Papers by A.D. Buscalioni
Journal of Iberian Geology, 2015
The vertebrate-bearing beds of the Laño quarry (Condado de Treviño) are among the most relevant s... more The vertebrate-bearing beds of the Laño quarry (Condado de Treviño) are among the most relevant sites from the Late Cretaceous of Europe. Geologically, Laño and the adjacent region are set on the southern limb of the South-Cantabrian Synclinorium (SE Basque-Cantabrian Region, northern Iberian Peninsula). The Laño sites were discovered in 1984; thousands of bones and teeth, including microfossils, have been collected during the prospection in the field and excavation campaigns. The vertebrate remains occur at two different stratigraphic horizons within a continental to shallow marine succession of Late Campanian-Maastrichtian age. The lower horizon contains the Laño 1 and Laño 2 sites, whereas the upper horizon contains the Albaina site. In the Laño sites, three fossiliferous beds (called L1A, L1B and L2) are known within an alluvial system composed mainly of fluvial sands and silts. The sedimentary structures are consistent with channel areas within an extensive braided river system. Based mainly on stratigraphic correlations, the fluvial beds of Laño are regarded as Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian in age. These deposits have yielded a very diverse vertebrate assemblage, which consists of nearly 40 species, including actinopterygians, lissamphibians, lepidosaurs, turtles, crocodyliforms, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and mammals. Seven genera and ten species have been erected to date in Laño. With reference to the marine vertebrate association of Albaina, it consists of at least 37 species, including sharks and rays, actinopterygians, mosasaurids, and plesiosaurs. Two genera and species of rhinobatoids (family indet.) and two new species of rhinobatids have been erected in Albaina. The fossil association indicates a Late (but not latest) Maastrichtian age. Recently, isolated turtle and dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the sublittoral beds of Albaina. The Laño quarry is one of the most noteworthy Campanian-Maastrichtian vertebrate localities of Europe by its taxonomic diversity, and provides useful information about the composition and affinities of both continental and marine vertebrate faunas from the latest Cretaceous of southwestern Europe.
Nos interesa conocer aplicando el análisis crítico del discurso cómo el creacionismo construye su... more Nos interesa conocer aplicando el análisis crítico del discurso cómo el creacionismo construye sus posiciones y cómo busca discursos legitimadores y otros de deslegitimación, procurando la redefinición de las cuestiones evolutivas en el marco de las ciencias naturales, las ciencias sociales y la ética. El soporte creacionista más utilizado son las redes sociales verticales como YouTube. En el debate participan no sólo los individuos que profesan una religión o los académicos, sino que se incorpora una multitud anónima pero religiosamente afectada. Los ejes de deslegitimación inciden en que la evolución no sería una teoría confirmada sino una creencia producida por científicos que defienden una conducta amoral y poco ética. De este modo la ciencia perdería toda legitimidad y todo su poder en nuestras sociedades, adoptando la misma posición que cualquier otra religión. Los discursos creacionistas presentan su narración como una batalla de aquellos que creen y se encuentran en inferioridad frente a la ciencia que domina el mundo. El creacionismo presenta su discurso como un verdadero problema científico, crea la alarma de la falsedad de la ciencia y finalmente lo recontextualiza en el marco de una lucha social. El auge del discurso creacionista tiene su raíces en el mundo de la postmodernidad. La labilidad de la ciencia es utilizada por las religiones marginales y fundamentalistas que entran en debate con ella en un discurso social entre iguales intentando conquistar no sólo los espacios de educación sino ganar adeptos para los nuevos retos sociales relacionados con los avances de la biotecnología.
The family Atoposaridae consists of four taxa of dwarf crocodiles whose paleogeographic distribut... more The family Atoposaridae consists of four taxa of dwarf crocodiles whose paleogeographic distribution and fossil record are restricted to the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous of Western Europe (Portugal, England, Spain, France and Spain). Germany). The recent phylogenetic approaches to the family placed it at the base of the Neosuchia dade, far from being considered as the sister group of the Eusuchia. Some metric characteristic shared by most of the Atoposauridae (length of the ulna with respect to the humerus and radius, length of the tibia with respect to the femur, body size etc.) are the primitive condition found in the base of the crocodylomorphs. Thinking about the metric features, we evaluate a character associated to the ecological niche (the home range) regarding the body size of dwarf crocodiles. Two hypotheses that have been compared with the phylogenetic proposal of the crocodylomorphs, are suggested: 1) the Atoposauridae keeps the primitive home range, as a simplesiomorp...
Various remains of archosaurs from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) — Lower Cretaceous (Barremia... more Various remains of archosaurs from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) — Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of Galve (Teruel, Spain) are described and discussed. The dinosaur material includes tooth crowns attributable to Megalosauridae indet., a tooth identified as cf. Hypsilophodon sp., and a fragment of tooth crown and vertebral remains attributable to Iguanodon bernissartensis. The study of the crocodile material is based on an analysis of morphological and morphometric data. 27 isolated teeth were studied. Four morphotypes are proposed and, in some cases, the analysis allowed the separation of submorphotypes. The following attributions are proposed for these morphotypes. Goniopholididae indet., Bernissartidae indet., and cf. Theriosuchus sp. (Atoposauridae).
Scientific reports, May 10, 2016
Microbial mats have been hypothesized to improve the persistence and the preservation of organic ... more Microbial mats have been hypothesized to improve the persistence and the preservation of organic remains during fossilization processes. We test this hypothesis with long-term experiments (up to 5.5 years) using invertebrate and vertebrate corpses. Once placed on mats, the microbial community coats the corpses and forms a three-dimensional sarcophagus composed of microbial cells and exopolymeric substances (EPS). This coverage provides a template for i) moulding superficial features, resulting in negative impressions, and ii) generating replicas. The impressions of fly setulae, fish scales and frog skin verrucae are shaped mainly by small cells in an EPS matrix. Microbes also replicate delicate structures such as the three successive layers that compose a fish eye. The sarcophagus protects the body integrity, allowing the persistence of inner organs such as the ovaries and digestive apparatus in flies, the swim bladder and muscles in fish, and the bone marrow in frog legs. This stud...
Scientific Reports, 2015
Despite a wealth of fossils of Mesozoic birds revealing evidence of plumage and other soft-tissue... more Despite a wealth of fossils of Mesozoic birds revealing evidence of plumage and other soft-tissue structures, the epidermal and dermal anatomy of their wing's patagia remain largely unknown. We describe a distal forelimb of an enantiornithine bird from the Lower Cretaceous limestones of Las Hoyas, Spain, which reveals the overall morphology of the integument of the wing and other connective structures associated with the insertion of flight feathers. The integumentary anatomy, and myological and arthrological organization of the new fossil is remarkably similar to that of modern birds, in which a system of small muscles, tendons and ligaments attaches to the follicles of the remigial feathers and maintains the functional integrity of the wing during flight. The new fossil documents the oldest known occurrence of connective tissues in association with the flight feathers of birds. Furthermore, the presence of an essentially modern connective arrangement in the wing of enantiornithines supports the interpretation of these primitive birds as competent fliers.
Microbial mats have been repeatedly suggested to promote early fossilization of macroorganisms. Y... more Microbial mats have been repeatedly suggested to promote early fossilization of macroorganisms. Yet, experimental simulations of this process remain scarce. Here, we report results of 5 year-long experiments performed onfish carcasses to document the influence of microbial mats on mineral precipitation during early fossilization. Carcasses were initially placed on top of microbial mats. After 2 weeks, fish became coated by the mats forming a compact sarcophagus, which modified the microenvironment close to the corpses. Our results showed that these conditions favored the precipitation of a poorly crystalline silicate phase rich in magnesium. This talc-like mineral phase has been detected in three different locations within the carcasses placed in microbial mats for more than 4 years: (1) within inner tissues, colonized by several bacillary cells; (2) at the surface of bones of the upper face of the corpse buried in the mat; and (3) at the surface of several bones such as the dorsal ...
PALAIOS, 2013
Microbial mats have been implicated in exceptional fossil preservation. Few analyses have address... more Microbial mats have been implicated in exceptional fossil preservation. Few analyses have addressed how these complex-multilayered biofilms promote fossil preservation. The sequence of changes during decay of neon tetra fish were tracked up to 27 months, and their decomposition in mats was compared against nonmat sediments (control fish). Statistically significant differences in quantitative variables (length, width, and thickness) are provided (ANOVA test, in all cases, P , 0.001). Changes in the qualitative features (body-head, fins, scale connection, and eye and body coloration) were phenetically analyzed resulting in two clusters and highlighting that notable differences in decay began at day 15. Mat fish show a delayed decomposition maintaining the external and internal body integrity, in which soft organs were preserved after 27 months as shown by Magnetic Resonance Imaging. We discuss how the organization, structure, and activity of this community are interrelated, favoring exceptional preservation. Microbial mats entomb the fish from the earliest stages, forming a Ca-rich coat over the carcass while embedding it in an anoxic condition. This quick entombment provides important protection against abiotic and/or biotic agents.
International Journal of Morphology, 2012
Understanding the variation of the ophidian vertebral morphology is an essential tool in snake pa... more Understanding the variation of the ophidian vertebral morphology is an essential tool in snake paleobiology, but so far this field remains hardly investigated. A major problematic is the still scarce knowledge about the basis of homogeneity of intracolumnar shape variation along the vertebrae of the precloacal region in these animals. For instance, this variation can be overwhelmingly low in cases such as in vipers, for which it seems almost impossible to describe a concrete regionalization of the precloacal region without ambiguity. This study has applied geometric morphometrics to analyze if the shape variation of the vertebrae of the precloacal vertebrae of an adult specimen of Daboia russelli allows differentiating any sort of parcellation within the column of this organism. We have also explored if size is associated with the organization of vertebral shape along the axial skeleton. The multivariate analyses showed that the main pattern of vertebral shape variation in D. russelli concerns the neural spine and the hypapophysis, whereas the shape of the vertebral centrum appears to be nearly invariant along the series. Our analysis also showed that the precloacal region can be sudivided into two portions that merge in a transitional boundary of largest vertebrae in the middle of the column. From this middle region towards the distal ends of the column vertebrae become smaller changing their shapes in two antithetical ways.
Although goniopholidids constitute the most abundant remains of the Lower Cretaceous record of th... more Although goniopholidids constitute the most abundant remains of the Lower Cretaceous record of the Iberian Peninsula crocodilians, few specimens have been found complete enough to provide precise taxonomic determinations. The palaeontological site of Mina Santa María in Ariño (Teruel, Early Albian Escucha Formation) has yielded several neosuchian monotaxic concentrations. The skulls discovered at the Ariño Mine show a character combination linking them to the latter European species. The Ariño skulls share apomorphies with Anteophthalmosuchus hooleyi, Goniopholis willetti (e.g., loss of the transverse frontal crest and of the prefrontal-lachrymal crest, supratemporal fossa larger than the orbit and supratemporal fenestra subequal, among other derived characters). The new taxa, Hulkepholis plotos gen. n., sp. n. and Anteophthalmosuchus escuchae sp. n., are herein erected, and they constitute the most recent record of their RESUMEN A pesar de que los restos de goniofolídidos son los más abundantes del registro de cocodrilos del Cretácico Inferior de la Península Ibérica, pocos ejemplares se han descubierto lo suficientemente completos como para proporcionar determinaciones taxonómicas precisas. Las concentraciones monotáxicas de cocodrilos neosuquios descubiertas en la Mina Santa María de Ariño (Teruel, Albiense Temprano de la Formación Escucha) han proporcionado restos craneales, cuya combinación de caracteres los vincula con el clado de los Goniopholididae temporalmente más modernos. Las apomorfías compartidas (ausencia de cresta prefronto-lacrimal y de cresta frontal interorbitaria; fenestra supratemporal subigual a la órbita, siendo las fosas mucho mayores en diámetro, entre otros caracteres derivados) permiten caracterizar los dos nuevos táxones: Hulkepholis plotos gen. n., sp. n. y Anteophthalmosuchus escuchae sp.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1990
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 10(2):244-254, June 1990 © 1990 by the Society of Vertebrate P... more Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 10(2):244-254, June 1990 © 1990 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology MONTSECOSUCHUS DEPERETI (CROCODYLOMORPHA, ATOPOSAURIDAE), NEW DENOMINATION FOR ALLIGATORIUM DEPERETI VIDAL, ...
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2001
This paper describes the skull of Allodaposuchus precedens Nopcsa, 1928 and provides the first co... more This paper describes the skull of Allodaposuchus precedens Nopcsa, 1928 and provides the first complete diagnosis of the species. The description of the holotype, which comes from the Upper Cretaceous deposits of Valioara in the Hateg Basin of Romania (Late Maastrichtian), is included with those of other undescribed specimens from the uppermost Cretaceous of Spain and southern France. All the specimens preserve the same anatomical region as the holotype and provide new relevant information on the genus Allodaposuchus and its phylogenetic position. The phylogenetic context of A. precedens is discussed in the context of a recent cladistic analysis of Eusuchia and its crowngroup Crocodylia. Allodaposuchus is unambiguously the sister taxon of the crown-group Crocodylia, sharing with this clade the absence of a lingual to maxillary occlusion of the dentary teeth, and the extension of the ectopterygoid that does not reach the posterior tip of the lateral pterygoid flange, among other characters. The phylogenetic analysis also raises the problem of the ambiguous definition of Eusuchia, since the characters traditionally used in its diagnosis are multiply derived. Allodaposuchus is an outstanding crocodyliform providing new anatomical evidence concerning the stem-group of Crocodylia, and filling the gap between the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Hylaeochampsa and the earliest common ancestor of Crocodylia.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2000
A new species of the genus Araripesuchus from the Albian-Cenomanian locality of the El Chocón (Ne... more A new species of the genus Araripesuchus from the Albian-Cenomanian locality of the El Chocón (Neuquén Province, Argentina) is described. The diagnosis of the genus is reviewed and its phylogenetic placement within Crocodylomorpha discussed. Araripesuchus is proposed here as being the sister taxon of Neosuchia, corroborating previous phylogenetic analysis. The new species, Araripesuchus patagonicus, differs from the type species, A. gomesii in the relationships of the prefronto-nasal and lachrymo-nasal sutures, the dermal placement of the postorbital bar on the medial side of the jugal, and the greater extension of the squamosals in the skull dorsum. The African species, ''Araripesuchus'' wegeneri, does not share the diagnostic traits of the genus, and its reassignment to a new genus needs to be considered. The phylogenetic context of Araripesuchus and ''A.'' wegeneri permits a reanalysis of the role played by their amphiatlantic distribution in the Aptian-Albian. ''Araripesuchus'' wegeneri and the South American forms might share a pre-Aptian common ancestor, and have been already differentiated and isolated in the African and South American continents by the time of the Aptian-Albian.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1986
... Source of data: Alligator prenasalis (Mook, 1932); Leidyosuchus (Erickson, 1976; Mook, 1925);... more ... Source of data: Alligator prenasalis (Mook, 1932); Leidyosuchus (Erickson, 1976; Mook, 1925); Aegyptosuchus (Stromer, 1933); Deinosuchus (Mook, 1925; Colbert and Bird, 1954); Crocodi/us americanus (= C. acutus; Mook, 1921). Index 1-TDPC/MPD2 ...
Estudios Geológicos, 1987
durante los años 1984 y 1985, ha permitido reconocer: \.0 Un crocodílido de gran talla, atribuibl... more durante los años 1984 y 1985, ha permitido reconocer: \.0 Un crocodílido de gran talla, atribuible a un animal adulto de la familia AlIigatoridae, comparable a Crocodilus aff/uvelensis. 2.°Restos de dinosaurios que se han atnbuido a tres familias: Atlantosauridae (representada por un saurópodo de gran talla, probablemente Hypselosaurus); Iguanodontidae (afI. Rhabdodon, ornitópodo de talla media), y Hadrosauridae (Ortbomerus, de talla pequeña). 3.°Icnitas de dinosaurios, bastante mal conservadas, de tamaño medio y grande, atribuibles a omitópodos bípedos. Los restos faunísticos han sido hallados siempre inconexos, esparcidos en extensas superficies y sin señales de depredación. El tipo de material hallado indica, en principio, un cierto transporte, el cual ejerció una acción selectiva sobre los restos. Posteriormente, a este transporte se unirían los efectos de los procesos orogénicos que afectaron la rona durante el Terciario. ABSTRACf The study of a great part of the material found during the excavation work carried out by a team of the «Institut de Paleontología de Sabadell,> and other paleontologists of the universities of Madrid and Bellaterra, in the basin of Tremp (Maastrichtiense) in 1984 and 1985 has made possible the recognition of: \.0 A large sized Crocodilian, attributable to an adult animal of the Alligatoridae family, comparable to Crocodilus aff/uvelensis. 2.°Dinosaur remains atributed to three difIerent families: Atlantosauridae (represented by a large sized Sauropod, probably Hypselosaurus); Iguanodontidae (afI. Rhabdodon, medium sized Omithopod); and Hadrosauridae (Ortbomerus, small sized).
Estudios Geológicos, 1987
Estudios Geológicos, 1987
El objetivo principal del presente trabajo ha sido completar el estudio de la fauna de dinosaurio... more El objetivo principal del presente trabajo ha sido completar el estudio de la fauna de dinosaurios del sinclinal de Galve, de edad mayoritariamente barremiense inferior, aunque el yacimiento de Las Zabacheras puede tener una edad Hauteriviense y el Pelejón Hauteriviense-Barremiense inferior. Los Terópodos están pobremente representados, describiéndose tres centros vertebrales que son identificados como Theropoda indet. Cuatro formas diferentes de Saurópodos han sido identificadas en los diferentes yacimientos de Galve. Tres de ellas (cf. Astrodon sp.; Camarasauridae indet., forma A; Camarasauridae indet., forma B) tan sólo mediante piezas dentarias aisladas. El Saur6podo de Las Zabacheras (Lapparent, 1960; Sanz, 1982) ha sido propuesto como un nuevo taxon, Aragosaurus ischiaticus n. gen. et n. sp. Dicho material consta de diversos restos apendiculares y pélvicos estudiados por Lapparent y depositados en el Museo de la Diputación de Terue! y nuevos elementos consistentes en diversas vértebras caudales, chevrones, escápula, isquion, fémur y restos autopodiales. Las apomorfias más relevantes que definen al nuevo taxon son su relación estilopodial (longitud húmero/fémur) de 0,82, el gran desarrollo relativo dorso-ventral del contorno de contacto con el pubis del proceso pubiano del isquion y la aparición de neuroapáfisis «mazudas» en las primeras vértebras caudales. El enclave taxonómico de Aragosaurus se propone dentro de la familia Camarasauridae (sensu Steel, 1970). Los Ornitópodos descritos en este trabajo pertenecen a la familia Hypsilophodontidae, excepto una pieza dentaria aislada identificada como Ornithopoda indet. Un fragmento proximal de un fémur izquierdo es identificado como cf. Valdosaurus sp. La especie Hypsilophodon foxii ha sido identificada en base a un fémur izquierdo y un íleon. ABSTRAer The aim of this paper is to complete the study of the Dinosaur fauna of the syncline of Galve (Teruel, Spain). Most of the outcrops are Early Barremian in age. Nevertheless, the outcrop called Las Zabacheras could be Hauterivian and El Pelejón Hauterivian-Early Barremian in age. Theropod Dinosaurs are poorly represented. Three vertebral centra are described. They are identified as Theropoda indet. The several outcrops of Galve have yielded four forms of Sauropods. Three of them (cf. Astrodon sp., Camarasauridae indet., form A, Camarasauridae indet., form B) have been identified based on isolated teeth. The Sauropod from Las Zabacheras (Lapparent, 1960; Sanz, 1982) has been proposed as a new taxon, Aragosaurus ischiaticus n. gen. et n. sp. The material which the new taxon is based on are the bones studied by Lapparent (Museo de la Diputación de Teruel) and new ones: caudal vertebrae, chevrones, seapula, ilium, femur and autopodial material. After a research on evolutive polarity of some traits within the Sauropoda, the apomorphic character-states which define the new taxon are as follows: First caudal vertebrae with a great transversal development of the neuroapophysis (club-like), seapular blade terminally expansioned, with an intermediate development (for example between Cetiosaurs and Brachiosaurus or Rebbachisaurus). Great dorso-ventral development (acromio-glenoideus) of the anterior seapular zone (ratio miminal width of the seapular blade/maximal acromio-glenoideus height of 0.27). lliac process of ischium well developed. Pubic process of ischium with great dorso-ventral development (ratio antero-posterior length of this process/lenght of ischiadic contact with pubis, 0.63). Ischiadic process of ischium with a conspicuous final expansiono Lenght ratio humerus/femur 0.82. Lateral bulge just distal to the femoral greater trochanter. Medial condyle of femur relatively developed (ratio maximal antero-posterior diameter of medial condyle/maximal transversal distal
Estudios Geológicos, 1987
Resumen La descripción de nuevo material procedente de diferentes yacimientos del Cretácico infer... more Resumen La descripción de nuevo material procedente de diferentes yacimientos del Cretácico inferior del Sinclinal de Galve (Teruel) confirma la presencia de los siguientes Metamesosuchia: Goniopholis, Thenosuchus y Bemissartia. Estos taxa habían sido ...
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Papers by A.D. Buscalioni