A juvenile Edmontosaurus from the late Maastrichtian (Cretaceous) of North America: Implications for ontogeny and phylogenetic inference in saurolophine dinosaurs

The anatomy of an articulated juvenile specimen of the saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens, LACM 23504, is described in detail. This individual consists of a partial skull and nearly complete articulated postcranium, collected from upper Maastrichtian strata of the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, USA. This study aims to help understand the ontogenetic morphological changes occurring in the cranium and postcranium of saurolophine hadrosaurids using E. annectens as a case study. Emphasis is placed on those morphological attributes that are ontogenetically variable via comparative osteology between the juvenile and the available adult specimens. It is observed that much of the cranial ontogenetic variation relates to the elongation of the skull and mandible. In the postcranium, most of the ontogenetic variation concentrates in the pectoral and pelvic girdles and the stylopodia. Not all the identified patterns of ontogenetic variation may be generalized to all hadrosaurids. The impact of ontogenetic variation on phylogenetically informative characters of saurolophine hadrosaurids is evaluated. It is concluded that, at least for Edmontosaurus annectens (and perhaps other saurolophine hadrosaurids), most characters used in phylogenetic inference of these animals are not affected by ontogeny. Thus, juvenile specimens are still a source of substantial character data suitable for use in phylogenetic analyses of saurolophine relationships. Nevertheless, it is recommended that ontogenetically variable characters are left as missing data in a character–taxon matrix when only juvenile material is available for a given saurolophine taxon. Scoring those characters based solely on juveniles is likely to decrease the accuracy of the phylogenetic inference.     

文蛤属(Meretrix)16S rRNA基因及ITS1序列的系统学分析

利用线粒体16SrRNA基因片段及核糖体DNA转录间隔区ITS1序列分析的方法,以近缘属的青蛤(Cyclinasinensis)为外群,对文蛤属的文蛤(M.meretrix)、丽文蛤(M.lusoria)、帘文蛤(M.lyrata)和斧文蛤(M.lamarckii)4种贝类进行了系统学研究。经ClustalX多重比对及DNAsp软件分析后,用PAUP4.0分析软件,计算出种间序列的碱基转换/颠换频率,利用邻接法NJ构建系统发育树。结果表明,帘文蛤与该属其他三种的分歧时间较早,两类序列与其他种类间的相对遗传距离分别在0.25866—0.28218和0.15644—0.20104之间。文蛤与丽文蛤间的16SrDNA及ITS1序列间的遗传距离仅为0.04805和0.04201,拓扑结构图显示关系很近,并且二者的分布区大面积重叠,其序列间的转换/颠换频率接近种内单元型(haplotype)间的序列变化,鉴于它们的贝壳形态有一定差别,应归为同一个种内的不同地理亚种比较恰当。     

节织纹螺(Nassarius hepaticus)贝壳差异的COⅠ基因分析

选择在厦门港市场购买的节织纹螺(Nassarius hepaticus),挑选五种典型贝壳形态,每种形态各5个个体,研究其COⅠ基因序列及其分子系统发育。结果表明,节织纹螺五种贝壳类型的齿舌形态基本一致,但个体间齿列数和中央齿上缘小齿数有差异;COⅠ基因序列存在较大的变异,678—679bp的片段上有31个变异位点,其中20个为密码子第三位碱基,6个为密码子第二位碱基,5个为密码子第一位碱基;贝壳、齿舌变异与DNA变异不存在关系,同类型和不同类型的个体在DNA序列上差异较小,根据Kimura 2-parameter法计算25个个体的遗传距离在0.001—0.010之间,平均值为0.007。以COⅠ基因序列计算的遗传距离和构建的系统发育树证实五种贝壳形态的25个个体同属于节织纹螺。     

Beringia as an Ice Age genetic museum

Thousands of Late Pleistocene remains are found in sites throughout Beringia. These specimens comprise an Ice Age genetic museum, and the DNA contained within them provide a means to observe evolutionary processes within populations over geologically significant time scales. Phylogenetic analyses can identify the taxonomic positions of extinct species and provide estimates of speciation dates. Geographic and temporal divisions apparent in the genetic data can be related to ecological change, human impacts, and possible landscape mosaics in Beringia. The application of ancient DNA techniques to traditional paleontological studies provides a new perspective to long-standing questions regarding the paleoenvironment and diversity of Late Pleistocene Beringia.