-x OPEN Physical and environmental drivers of Paleozoic tetrapod dispersal across Pangaea Neil Brocklehurst1,2, Emma M. Dunne3, Daniel D. Cashmore3 &Jӧrg Frӧbisch2,4 The Carboniferous and Permian were crucial intervals in the establishment of terrestrial ecosystems, which occurred alongside substantial environmental and climate changes throughout the globe, as well as the final assembly of the supercontinent of Pangaea. The fl 1234567890():,; in uence of these changes on tetrapod biogeography is highly contentious, with some authors suggesting a cosmopolitan fauna resulting from a lack of barriers, and some iden- tifying provincialism. Here we carry out a detailed historical biogeographic analysis of late Paleozoic tetrapods to study the patterns of dispersal and vicariance. A likelihood-based approach to infer ancestral areas is combined with stochastic mapping to assess rates of vicariance and dispersal. Both the late Carboniferous and the end-Guadalupian are char- acterised by a decrease in dispersal and a vicariance peak in amniotes and amphibians. The first of these shifts is attributed to orogenic activity, the second to increasing climate heterogeneity. 1 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK. 2 Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany. 3 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. 4 Institut
    [Show full text]
  • Chinese Pareiasaurs
    Benton, M. J. (2016). The Chinese pareiasaurs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 177(4), 813-853. https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12389 Peer reviewed version License (if available): Unspecified Link to published version (if available): 10.1111/zoj.12389 Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the author accepted manuscript (AAM). The final published version (version of record) is available online via Wiley at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zoj.12389/abstract. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ Page 1 of 85 Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 1 1 2 3 1 [Abstract] 4 5 2 6 3 Pareiasaurs were important medium- to large-sized herbivores in the Middle and Late 7 8 4 Permian, some 268-252 million years (Myr) ago. They are best known from abundant remains 9 10 5 of several taxa each in South Africa and Russia, with isolated finds from other parts of the 11 6 world. Six genera and species of pareiasaurs have been described from China, and yet they 12 13 7 have not been reviewed. Of these six, Tsiyuania may be a synonym of Honania, but this taxon 14 15 8 is not further considered here. The other four, which were named for separate finds from the 16 9 Sunjiagou Formation (Changhsingian, 254-252 Myr) show considerable similarities.
    [Show full text]
  • The Devonian Tetrapod Acanthostega Gunnari Jarvik: Postcranial Anatomy, Basal Tetrapod Interrelationships and Patterns of Skeletal Evolution M
    Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 87, 363-421, 1996 The Devonian tetrapod Acanthostega gunnari Jarvik: postcranial anatomy, basal tetrapod interrelationships and patterns of skeletal evolution M. I. Coates ABSTRACT: The postcranial skeleton of Acanthostega gunnari from the Famennian of East Greenland displays a unique, transitional, mixture of features conventionally associated with fish- and tetrapod-like morphologies. The rhachitomous vertebral column has a primitive, barely differentiated atlas-axis complex, encloses an unconstricted notochordal canal, and the weakly ossified neural arches have poorly developed zygapophyses. More derived axial skeletal features include caudal vertebral proliferation and, transiently, neural radials supporting unbranched and unsegmented lepidotrichia. Sacral and post-sacral ribs reiterate uncinate cervical and anterior thoracic rib morphologies: a simple distal flange supplies a broad surface for iliac attachment. The octodactylous forelimb and hindlimb each articulate with an unsutured, foraminate endoskeletal girdle. A broad-bladed femoral shaft with extreme anterior torsion and associated flattened epipodials indicates a paddle-like hindlimb function. Phylogenetic analysis places Acanthostega as the sister- group of Ichthyostega plus all more advanced tetrapods. Tulerpeton appears to be a basal stem- amniote plesion, tying the amphibian-amniote split to the uppermost Devonian. Caerorhachis may represent a more derived stem-amniote plesion. Postcranial evolutionary trends spanning the taxa traditionally associated with the fish-tetrapod transition are discussed in detail. Comparison between axial skeletons of primitive tetrapods suggests that plesiomorphic fish-like morphologies were re-patterned in a cranio-caudal direction with the emergence of tetrapod vertebral regionalisation. The evolution of digited limbs lags behind the initial enlargement of endoskeletal girdles, whereas digit evolution precedes the elaboration of complex carpal and tarsal articulations.
    [Show full text]
  • Tracks and Evolution of Locomotion in the Sistergroup of Amniotes
    A peer-reviewed version of this preprint was published in PeerJ on 31 January 2018. View the peer-reviewed version (peerj.com/articles/4346), which is the preferred citable publication unless you specifically need to cite this preprint. Buchwitz M, Voigt S. 2018. On the morphological variability of Ichniotherium tracks and evolution of locomotion in the sistergroup of amniotes. PeerJ 6:e4346 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4346 On the morphological variability of Ichniotherium tracks and evolution of locomotion in the sistergroup of amniotes Michael Buchwitz Corresp., 1 , Sebastian Voigt Corresp. 2 1 Museum für Naturkunde Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany 2 Urweltmuseum Geoskop, Kusel, Germany Corresponding Authors: Michael Buchwitz, Sebastian Voigt Email address: [email protected], [email protected] Ichniotherium tracks with a relatively short pedal digit V (digit length ratio V/IV < 0.6) form the majority of yet described Late Carboniferous to Early Permian diadectomorph tracks and can be related to a certain diadectid clade with corresponding phalangeal reduction that includes Diadectes and its close relatives. Here we document the variation of digit proportions and trackway parameters in 25 trackways (69 step cycles) from nine localities and seven further specimens with incomplete step cycles from the type locality of Ichniotherium cottae (Gottlob quarry) in order to find out whether this type of Ichniotherium tracks represents a homogeneous group or an assemblage of distinct morphotypes and includes variability indicative for evolutionary change in trackmaker locomotion. According to our results, the largest sample of tracks from three Lower Permian sites of the Thuringian Forest, commonly referred to Ichniotherium cottae, is not homogeneous but shows a clear distinction in pace length, pace angulation, apparent trunk length and toe proportions between tracks from Bromacker quarry and those from the stratigraphically older sites Birkheide and Gottlob quarry.
    [Show full text]
  • From a Fossil to a Robot…And All the Steps in Between 1 2 by Kamilo Melo | Scientist; John A
    August 27, 2019 Evolution & Behavior From a fossil to a robot…and all the steps in between 1 2 by Kamilo Melo | Scientist; John A. Nyakatura | Professor 1 : Biorobotics Laboratory, EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland 2 : Humboldt Universitaẗ zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany This Break was edited by Max Caine, Editor-in-chief - TheScienceBreaker ABSTRACT Orobates is an extinct species that is key in understanding the evolution of vertebrates. We used its footprints, a robot, kinematic simulations, and modern animal data to reconstruct how Orobates walked. We discover that its locomotion was more advanced than what was previously thought for these animals. Image credits: Kamilo Melo © Being almost 300 million years old, the extinct called amniotes) - they were the first to develop Orobates pabsti did not know that at some point in within eggs laid on land. Orobates is a vertebrate that the future, engineers and biologists would have is interposed in the evolutionary tree between reconstructed its fossilized bones into a robot to amphibians on one hand, and reptiles, birds, and study how it used to walk and thus, learn more things mammals on the other. Thus, the ability of these about their own evolution. The only evidence of animals to effectively locomote on land (or not) Orobates’ walk, beyond its nicely preserved bone seemed crucial to be studied. The scientists believed structure, was a set of also fossilized footprints left that knowing more about the locomotion of on ancient muddy ground. These were indeed key Orobates, will help us to also understand better at pieces that enabled us to reproduce many possible which point in time the land was colonized by gaits with the robot and to test their validity as animals.
    [Show full text]