Early giant reveals faster evolution of large body size in ichthyosaurs than in cetaceans

Body sizes of marine amniotes span six orders of magnitude, yet the factors that governed the evolution of this diversity are largely unknown. High primary production of modern oceans is considered a prerequisite for the emergence of cetacean giants, but that condition cannot explain gigantism in Tr...

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Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 374; no. 6575; p. eabf5787
Main Authors: Sander, P Martin, Griebeler, Eva Maria, Klein, Nicole, Juarbe, Jorge Velez, Wintrich, Tanja, Revell, Liam J, Schmitz, Lars
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 24.12.2021
Subjects:
Animals
Aquatic Organisms
Biological Evolution
Body Size
Cetacea - anatomy & histology
Cetacea - physiology
Computer Simulation
Diet
Ecosystem
Food Chain
Fossils
Phylogeny
Reptiles - anatomy & histology
Reptiles - classification
Reptiles - physiology
Skull - anatomy & histology
Vertebrates - anatomy & histology
Vertebrates - physiology
ISSN:1095-9203, 1095-9203
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Abstract Body sizes of marine amniotes span six orders of magnitude, yet the factors that governed the evolution of this diversity are largely unknown. High primary production of modern oceans is considered a prerequisite for the emergence of cetacean giants, but that condition cannot explain gigantism in Triassic ichthyosaurs. We describe the new giant ichthyosaur sp. nov. with a 2-meter-long skull from the Middle Triassic Fossil Hill Fauna of Nevada, USA, underscoring rapid size evolution despite the absence of many modern primary producers. Surprisingly, the Fossil Hill Fauna rivaled the composition of modern marine mammal faunas in terms of size range, and energy-flux models suggest that Middle Triassic marine food webs were able to support several large-bodied ichthyosaurs at high trophic levels, shortly after ichthyosaur origins.
AbstractList Body sizes of marine amniotes span six orders of magnitude, yet the factors that governed the evolution of this diversity are largely unknown. High primary production of modern oceans is considered a prerequisite for the emergence of cetacean giants, but that condition cannot explain gigantism in Triassic ichthyosaurs. We describe the new giant ichthyosaur Cymbospondylus youngorum sp. nov. with a 2-meter-long skull from the Middle Triassic Fossil Hill Fauna of Nevada, USA, underscoring rapid size evolution despite the absence of many modern primary producers. Surprisingly, the Fossil Hill Fauna rivaled the composition of modern marine mammal faunas in terms of size range, and energy-flux models suggest that Middle Triassic marine food webs were able to support several large-bodied ichthyosaurs at high trophic levels, shortly after ichthyosaur origins.Body sizes of marine amniotes span six orders of magnitude, yet the factors that governed the evolution of this diversity are largely unknown. High primary production of modern oceans is considered a prerequisite for the emergence of cetacean giants, but that condition cannot explain gigantism in Triassic ichthyosaurs. We describe the new giant ichthyosaur Cymbospondylus youngorum sp. nov. with a 2-meter-long skull from the Middle Triassic Fossil Hill Fauna of Nevada, USA, underscoring rapid size evolution despite the absence of many modern primary producers. Surprisingly, the Fossil Hill Fauna rivaled the composition of modern marine mammal faunas in terms of size range, and energy-flux models suggest that Middle Triassic marine food webs were able to support several large-bodied ichthyosaurs at high trophic levels, shortly after ichthyosaur origins.
Body sizes of marine amniotes span six orders of magnitude, yet the factors that governed the evolution of this diversity are largely unknown. High primary production of modern oceans is considered a prerequisite for the emergence of cetacean giants, but that condition cannot explain gigantism in Triassic ichthyosaurs. We describe the new giant ichthyosaur sp. nov. with a 2-meter-long skull from the Middle Triassic Fossil Hill Fauna of Nevada, USA, underscoring rapid size evolution despite the absence of many modern primary producers. Surprisingly, the Fossil Hill Fauna rivaled the composition of modern marine mammal faunas in terms of size range, and energy-flux models suggest that Middle Triassic marine food webs were able to support several large-bodied ichthyosaurs at high trophic levels, shortly after ichthyosaur origins.
Author Juarbe, Jorge Velez
Wintrich, Tanja
Sander, P Martin
Klein, Nicole
Griebeler, Eva Maria
Revell, Liam J
Schmitz, Lars
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  surname: Sander
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  givenname: Eva Maria
  orcidid: 0000-0003-2166-487X
  surname: Griebeler
  fullname: Griebeler, Eva Maria
  organization: Institut für Organismische und Molekulare Evolutionsbiologie, Evolutionäre Ökologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany
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  givenname: Nicole
  surname: Klein
  fullname: Klein, Nicole
  organization: Abteilung Paläontologie, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
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  givenname: Jorge Velez
  orcidid: 0000-0002-0339-0556
  surname: Juarbe
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  organization: Department of Mammalogy, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
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  surname: Wintrich
  fullname: Wintrich, Tanja
  organization: Anatomisches Institut, Universität Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
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  givenname: Liam J
  orcidid: 0000-0003-0767-4713
  surname: Revell
  fullname: Revell, Liam J
  organization: Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
– sequence: 7
  givenname: Lars
  orcidid: 0000-0003-0210-4383
  surname: Schmitz
  fullname: Schmitz, Lars
  organization: W.M. Keck Science Department of Claremont McKenna, Scripps, and Pitzer Colleges, Claremont, CA 91711, USA
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Snippet Body sizes of marine amniotes span six orders of magnitude, yet the factors that governed the evolution of this diversity are largely unknown. High primary...
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SubjectTerms Animals
Aquatic Organisms
Biological Evolution
Body Size
Cetacea - anatomy & histology
Cetacea - physiology
Computer Simulation
Diet
Ecosystem
Food Chain
Fossils
Phylogeny
Reptiles - anatomy & histology
Reptiles - classification
Reptiles - physiology
Skull - anatomy & histology
Vertebrates - anatomy & histology
Vertebrates - physiology
Title Early giant reveals faster evolution of large body size in ichthyosaurs than in cetaceans
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