TY - JOUR AU - Zhou, Chang-Fu AU - Rabi, Márton TI - A sinemydid turtle from the Jehol Biota provides insights into the basal divergence of crown turtles JF - SCIENTIFIC REPORTS J2 - SCI REP VL - 5 PY - 2015 SN - 2045-2322 DO - 10.1038/srep16299 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/3002821 ID - 3002821 N1 - Funding Agency and Grant Number: Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Land and Resources [201311120]; Liaoning BaiQianWan Talents Program [2014Q110]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [41202014]; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [JO 928/2-1]; Royal Tyrrell Museum Student Research Program Grant; SYNTHESYS Project [FR-TAF 4290, GB-TAF-1882, NL-TAF 3200, BE-TAF-5292]; Hungarian Academy of Sciences [95102] Funding text: This project was in part funded by the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Land and Resources (No. 201311120), Liaoning BaiQianWan Talents Program (No. 2014Q110), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41202014), and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grant JO 928/2-1. Further support was provided by a Royal Tyrrell Museum Student Research Program Grant and SYNTHESYS Project http://www.synthesys.info/grants (FR-TAF 4290, GB-TAF-1882, NL-TAF 3200, BE-TAF-5292) awarded to M. R. We thank W. G. Joyce, J. Sterli, I. Danilov, D. B. Brinkman, V. Sukhanov, H. Tong and J. F. Parham for insightful and inspiring discussions. V. Sukhanov, I. Danilov, E. Syromyatnikova and S. Chapman are thanked for access to collections. We also thank Walter G. Joyce and two anonymous reviewers for their time and efforts in reviewing an earlier draft of this paper. M. R. was supported by a "Momentum" grant (95102) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences awarded to A. Osi. AB - Morphological phylogenies stand in a major conflict with molecular hypotheses regarding the phylogeny of Cryptodira, the most diverse and widely distributed clade of extant turtles. However, molecular hypotheses are often considered a better estimate of phylogeny given that it is more consistent with the stratigraphic and geographic distribution of extinct taxa. That morphology fails to reproduce the molecular topology partly originates from problematic character polarization due to yet another contradiction around the composition of the cryptodiran stem lineage. Extinct sinemydids are one of these problematic clades: they have been either placed among stem-cryptodires, stem-chelonioid sea turtles, or even stem-turtles. A new sinemydid from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota (Yixian Formation, Barremian-Early Aptian) of China, Xiaochelys ningchengensis gen. et sp. nov., allows for a reassessment of the phylogenetic position of Sinemydidae. Our analysis indicates that sinemydids mostly share symplesiomorphies with sea turtles and their purported placement outside the crown-group of turtles is an artefact of previous datasets. The best current phylogenetic estimate is therefore that sinemydids are part of the stem lineage of Cryptodira together with an array of other Jurassic to Cretaceous taxa. Our study further emphasises the importance of using molecular scaffolds in global turtle analyses. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Rabi, Márton AU - Sukhanov, VB AU - Egorova, VN AU - Danilov, I AU - Joyce, AG TI - OSTEOLOGY, RELATIONSHIPS, AND ECOLOGY OF ANNEMYS ( TESTUDINES, EUCRYPTODIRA) FROM THE LATE JURASSIC OF SHAR TEG, MONGOLIA, AND PHYLOGENETIC DEFINITIONS FOR XINJIANGCHELYIDAE, SINEMYDIDAE, AND MACROBAENIDAE JF - JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY J2 - J VERTEBR PALEONTOL VL - 34 PY - 2014 IS - 2 SP - 327 EP - 352 PG - 26 SN - 0272-4634 DO - 10.1080/02724634.2013.807274 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/2575619 ID - 2575619 N1 - Funding Agency and Grant Number: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [JO 928/2-1]; DFG [MA 1643/14-1]; Russian Foundation for Basic Research [11-04-91331-NNIO]; MTA Lendulet Program [95104] Funding text: We thank E. Syromyatnikova for patiently assisting M.R. and W.G.J. during their stay at PIN. D. Brinkman, T. Lyson, and J. Parham are thanked for insightful discussions. J. Sterli, D. Brinkman, and an anonymous reviewer provided valuable comments that helped improve the quality of the manuscript. J. Sterli is particularly thanked for her assistance in using TNT. This research was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grant JO 928/2-1 to W.G.J. The participation of I.D. in this study was supported by DFG grant MA 1643/14-1 and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project 11-04-91331-NNIO). M.R. was also supported by the MTA Lendulet Program Project No. 95104. AB - A complete description of the xinjiangchelyid turtles Annemys levensis and A. latiens is provided, based on all available material from the Upper Jurassic type locality of Shar Teg, Mongolia. Annemys latiens was previously known almost exclusively from shell material, but an undescribed skull from Shar Teg is referable to this species and its distinct morphology confirms the presence of two taxa at this locality. Annemys latiens has an elongated skull that markedly differs in proportions from those of A. levensis and resembles the shape of some recent, piscivorous turtles. The overall similarity of the shells of the two Annemys species combined with significant differences in the skull indicate that these turtles probably partitioned the aquatic niche by exploring different feeding strategies. Among xinjiangchelyids, at least three different skull morphotypes can be differentiated, which implies a moderate level of ecological diversification among Late Jurassic Asian turtles. Phylogenetic analysis weakly supports the inclusion of Annemys spp. into Xinjiangchelyidae and places xinjiangchelyids at the stem of Testudines, but the latter result is considered tentative. Phylogenetic definitions of Xinjiangchelyidae, Sinemydidae, and Macrobaenidae are provided for nomenclatural clarity and precision. SUPPLEMENTAL DATASupplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Rabi, Márton AU - Zhou, C-F AU - Wings, O AU - Ge, S AU - Joyce, WG TI - A new xinjiangchelyid turtle from the Middle Jurassic of Xinjiang, China and the evolution of the basipterygoid process in Mesozoic turtles JF - BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY J2 - BMC EVOL BIOL VL - 13 PY - 2013 IS - 1 PG - 29 SN - 1471-2148 DO - 10.1186/1471-2148-13-203 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/2465392 ID - 2465392 N1 - N1 Funding Details: DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft AB - Background: Most turtles from the Middle and Late Jurassic of Asia are referred to the newly defined clade Xinjiangchelyidae, a group of mostly shell-based, generalized, small to mid-sized aquatic froms that are widely considered to represent the stem lineage of Cryptodira. Xinjiangchelyids provide us with great insights into the plesiomorphic anatomy of crown-cryptodires, the most diverse group of living turtles, and they are particularly relevant for understanding the origin and early divergence of the primary clades of extant turtles. Results: Exceptionally complete new xinjiangchelyid material from the ?Qigu Formation of the Turpan Basin (Xinjiang Autonomous Province, China) provides new insights into the anatomy of this group and is assigned to Xinjiangchelys wusu n. sp. A phylogenetic analysis places Xinjiangchelys wusu n. sp. in a monophyletic polytomy with other xinjiangchelyids, including Xinjiangchelys junggarensis, X. radiplicatoides, X. levensis and X. latiens. However, the analysis supports the unorthodox, though tentative placement of xinjiangchelyids and sinemydids outside of crown-group Testudines. A particularly interesting new observation is that the skull of this xinjiangchelyid retains such primitive features as a reduced interpterygoid vacuity and basipterygoid processes. Conclusions: The homology of basipterygoid processes is confidently demonstrated based on a comprehensive review of the basicranial anatomy of Mesozoic turtles and a new nomenclatural system is introduced for the carotid canal system of turtles. The loss of the basipterygoid process and the bony enclosure of the carotid circulation system occurred a number of times independently during turtle evolution suggesting that the reinforcement of the basicranial region was essential for developing a rigid skull, thus paralleling the evolution of other amniote groups with massive skulls. © 2013 Rabi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. LA - English DB - MTMT ER -