Montag, 9. Juli 2012

Insect-plant interaction in the Madygen forest

Philippe Moisan, who defended his Ph.D. thesis on floral remains from the Madygen Formation earlier this year, is main author of a recently published paper on ovipostion damage:

Moisan, P., C. C. Labandeira, N. A. Matushkina, T. Wappler, S. Voigt, and H. Kerp (2012): Lycopsid–arthropod associations and odonatopteran oviposition on Triassic herbaceous Isoetites. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 344–345: 6–15. [Link to abstract]

Describes an oviposition damage pattern typical for dragonflies on the quillwort Isoetites which is an unusual thing because lycopsids were not yet known to be hosts of dragonfly egg-laying.

Dienstag, 27. März 2012

The Longisquama paper in press got some media coverage

Science writer Jeff Hecht wrote an article discussing results of our study:

Jeff Hecht: Reptile grew feather-like structures before dinosaurs. New Scientist, issue 2857, 23 March 2012.

Was a bit afraid of this, because often a finely nuanced statement is cited incorrectly or even turned into the opposite when the message of a paper is adapted for a non-specialist audience. Looks okay, though.

Sonntag, 4. März 2012

New papers on Kyrgyzsaurus, Madygenerpeton, and Longisquama

Alifanov, V. R. and E. N. Kurochkin. 2011..Kyrgyzsaurus bukhanchenkoi gen. et sp. nov., a new reptile from the Triassic of southwestern Kyrgyzstan. Paleontological Journal 45(6):639-647.
[DOI: 10.1134/S0031030111060025] [link]

Description of a reptile fossil with skin preservation discovered in 2006. Comes form the same locality as Sharovipteryx and Longisquama. The authors interpret the specimen as a member of drepanosaurs, a Late Triassic group of archosauromorphs. This paper represents one of the last contributions of the Russian palaeornithologist Evgenii N. Kurochkin who passed away recently.

Buchwitz, M., C. Foth, I. Kogan, and S. Voigt. 2012 in press. On the use of osteoderm features in a phylogenetic approach on the internal relationships of the Chroniosuchia (Tetrapoda: Reptiliomorpha). Palaeontology. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01137.x] [link]

Includes a graphic reconstruction of Madygenerpeton (drawing by Frederik Spindler).

Buchwitz, M. and S. Voigt. 2012 in press. The dorsal appendages of the Triassic reptile Longisquama insignis: reconsideration of a controversial integument type. Paläontologische Zeitschrift.
[DOI: 10.1007/s12542-012-0135-3] [Link]

More thorough description/ graphic documentation compared to Voigt et al.(2009) and considers some aspects of diapsid skin evolution.