end-Cretaceous Mass Extinction Event Research Articles

Elasmobranch assemblages from a bathyal environment spanning the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in Austria

Abstract Extensive bulk-sampling of the continuous Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary section at Gams (Styria, Austria) allows for the first time the description of the elasmobranch communities inhabiting the bathyal environment of this well-known section. The sampled succession comprises six horizons from the uppermost Maastrichtian (upper part of Nephrolites frequens Zone CC26) and five horizons from the lowermost Danian (Zone NP1), which yielded a total of 1852 elasmobranch teeth. Although the majority of the teeth are not well preserved, this study enabled the description of at least 16 taxa of the orders Hexanchiformes, Squaliformes, Orectolobiformes, Lamniformes and Carcharhiniformes, providing a rare snapshot of elasmobranch diversity of this specific environmental setting. Beside minor diversity fluctuations between the assemblages, the extensive bulk-sampling of this section did not reveal a marked diversity decline related to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event. However, a noteworthy correlation between the deepening upward trend of the section with the appearance of frilled and goblin sharks points to changes in palaeobathymetry, which is also reflected in the increase of the total proportion of squaliform teeth in the uppermost sampled horizon. Furthermore, teeth of the extinct triakid Palaeogaleus were recovered exclusively from the Danian deeper deposits, expanding the palaeoecological range of the genus down to fairly deep marine environments. In addition, this study provides the first record of the lamniform Cretolamna ex gr. borealis from the Danian of the Tethyan Realm expanding the palaeogeographic distribution of this group.

Extinction and survival of raninoid crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Raninoida) from the Early Cretaceous to the present

Abstract Faunal turnover is a pattern of diversification and extinction in taxa throughout the geologic record. Patterns of repeated faunal turnovers are referred to as faunal progression, demonstrated by Decapoda in clawed lobsters and podotrematous and heterotrematous crabs. The transition between podotrematous and heterotrematous crabs is the most recent. Among these, section Raninoida Ahyong, Lai, Sharkey, Colgan & Ng, 2007, commonly called “frog crabs,” constitutes a major monophyletic group with podotrematous body forms, and the focus of our study. Declines in raninoidan diversity were aligned with mass extinction events and major climate shifts, especially cooling. Likewise, diversification within Raninoida occurred in warm, greenhouse climates. Thus, a major factor in patterns of faunal turnover in Decapoda is shown to be environmental conditions. Raninoidan families exhibiting adaptations facilitating back-burrowing preferentially survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, whereas raninoidans lacking such adaptions did not go completely extinct at the end-Cretaceous but failed to recover diversity. Given the diversification of heterotrematous crabs into a wide variety of ecological niches throughout the Cenozoic, competition may be a secondary, but still crucial, factor in this faunal turnover.

A "Mammalian-like" Pycnodont Fish: Independent Acquisition of Thecodont Implantation, True Vertical Replacement, and Carnassial Dentitions in Carnivorous Mammals and a Peculiar Group of Pycnodont Fish.

Vertebrates developed tooth replacement over 400 million years ago. Then, 200 million years later, the combination of vertical tooth replacement with the thecodont implantation (teeth in bone sockets) appeared a key morphological innovation in mammalian evolution. However, we discovered that an extinct fish taxon, Serrasalmimus secans, showed the same innovation in the lineage Serrasalmimidae, which survived the end Cretaceous mass extinction event. The carnassial teeth are known in both mammals and pycnodont fish, but these teeth do not share the same tissues or developmental processes. Therefore, this serrasalmimid pycnodont fish might have independently acquired mammal-like tooth replacement and implantation, indicating that the fish and mammals convergently evolved the carnassial dental morphologies at about the same time, approximately 60 My ago, in separate ecosystems.

Rapid macrobenthic diversification and stabilization after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event

Abstract Previous ichnological analysis at the Chicxulub impact crater, Yucatán Peninsula, México (International Ocean Discovery Program [IODP]/International Continental Scientific Drilling Program [ICDP] Site M0077), showed a surprisingly rapid initial tracemaker community recovery after the end-Cretaceous (Cretaceous-Paleogene [K-Pg]) mass extinction event. Here, we found that full recovery was also rapid, with the establishment of a well-developed tiered community within ∼700 k.y. Several stages of recovery were observed, with distinct phases of stabilization and diversification, ending in the development of a trace fossil assemblage mainly consisting of abundant Zoophycos, Chondrites, and Planolites, assigned to the Zoophycos ichnofacies. The increase in diversity is associated with higher abundance, larger forms, and a deeper and more complex tiering structure. Such rapid recovery suggests that favorable paleoenvironmental conditions were quickly reestablished within the impact basin, enabling colonization of the substrate. Comparison with the end-Permian extinction reveals similarities during recovery, yet postextinction recovery was significantly faster after the K-Pg event. The rapid recovery has significant implications for the evolution of macrobenthic biota after the K-Pg event. Our results have relevance in understanding how communities recovered after the K-Pg impact and how this event differed from other mass extinction events.

Burmese amber reveals a new stem lineage of whirligig beetle (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae) based on the larval stage.

Burmese amber is well known for preserving unique extinct lineages of insects. Here, we describe a new fossil beetle in its larval stage from Burmese amber. Bayesian and parsimony phylogenetic analysis of 50 morphological characters support this fossil as being sister to both the tribes Dineutini and Orectochilini, representing an extinct stem lineage in Gyrininae. It is described here as a new genus and species of whirligig beetle, Chimerogyrus gigagalea gen. & sp. nov., a taxon that preserves remarkable intermediate features between the whirligig beetle tribe Gyrinini and the crown Orectochilini and Dineutini. This new taxon preserves key features for studying the evolution of characters within the larval stage of the Gyrinidae and highlights the importance of Burmese amber for preserving both stem and crown lineages present during the mid-Cretaceous, before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event.

New Crocodylomorph Material from the Fayum Depression, Egypt, Including the First Occurrence of a Sebecosuchian in African Late Eocene Deposits

ABSTRACT During the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods, the Earth experienced tectonic and climatic changes, which included continental drift following the breakup of the supercontinents Gondwana and Laurasia, the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, and several climatic events, including the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum and the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum. In response to increased temperatures and vacancies of ecospace left by the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, mammal and reptile lineages that survived into the Eocene underwent immense evolutionary radiations that led to the diversification of crown clades, such as Crocodylia. Late Eocene deposits in northern Africa provide insights into how crocodyliforms responded to these tectonic and climatic events. Specifically, the Birket Qarun Formation in the Fayum Depression of Egypt contains several species of crown crocodylians as part of its rich fossil record of vertebrates. This study provides description of new material attributable to crocodylian taxa previously known from this formation, as well as newly recognized non-crocodylian mesoeucrocodylian material referable to Sebecosuchia. The sebecosuchian material provides important evidence attesting to the diversity of crocodyliforms in the late Eocene of Africa and expands the known biogeographic range of sebecosuchians.

Diversity on the rebound.

The reduction in biodiversity after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event did not instantaneously create evolutionary opportunities for planktonic protists. Survivors instead re-diversified in pulses that followed morphological innovations.

Upper Maastrichtian ammonite biostratigraphy of the Gulf Coastal Plain (Mississippi Embayment, southern USA)

The Cretaceous outcrop belt of the Mississippi Embayment in the Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP) spans the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary. A detailed reconstruction of this time interval is critical for understanding the nature of biotic and environmental changes preceding the end-Cretaceous Mass Extinction event and for deciphering the likely extinction mechanism (i.e., bolide impact versus volcanism). Eight sections encompassing the K/Pg succession across the Mississippi Embayment were analyzed using biostratigraphic sampling of ammonites, dinoflagellates, and nannofossils. An upper Maastrichtian ammonite zonation is proposed as follows, from oldest to youngest: Discoscaphites conradi Zone, D. minardi Zone, and D. iris Zone. Our study documents that the ammonite zonation established in the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) extends to the GCP. This zonation is integrated with nannofossil and dinoflagellate biostratigraphy to provide a framework to more accurately determine the age relationships in this region. We demonstrate that ammonites and dinoflagellates are more reliable stratigraphic indicators in this area than nannofossils because age-diagnostic nannofossils are not consistently present within the upper Maastrichtian in the GCP. This biostratigraphic framework has the potential to become a useful tool for correlation of strata both within the GCP and between the GCP, Western Interior, and ACP. The presence of the uppermost Maastrichtian ammonite D. iris, calcareous nannofossil Micula prinsii, and dinoflagellates Palynodinium grallator and Disphaerogena carposphaeropsis suggests that the K/Pg succession in the GCP is nearly complete. Consequently, the GCP is an excellent setting for investigating fine scale temporal changes across the K/Pg boundary and ultimately elucidating the mechanisms causing extinction.

First pachycephalosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Frenchman Formation (upper Maastrichtian) of Saskatchewan, Canada

Compared to earlier representatives of the family, pachycephalosaurids are less well known from upper Maastrichtian deposits around the world. Here, we report on a nearly complete left postorbital attributable to the pachycephalosaurid Sphaerotholus cf. Sphaerotholus buchholtzae from the upper Maastrichtian Frenchman Formation of Saskatchewan. This marks a probable northern range extension for the species into Canada, and the first occurrence of a pachycephalosaurid from this formation. We further demonstrate the taxonomic distinction between Stegoceras edmontonense and S. buchholtzae, which has been debated, based on postorbital sutural proportions. The northerly occurrence of Sphaerotholus cf. S. buchholtzae is consistent with the hypothesis of low beta diversity during the late Maastrichtian of North America, and its high stratigraphic incidence documents the persistence of non-pachycephalosaurin pachycephalosaurines in a critical interval for understanding the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event.

The Latest Succession of Dinosaur Tracksites in Europe: Hadrosaur Ichnology, Track Production and Palaeoenvironments

A comprehensive review and study of the rich dinosaur track record of the Tremp Formation in the southern Pyrenees of Spain (Southwestern Europe) shows a unique succession of footprint localities prior to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event. A description of some 30 new tracksites and data on sedimentary environments, track occurrence and preservation, ichnology and chronostratigraphy are provided. These new track localities represent various facies types within a diverse set of fluvial environments. The footprint discoveries mostly represent hadrosaurian and, less abundantly, to sauropod dinosaurs. The hadrosaur tracks are significantly smaller in size than, but morphologically similar to, those of North America and Asia and are attributable to the ichnogenus Hadrosauropodus. The track succession, with more than 40 distinct track levels, indicates that hadrosaur footprints in the Ibero-Armorican region occur predominantly in the late Maaastrichtian (at least above the early Maastrichtian–late Maastrichtian boundary). The highest abundance is found noticeably found in the late Maastrichtian, with tracks occurring in the C29r magnetochron, within about the latest 300,000 years of the Cretaceous.

Local and global abundance associated with extinction risk in late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic gastropods

Ecological theory predicts an inverse association between population size and extinction risk, but most previous paleontological studies have failed to confirm this relationship. The reasons for this discrepancy between theory and observation remain poorly understood. In this study, we compiled a global database of gastropod occurrences and collection-level abundances spanning the Early Permian through Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian). Globally, the database contains 5469 occurrences of 496 genera and 2156 species from 839 localities. Within the database, 30 collections distributed across seven stages contain at least 75 specimens and ten genera—our minimum criteria for within-collection analysis of extinction selectivity. We use logistic regression analysis, based on global and local measures of population size and stage-level extinction patterns in Early Permian through Early Jurassic marine gastropods, to assess the relationship between abundance and extinction risk. We find that global genus occurrence frequency is inversely associated with extinction risk (i.e., positively associated with survival) in 15 of 16 stages examined, statistically significantly so in five stages. Although correlation between geographic range and occurrence frequency may account for some of this association, results from multivariable regression analysis suggest that the association between occurrence frequency and extinction risk is largely independent of geographic range. Within local assemblages, abundance (number of individuals) is also inversely associated with extinction risk. The strength of association is consistent across time and modes of fossil preservation. Effect strength is poorly constrained, particularly in analyses of local collections. In addition to limited power due to small sample size, this poor constraint may result from confounding by ecological variables not controlled for in the analyses, by taphonomic or collection biases, or from non-monotonic relationships between abundance and extinction risk. Two factors are likely to account for the difference between our results and those of most previous studies. First, many previous studies focused on the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event; the extent to which these results can be generalized to other intervals remains unclear. Second, previous findings of nonselective extinction could result from insufficient statistical power rather than the absence of an underlying effect, because nonselective extinction is generally used as the null hypothesis for statistical convenience. Survivorship patterns in late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic gastropods suggest that abundance has been a more important influence on extinction risk through the Phanerozoic than previously appreciated.

Osedax borings in fossil marine bird bones

The bone-eating marine annelid Osedax consumes mainly whale bones on the deep-sea floor, but recent colonization experiments with cow bones and molecular age estimates suggesting a possible Cretaceous origin of Osedax indicate that this worm might be able grow on a wider range of substrates. The suggested Cretaceous origin was thought to imply that Osedax could colonize marine reptile or fish bones, but there is currently no evidence that Osedax consumes bones other than those of mammals. We provide the first evidence that Osedax was, and most likely still is, able to consume non-mammalian bones, namely bird bones. Borings resembling those produced by living Osedax were found in bones of early Oligocene marine flightless diving birds (family Plotopteridae). The species that produced these boreholes had a branching filiform root that grew to a length of at least 3 mm, and lived in densities of up to 40 individuals per square centimeter. The inclusion of bird bones into the diet of Osedax has interesting implications for the recent suggestion of a Cretaceous origin of this worm because marine birds have existed continuously since the Cretaceous. Bird bones could have enabled this worm to survive times in the Earth’s history when large marine vertebrates other than fish were rare, specifically after the disappearance of large marine reptiles at the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event and before the rise of whales in the Eocene.

The delayed rise of present-day mammals

Did the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, by eliminating non-avian dinosaurs and most of the existing fauna, trigger the evolutionary radiation of present-day mammals? Here we construct, date and analyse a species-level phylogeny of nearly all extant Mammalia to bring a new perspective to this question. Our analyses of how extant lineages accumulated through time show that net per-lineage diversification rates barely changed across the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Instead, these rates spiked significantly with the origins of the currently recognized placental superorders and orders approximately 93 million years ago, before falling and remaining low until accelerating again throughout the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. Our results show that the phylogenetic 'fuses' leading to the explosion of extant placental orders are not only very much longer than suspected previously, but also challenge the hypothesis that the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event had a major, direct influence on the diversification of today's mammals.

AFRARCHAEA GRIMALDII, A NEW SPECIES OF ARCHAEIDAE (ARANEAE) IN CRETACEOUS BURMESE AMBER

Abstract Afrarchaea grimaldii new species (Archaeidae, Archaeinae) from 88–95 Ma (Cenomanian–Turonian) Upper Cretaceous amber (Burmite) from Myanmar (Burma) is described. This is the first spider to be described from this deposit and is the oldest known Archaeidae sensu stricto extending the known range of the family by approximately 50 Ma from the previously oldest recorded specimens in Baltic and Bitterfeld ambers, and provides further evidence that spiders were not severely affected by the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event. It represents the oldest fossil record of an araneophagic spider. This species could be used to argue for both the theory of mobilistic biogeography and ousted relicts to explain the zoogeography of the genus, but until new data become available, supports neither reliably.

THE OLDEST LINYPHIID SPIDER, IN LOWER CRETACEOUS LEBANESE AMBER (ARANEAE, LINYPHIIDAE, LINYPHIINAE)

Abstract A new fossil Linyphiidae: Linyphiinae is described from 125–135 Ma old (Upper Neocomian–basal Lower Aptian) Cretaceous amber from the Kdeirji/Hammana outcrop, Lebanon. This is the oldest known linyphiid as well as the oldest described amber spider. The first major radiation of the linyphiid subfamilies occurred in the early Cretaceous, if not before, and the presence of Linyphiidae in this period predicts the presence of Pimoidae then too. Current evidence, which suggests the higher araneoids did not radiate and diversify until after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event may be an artefact of sample size.