Using comparative methods to fill the gaps of Crocodylomorph macroevolutionary knowledge

• Grant number: 22/05697-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Max Cardoso Langer
• Grantee: Pedro Lorena Godoy
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/07997-4 - Dinosaur diversity and associated faunas in the Cretaceous of South America, AP.TEM

Abstract

Crocodylia is the crown-group formed by the most recent common ancestor of living crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials and all of its descendants. It is a currently depauperate group, with only nearly 30 extant species. This low diversity is particularly outstanding when compared to the high number of living tetrapod groups, such as mammals, birds and lepidosaurs. Nevertheless, the fossil record shows a different, much richer story. Crocodylomorpha, the group that includes Crocodylia and its closest extinct relatives, has nearly 500 species described and an evolutionary history of more than 200 million years, since the Late Triassic. It is a group of remarkable morphological disparity and surprising ecological diversity, with some of its members exhibiting a morphology and lifestyle hardly associated with a living crocodile. As interesting examples, we have some of the earliest crocodylomorphs, which were agile and completely terrestrial, whereas a group of Jurassic crocodylomorphs invaded the marine realm, with some species displaying extreme adaptation to the pelagic environment. Such a rich fossil record contrasts with the current decline of the group, which in particular makes Crocodylomorpha an excellent study system for macroevolutionary studies. Characterising the macroevolutionary patterns of Crocodylomorpha can give us important hints on the diversification dynamics of other biological groups. In this project, an innovative approach will be used to fill some relevant knowledge gaps about crocodylomorph macroevolution. Cutting-edge quantitative analyses (i.e., comparative phylogenetic methods) will be combined with a comprehensive taxonomic and morphological dataset to answer important questions about this subject with pioneering methodological tools. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DUNNE, EMMA M.; FARNSWORTH, ALEXANDER; BENSON, ROGER B. J.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; GREENE, SARAH E.; VALDES, PAUL J.; LUNT, DANIEL J.; BUTLER, RICHARD J.. Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs. Current Biology, v. 33, n. 1, p. 14-pg., 2023-01-09. (22/05697-9)

WILBERG, ERIC W.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; GRIFFITHS, ELIZABETH F.; TURNER, ALAN H.; BENSON, ROGER B. J.. A new early diverging thalattosuchian (Crocodylomorpha) from the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) of Dorset, UK and implications for the origin and evolution of the group. JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 23-pg., 2022-08-31. (22/05697-9)

FARINA, BRUNA M.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; BENSON, ROGER B. J.; LANGER, MAX C.; FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.. Turtle body size evolution is determined by lineage-specific specializations rather than global trends. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 13, n. 6, p. 23-pg., 2023-06-01. (20/07997-4, 22/05697-9)

JONES, LEWIS A.; GEARTY, WILLIAM; ALLEN, BETHANY J.; EICHENSEER, KILIAN; DEAN, CHRISTOPHER D.; GALVAN, SOFIA; KOUVARI, MIRANTA; GODOY, PEDRO L.; NICHOLL, CECILY S. C.; BUFFAN, LUCAS; et al. palaeoverse: A community-driven R package to support palaeobiological analysis. METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 14, n. 9, p. 11-pg., 2023-04-13. (22/05697-9)