All Outputs (34)

A 50-million-year-old, three-dimensionally preserved bat skull supports an early origin for modern echolocation (2023)
Journal Article
Hand, S. J., Maugoust, J., Beck, R. M., & Orliac, M. J. (2023). A 50-million-year-old, three-dimensionally preserved bat skull supports an early origin for modern echolocation. Current Biology, 33(21), 4624-4640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.043

Bats are among the most recognizable, numerous, and widespread of all mammals. But much of their fossil record is missing, and bat origins remain poorly understood, as do the relationships of early to modern bats. Here, we describe a new early Eocene... Read More about A 50-million-year-old, three-dimensionally preserved bat skull supports an early origin for modern echolocation.

A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution (2023)
Journal Article
Crichton, A. I., Beck, R. M. D., Couzens, A. M. C., Worthy, T. H., Camens, A. B., & Prideaux, G. J. (2023). A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 14521. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41471-0

Diprotodontians are the morphologically and ecologically most diverse order of marsupials. However, an approximately 30-million-year gap in the Australian terrestrial vertebrate fossil record means that the first half of diprotodontian evolution is u... Read More about A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution.

First known extinct feathertail possums (Acrobatidae, Marsupialia): palaeobiodiversity, phylogenetics, palaeoecology and palaeogeography (2023)
Journal Article
Fabian, P. R., Archer, M., Hand, S. J., & Beck, R. M. (in press). First known extinct feathertail possums (Acrobatidae, Marsupialia): palaeobiodiversity, phylogenetics, palaeoecology and palaeogeography. Alcheringa, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2023.2242439

Four new fossil feathertail possum species (Marsupialia, Diprotodontia, Phalangerida, Petauroidea, Acrobatidae) are described from late Oligocene to middle Miocene fossil deposits in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. They... Read More about First known extinct feathertail possums (Acrobatidae, Marsupialia): palaeobiodiversity, phylogenetics, palaeoecology and palaeogeography.

Cranial remains of Ramsayia magna from the Late Pleistocene of Australia and the evolution of gigantism in wombats (Marsupialia, Vombatidae) (2022)
Journal Article
Louys, J., Duval, M., Beck, R., Pease, E., Sobbe, I., Sands, N., & Price, G. (2022). Cranial remains of Ramsayia magna from the Late Pleistocene of Australia and the evolution of gigantism in wombats (Marsupialia, Vombatidae). Papers in Palaeontology, 8(6), https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.1475

Giant wombats (defined here as ≥70 kg) are found in the genera Phascolonus, Ramsayia and perhaps Sedophascolomys. Ramsayia is currently the most poorly known, having been described from mandibular and cranial fragments. Here, we report the most compl... Read More about Cranial remains of Ramsayia magna from the Late Pleistocene of Australia and the evolution of gigantism in wombats (Marsupialia, Vombatidae).

Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches (2022)
Journal Article
Beck, R., de Vries, D., Janiak, M., Goodhead, I., & Boubli, J. (2022). Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches. Journal of Human Evolution, 174, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103293

There have been multiple published phylogenetic analyses of platyrrhine primates (New World monkeys) using both morphological and molecular data, but relatively few that have integrated both types of data into a total evidence approach. Here, we pr... Read More about Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches.

Changes in morphological disparity in eutherian mammals across the K-Pg boundary and Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum using discrete morphofunctional characters (2022)
Thesis
morphofunctional characters. (Dissertation). University of Salford

The mammalian clade Eutheria comprises placental mammals (the dominant group of mammals today, with >6000 living species, ~93% of living diversity) plus their stem relatives. A major event in Earth history that had a profound influence on Eutheria wa... Read More about Changes in morphological disparity in eutherian mammals across the K-Pg boundary and Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum using discrete morphofunctional characters.

Evolution: the evolutionary rat race in New Guinea and Australia (2022)
Journal Article
Beck, R., & Eldridge, M. (2022). Evolution: the evolutionary rat race in New Guinea and Australia. Current Biology, 32(19), R1010-R1012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.056

A new molecular phylogeny of a remarkable radiation of New Guinean and Australian rodents indicates multiple transitions between biomes and biogeographical regions within the group, and suggests that a key role was played by the geological history of... Read More about Evolution: the evolutionary rat race in New Guinea and Australia.

Craniodental morphology and phylogeny of marsupials (2022)
Journal Article
Beck, R., Voss, R., & Jansa, S. (in press). Craniodental morphology and phylogeny of marsupials. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 1-350. https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090.457.1.1

The current literature on marsupial phylogenetics includes numerous studies based on analyses of morphological data with limited sampling of Recent and fossil taxa, and many studies based on analyses of molecular data with dense sampling of Recent ta... Read More about Craniodental morphology and phylogeny of marsupials.

Total evidence phylogeny of ducks, geese and swans (family Anatidae): implications for macroevolution and biogeography (2022)
Thesis
biogeography. (Dissertation). The University of Salford

The neornithine bird family Anatidae comprises the ducks, geese and swans, and is one of the largest (approximately 150 species) and most studied families of modern birds. The fossil record of definitive anatids stretches from the Oligocene epoch to... Read More about Total evidence phylogeny of ducks, geese and swans (family Anatidae): implications for macroevolution and biogeography.

Ancient DNA of the pygmy marmoset type specimen Cebuella pygmaea (Spix, 1823) resolves a taxonomic conundrum (2021)
Journal Article
Boubli, J., Janiak, M., Porter, L., de la Torre, S., Cortés-Ortiz, L., da Silva, M., …Roos, C. (2021). Ancient DNA of the pygmy marmoset type specimen Cebuella pygmaea (Spix, 1823) resolves a taxonomic conundrum. Zoological Research, 42(6), 761-771. https://doi.org/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.143

The pygmy marmoset, the smallest of the anthropoid primates, has a broad distribution in Western Amazonia. Recent studies using molecular and morphological data have identified two distinct species separated by the Napo and Solimões-Amazonas rivers.... Read More about Ancient DNA of the pygmy marmoset type specimen Cebuella pygmaea (Spix, 1823) resolves a taxonomic conundrum.

Upper Oligocene–lower-middle Miocene peramelemorphians from the Etadunna, Namba and Wipajiri formations of South Australia (2021)
Journal Article
Travouillon, K., Beck, R., & Case, J. (2021). Upper Oligocene–lower-middle Miocene peramelemorphians from the Etadunna, Namba and Wipajiri formations of South Australia. Alcheringa, 45(1), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2021.1921274

The oldest fossils referable to the marsupial order Peramelemorphia (which includes modern bandicoots and bilbies) stratigraphically date from the upper Oligocene of Australia. Here we describe new ancient peramelemorphian remains from the Etadunna,... Read More about Upper Oligocene–lower-middle Miocene peramelemorphians from the Etadunna, Namba and Wipajiri formations of South Australia.

Global elongation and high shape flexibility as an evolutionary hypothesis of accommodating mammalian brains into skulls (2021)
Journal Article
Weisbecker, V., Rowe, T., Wroe, S., Macrini, T. E., Garland, K. L. S., Travouillon, K. J., …Sherratt, E. (2021). Global elongation and high shape flexibility as an evolutionary hypothesis of accommodating mammalian brains into skulls. Evolution, 75(3), 625-640. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14163

Little is known about how the large brains of mammals are accommodated into the dazzling diversity of their skulls. It has been suggested that brain shape is influenced by relative brain size, that it evolves or develops according to extrinsic or int... Read More about Global elongation and high shape flexibility as an evolutionary hypothesis of accommodating mammalian brains into skulls.

Phylogenetic placement of Adalatherium hui (Mammalia, Gondwanatheria) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar : implications for allotherian relationships (2020)
Journal Article
Hoffmann, S., Beck, R., Wible, J., Rougier, G., & Krause, D. (2020). Phylogenetic placement of Adalatherium hui (Mammalia, Gondwanatheria) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar : implications for allotherian relationships. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 40(Sup 1), 213-234. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2020.1801706

The phylogenetic position of Gondwanatheria within Mammaliaformes has historically been controversial. The well-preserved skeleton of Adalatherium hui from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar offers a unique opportunity to address this issue, based on... Read More about Phylogenetic placement of Adalatherium hui (Mammalia, Gondwanatheria) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar : implications for allotherian relationships.

Advancing the use of evolutionary considerations in spatial conservation planning (2020)
Thesis
Robertson, S. Advancing the use of evolutionary considerations in spatial conservation planning. (Thesis). University of Salford

The existence of life on earth as we know it relies on a diversity of life. Biodiversity underpins vital ecosystems services globally, at all spatial scales, and yet is being lost at an alarming rate. Current extinction rates are estimated to be 100-... Read More about Advancing the use of evolutionary considerations in spatial conservation planning.

Leaving Gondwana : the changing position of the Indian subcontinent in the Global Faunal Network (2020)
Book Chapter
subcontinent in the Global Faunal Network. In G. Prasad, & R. Patnaik (Eds.), Biological Consequences of Plate Tectonics : New Perspectives on Post-Gondwana Break-up – a tribute to Ashok Sahni (227-249). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49753-8_9

The paleogeographic history of the Indian subcontinent is unique among Earth’s landmasses. From being part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana for most of the Mesozoic, through a period of isolation as a drifting entity in the Late Cretaceous... Read More about Leaving Gondwana : the changing position of the Indian subcontinent in the Global Faunal Network.

Elucidating cryptic diversity in East African frogs : the case of Arthroleptis francei Loveridge, 1953 (2020)
Thesis
Woest, N. Elucidating cryptic diversity in East African frogs : the case of Arthroleptis francei Loveridge, 1953. (Dissertation). University of Salford

Detailed information on the diversity of species and their distributions is crucial for the implementation of useful conservation measures. Here, I focus on the Afromontane region of Malawi and Mozambique, and use molecular techniques, environmental... Read More about Elucidating cryptic diversity in East African frogs : the case of Arthroleptis francei Loveridge, 1953.

A new family of diprotodontian marsupials from the latest Oligocene of Australia and the evolution of wombats, koalas, and their relatives (Vombatiformes) (2020)
Journal Article
Beck, R., Louys, J., Brewer, P., Archer, M., Black, K., & Tedford, R. (2020). A new family of diprotodontian marsupials from the latest Oligocene of Australia and the evolution of wombats, koalas, and their relatives (Vombatiformes). Scientific reports, 10(9741), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66425-8

We describe the partial cranium and skeleton of a new diprotodontian marsupial from the late Oligocene (~26–25 Ma) Namba Formation of South Australia. This is one of the oldest Australian marsupial fossils known from an associated skeleton and it rev... Read More about A new family of diprotodontian marsupials from the latest Oligocene of Australia and the evolution of wombats, koalas, and their relatives (Vombatiformes).

Tip dating supports novel resolutions of controversial relationships among early mammals (2020)
Journal Article
King, B., & Beck, R. (2020). Tip dating supports novel resolutions of controversial relationships among early mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1928), https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0943

The estimation of the timing of major divergences in early mammal evolution is challenging due to conflicting interpretations of key fossil taxa. One contentious group is Haramiyida, the earliest members of which are from the Late Triassic. Many phyl... Read More about Tip dating supports novel resolutions of controversial relationships among early mammals.

Island rule and bone metabolism in fossil murines from Timor (2020)
Journal Article
Miszkiewicz, J., Louys, J., Beck, R., Mahoney, P., Aplin, K., & O’Connor, S. (2020). Island rule and bone metabolism in fossil murines from Timor. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 129(3), 570-586. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blz197

Skeletal growth rates reconstructed from bone histology in extinct insular hippopotamids, elephants, bovids and sauropods have been used to infer dwarfism as a response to island conditions. Limited published records of osteocyte lacunae densities... Read More about Island rule and bone metabolism in fossil murines from Timor.

Hooked on you: shape of attachment structures in cymothoid isopods reflects parasitic strategy (2019)
Journal Article
Baillie, C., Welicky, R., Hadfield, K., Smit, N., Mariani, S., & Beck, R. (2019). Hooked on you: shape of attachment structures in cymothoid isopods reflects parasitic strategy. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 19, 207. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-019-1533-x

Background Parasite attachment structures are critical traits that influence effective host exploitation and survival. Morphology of attachment structures can reinforce host specificity and niche specialisation, or even enable host switching. Theref... Read More about Hooked on you: shape of attachment structures in cymothoid isopods reflects parasitic strategy.