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A new mosasaur specimen found in the Coniacian beds of Lebrija, Santander, Central Colombia, is here described. The new specimen represents a new genus and species of plioplatecarpine mosasaurid that we name Oneirosaurus caballeroi gen. et sp. nov. Oneirosaurus is a plioplatecarpine characterized by one character unknown in any other plioplatecarpine: the presence of two external foramina for the exit of nerves X, XI, and XII. It is also distinguished by a combination of characters that includes among others: prefrontal and postorbitofrontal separated at the roof of the orbit; broad frontal, with short triangular surface anterior to the orbits; triangular and broad anterodorsal surface of the parietal contacting the postorbital for a short distance; infrastapedial process of the quadrate robust without being fused to the suprastapedial process; small otosphenoidal crest of prootic not covering the exit of nerve VII; basioccipital canal opening into the floor of the braincase through two large foramina separated by a medial septum; lingual alveolar parapet of dentary lower than labial; marginal teeth crown with subcircular cross-section at base and with two carinae arranged at 180[degrees]; and presence of a notch in anterior border of the atlas neural arch. The morphological comparisons and the cladistic analysis show the new taxon as an intermedium plioplatecarpine with phylogenetic proximity to the Colombian species Yaguarasaurus columbianus from the lower Turonian and to the species Ectenosaurus clidastoides from the Santonian-Campanian of the USA. Our phylogenetic results shows tethysaurines and halisaurines as plesio-pelvic and plesiopedal groups separated from the hydropelvic and hydropedal derived groups Tylosaurinae, Plioplatecarpinae, and Mosasaurinae.

In this study, we present a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Bruggmanniella Tavares based on morphological features. Cladistic analyses were conducted using 57 characters from 26 species. All species of Bruggmanniella except for B. byrsonimae were selected as ingroup and the genera Asphondylia Loew, Bruggmannia Tavares, Illiciomyia Tokuda, Parazalepidota Maia, Pseudasphondylia Monzen, Schizomyia Kieffer, and Lopesia Rübsaamen as outgroup. We used characters from larvae, pupae, adults, and galls. The results of this study supported Bruggmanniella as the sister group of Pseudasphondylia. Bruggmanniella actinodaphnes Tokuda and Yukawa and B. cinnamomi Tokuda and Yukawa have been moved to genus Pseudasphondylia (Pseudasphondylia actinodaphnes (Tokuda and Yukawa) comb. nov. and Pseudasphondylia cinnamomi (Tokuda and Yukawa) comb. nov.). The new genus Odontokeros gen. nov. has been erected for the single species Odontokeros brevipes (Lin, Yang & Tokuda) comb. nov. In addition, we described a new Brazilian species, Bruggmanniella miconia Garcia, Lamas and Urso-Guimarães sp. nov. Identification keys to the New World species of Bruggmanniella are presented.

Background During the growth of complex multicellular organisms, chronological age, size and morphology change together in a hierarchical and coordinated pattern. Among extinct species, the growth of Tyrannosaurus rex has received repeated attention through quantitative analyses of relative maturity and chronological age. Its growth series shows an extreme transformation from shallow skulls in juveniles to deep skulls in adults along with a reduction in tooth count, and its growth curve shows that T. rex had a high growth rate in contrast to its closest relatives. However, separately, these sets of data provide an incomplete picture of the congruence between age, size, and relative maturity in this exemplar species. The goal of this work is to analyze these data sets together using cladistic analysis to produce a single hypothesis of growth that includes all of the relevant data. Methods The three axes of growth were analyzed together using cladistic analysis, based on a data set of 1,850 morphological characters and 44 specimens. The analysis was run in TNT v.1.5 under a New Technology search followed by a Traditional search. Correlation tests were run in IBM SPSS Statistics v. 24.0.0.0. Results An initial analysis that included all of the specimens recovered 50 multiple most parsimonious ontograms a series of analyses identified 13 wildcard specimens. An analysis run without the wildcard specimens recovered a single most parsimonious tree (i.e., ontogram) of 3,053 steps. The ontogram is composed of 21 growth stages, and all but the first and third are supported by unambiguously optimized synontomorphies. T. rex ontogeny can be divided into five discrete growth categories that are diagnosed by chronological age, morphology, and, in part, size (uninformative among adults). The topology shows that the transition from shallow to deep skull shape occurred between 13 and 15 years of age, and the size of the immediate relatives of T. rex was exceeded between its 15th and 18th years. Although size and maturity are congruent among juveniles and subadults, congruence is not seen among adults; for example, one of the least mature adults (RSM 2523.8) is also the largest and most massive example of the species. The extreme number of changes at the transition between juveniles and subadults shows that the ontogeny of T. rex exhibits secondary metamorphosis, analogous to the abrupt ontogenetic changes that are seen at sexual maturity among teleosts. These results provide a point of comparison for testing the congruence between maturity and chronological age, size, and mass, as well as integrating previous work on functional morphology into a rigorous ontogenetic framework. Comparison of the growth series of T. rex with those of outgroup taxa clarifies the ontogenetic trends that were inherited from the common ancestor of Archosauriformes.

The previously alleged 'perleidid' genus Peltoperleidus is a stem-neopterygian fish taxon with two or three horizontal rows of notably deepened flank scales. Until recently, members of this genus were known only from the Ladinian (late Middle Triassic) or near the Anisian/Ladinian boundary (~242 Ma) in southern Switzerland and northern Italy. Here, I report the discovery of a new species of the genus, Peltoperleidus asiaticus sp. nov., based on three well-preserved specimens from the Anisian (early Middle Triassic, ~244 Ma) of Luoping, eastern Yunnan, China. The discovery extends the geological range of Peltoperleidus by approximately two million years and documents the first record of the genus in Asia. Similar to its relatives (represented by P. macrodontus) from Europe, P. asiaticus sp. nov. is likely a small-sized durophagous predator with dentition combining grasping and crushing morphologies. Results of a cladistic analysis unite four species of Peltoperleidus as a monophyletic group within the Louwoichthyiformes, and suggest that the presence of two horizontal rows of notably deepened scales was independently evolved in Peltoperleidus and another stem-neopterygian taxon Altisolepis. P. asiaticus sp. nov. is nested at the base of Peltoperleidus, and a new family Peltoperleididae is proposed for the genus, contrasting the previous placement of Peltoperleidus in the poorly defined, paraphyletic 'Perleididae'. Comparative studies of the basal peltoperleidid from China with its younger relatives from Europe provide new insights into the evolutionary origin and paleogeographic distribution of this clade.

A new mosasaur specimen found in the Coniacian beds of Lebrija, Santander, Central Colombia, is here described. The new specimen represents a new genus and species of plioplatecarpine mosasaurid that we name Oneirosaurus caballeroi gen. et sp. nov. Oneirosaurus is a plioplatecarpine characterized by one character unknown in any other plioplatecarpine: the presence of two external foramina for the exit of nerves X, XI, and XII. It is also distinguished by a combination of characters that includes among others: prefrontal and postorbitofrontal separated at the roof of the orbit; broad frontal, with short triangular surface anterior to the orbits; triangular and broad anterodorsal surface of the parietal contacting the postorbital for a short distance; infrastapedial process of the quadrate robust without being fused to the suprastapedial process; small otosphenoidal crest of prootic not covering the exit of nerve VII; basioccipital canal opening into the floor of the braincase through two large foramina separated by a medial septum; lingual alveolar parapet of dentary lower than labial; marginal teeth crown with subcircular cross-section at base and with two carinae arranged at 180º; and presence of a notch in anterior border of the atlas neural arch. The morphological comparisons and the cladistic analysis show the new taxon as an intermedium plioplatecarpine with phylogenetic proximity to the Colombian species Yaguarasaurus columbianus from the lower Turonian and to the species Ectenosaurus clidastoides from the Santonian-Campanian of the USA. Our phylogenetic results shows tethysaurines and halisaurines as plesiopelvic and plesiopedal groups separated from the hydropelvic and hydropedal derived groups Tylosaurinae, Plioplatecarpinae, and Mosasaurinae. Se describe un nuevo espécimen de mosasaurio encontrado en capas del Coniaciano en Lebrija, Santander, Centro de Colombia. El nuevo espécimen representa un nuevo género y especie de mosasáurido pliopatecarpino que nosotros nombramos Oneirosaurus caballeroi gen. et sp. nov. Oneirosaurus es un plioplatecarpino que se distingue de cualquier otro plioplatecarpino por la presencia de dos forámenes externos para la salida de los nervios X, XI y XII. Oneirosaurus también se distingue por una combinación de caracteres que incluye entre otros: prefrontal y postorbitofrontal separados en el techo de la órbita; frontal ancho, con superficie triangular corta anterior a las órbitas; superficie anterodorsal triangular y ancha del parietal contactando el postorbital por una distancia corta; proceso infraestapedial del cuadrado robusto y sin fusionarse con el proceso supraestapedial; proótico con una pequeña cresta otosfenoidal que no cubre la salida del nervio VII; canal basioccipital abriéndose en el piso del basicráneo a través de dos grandes forámenes separados por un septo medial; dentario con parapeto alveolar lingual más bajo que el labial; corona de los dientes marginales con sección transversal subcircular en la base y con dos carenas dispuestas a 180º; y presencia de una muesca en el borde anterior del arco neural del atlas. Las comparaciones morfológicas y el análisis cladístico muestran al nuevo taxón como un plioplatecarpino intermedio con proximidad filogenética a la especie colombiana Yaguarasaurus columbianus del Turoniano inferior y a la especie Ectenosaurus clidastoides del Santoniano-Campaniano de EUA. Nuestros resultados filogenéticos muestran a los tethysaurinos y halisaurinos como grupos plesiopélvicos y plesiopedales separados de los grupos derivados hydropélvicos e hydropedales Tylosaurinae, Plioplatecarpinae, y Mosasaurinae.

Coleopterans present challenges in their classification due to their highly variable morphological traits. In the Philippines, beetle classification was limited to describing species based on a few character traits, which might result in taxonomic incongruencies. Hence, this research utilized Cladistic analysis to determine the morphological diversity of synanthropic beetles. This work included 48 synanthropic beetle taxa using 82 qualitative morphological characters. Tree searches found eight parsimonious trees with a length of 683 steps, a consistency index of 20, and a retention index of 46. These trees produced a strict consensus tree revealing three major clades with recurring traits, suggesting high homoplasy among Coleopterans. Furthermore, three polytomies were observed in the preferred tree, particularly species in Cerambycidae and Melolonthinae groups, indicating that these groups underwent various evolutionary mechanisms, such as parallel evolution, homoplasy, or convergent evolution. Analysis of the individual character traits revealed five uninformative morphological features and nine character traits that can be examined for character evolution. The results of Cladistic analysis are generally congruent with the molecular studies and enhance our understanding of the systematic relationships among synanthropic beetle species.

is a crucial wood-decaying fungus with significant lignocellulose-degrading ability, which plays a vital role in the material cycle and energy flow of forest ecosystems. However, the mitochondrial genome of has not yet been revealed. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome of was assembled and compared with related species. The mitochondrial genome spans 69,155 bp and has a GC content of 25.0%. It comprises 15 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 26 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and one DNA polymerase gene ( ). Herein, we characterised and analysed the codon preferences, variation and evolution of PCGs, repeats, intron dynamics, as well as RNA editing events in the mitochondrial genome. Further, a phylogenetic analysis of and the other 86 Basidiomycota species was performed using mitochondrial genome data. The results revealed that four species, , , and , were grouped in a closely-related cluster with high support values, indicating that a close phylogenetic relationship existed between and . This study reported on the initial assembly and annotation of the mitochondrial genome of , which greatly improved the knowledge of the fungus. These results contribute to the limited understanding of the mitochondrial repository of wood-decaying fungi, thereby laying the foundation for subsequent research on fungal evolution and ecological functions.

An ongoing study of the genus Merodon Meigen, 1803 in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) has revealed the existence of new species related to M. melanocerus Bezzi, 1915. The M. melanocerus subgroup belongs to the Afrotropical lineage of the M. desuturinus group. Revision of all available material from museums and detailed analyses of newly -collected specimens from our own expeditions to RSA resulted in delimitation of five species: M. capensis Hurkmans sp. n., M. commutabilis Radenkovic et Vujic sp. n., M. drakonis Vujic et Radenkovic sp. n., M. flavocerus Hurkmans sp. n. and M. melanocerus. In addition to classical morphological characters, sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene are provided for four related taxa. Results of molecular phylogenetic analyses supports monophyly of the M. desuturinus group and confirmed delimitation between species. Links between Palaearctic and Afrotropical faunas of this group, as well as possible evolutionary paths, are discussed. Based on phylogenetic analyses, four lineages (putative subgenera) have been recognized within the genus Merodon; besides the three previously established ones, albifrons+desuturinus, aureus (sensu lato) and avidus-nigritarsis, one new lineage named natans is distinguished.

Morphological data provide the only means of classifying the majority of life's history, but the choice between competing phylogenetic methods for the analysis of morphology is unclear. Traditionally, parsimony methods have been favoured but recent studies have shown that these approaches are less accurate than the Bayesian implementation of the Mk model. Here we expand on these findings in several ways: we assess the impact of tree shape and maximum-likelihood estimation using the Mk model, as well as analysing data composed of both binary and multistate characters. We find that all methods struggle to correctly resolve deep clades within asymmetric trees, and when analysing small character matrices. The Bayesian Mk model is the most accurate method for estimating topology, but with lower resolution than other methods. Equal weights parsimony is more accurate than implied weights parsimony, and maximum-likelihood estimation using the Mk model is the least accurate method. We conclude that the Bayesian implementation of the Mk model should be the default method for phylogenetic estimation from phenotype datasets, and we explore the implications of our simulations in reanalysing several empirical morphological character matrices. A consequence of our finding is that high levels of resolution or the ability to classify species or groups with much confidence should not be expected when using small datasets. It is now necessary to depart from the traditional parsimony paradigms of constructing character matrices, towards datasets constructed explicitly for Bayesian methods.

Fluted projectile points have long been recognized as the archaeological signature of early humans dispersing throughout the Western Hemisphere; however, we still lack a clear understanding of their appearance in the interior “Ice-Free Corridor” of western Canada and eastern Beringia. To solve this problem, we conducted a geometric morphometric shape analysis and a phylogenetic analysis of technological traits on fluted points from the archaeological records of northern Alaska and Yukon, in combination with artifacts from further south in Canada, the Great Plains, and eastern United States to investigate the plausibility of historical relatedness and evolutionary patterns in the spread of fluted-point technology in the latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene. Results link morphologies and technologies of Clovis, certain western Canadian, and northern fluted points, suggesting that fluting technology arrived in the Arctic from a proximate source in the interior Ice-Free Corridor and ultimately from the earliest populations in temperate North America, complementing new genomic models explaining the peopling of the Americas.