Biology & Life Sciences

Marine Megafauna: Paleoecology Evolution and Systematics

Published May 30, 2018 Curated Collections

These papers address important aspects about the evolutionary and ecological history of marine fauna from geological to historical timescales, including taxonomically focused studies, ecological problems and studies in evolutionary morphology.

Image Credit: David W. Johnston

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Research Articles

Research Articles

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10.1371/journal.pone.0054307

PLOS ONE Cranial Remain from Tunisia Provides New Clues for the Origin and Evolution of Sirenia (Mammalia, Afrotheria) in Africa
January 16, 2013 julien benoit, Sylvian Adnet, Essid El Mabrouk, Khayati Hayet, Mustapha Ben Haj Ali, Laurent Marivaux, Gilles Merzeraud, Samuel Merigeaud, Monique Vianey-Liaud, Rodolphe Tabuce
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10.1371/journal.pone.0054311

PLOS ONE A Reevaluation of the Morphology, Paleoecology, and Phylogenetic Relationships of the Enigmatic Walrus Pelagiarctos
January 16, 2013 Robert Boessenecker, Morgan Churchill
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10.1371/journal.pone.0063396

PLOS ONE Mitogenomic Phylogenetics of Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus spp.): Genetic Evidence for Revision of Subspecies
May 17, 2013 Frederick Archer, Phillip Morin, Brittany Hancock-Hanser, Kelly Robertson, Matthew Leslie, Martine Bérubé, Simone Panigada, Barbara Taylor
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10.1371/journal.pone.0022562

PLOS ONE Phylogenetic Analysis of Conservation Priorities for Aquatic Mammals and Their Terrestrial Relatives, with a Comparison of Methods
July 25, 2011 Laura May-Collado, Ingi Agnarsson
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10.1371/journal.pone.0027343

PLOS ONE Three-Dimensionally Preserved Integument Reveals Hydrodynamic Adaptations in the Extinct Marine Lizard Ectenosaurus (Reptilia, Mosasauridae)
November 16, 2011 Johan Lindgren, Michael Everhart, Michael Caldwell
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10.1371/journal.pone.0059146

PLOS ONE Bone Inner Structure Suggests Increasing Aquatic Adaptations in Desmostylia (Mammalia, Afrotheria)
April 2, 2013 Shoji Hayashi, Alexandra Houssaye, Yasuhisa Nakajima, Kentaro Chiba, Tatsuro Ando, Hiroshi Sawamura, Norihisa Inuzuka, Naotomo Kaneko, Tomohiro Osaki
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10.1371/journal.pone.0021311

PLOS ONE The Comparative Osteology of the Petrotympanic Complex (Ear Region) of Extant Baleen Whales (Cetacea: Mysticeti)
June 22, 2011 Eric Ekdale, Annalisa Berta, Thomas Deméré
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10.1371/journal.pone.0083645

PLOS ONE Hybrid Speciation in a Marine Mammal: The Clymene Dolphin (Stenella clymene)
January 8, 2014 Ana Amaral, Gretchen Lovewell, Maria Coelho, George Amato, Howard Rosenbaum
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10.1371/journal.pone.0059855

PLOS ONE Shark Tooth Weapons from the 19^th Century Reflect Shifting Baselines in Central Pacific Predator Assemblies
April 3, 2013 Joshua Drew, Christopher Philipp, Mark Westneat
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10.1371/journal.pone.0024980

PLOS ONE Out of the Pacific and Back Again: Insights into the Matrilineal History of Pacific Killer Whale Ecotypes
September 20, 2011 Andrew Foote, Phillip Morin, John Durban, Eske Willerslev, Ludovic Orlando, M. Thomas Gilbert
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10.1371/journal.pone.0031838

PLOS ONE High Diversity, Low Disparity and Small Body Size in Plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary
March 16, 2012 Roger Benson, Mark Evans, Patrick Druckenmiller
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10.1371/journal.pone.0011998

PLOS ONE Convergent Evolution in Aquatic Tetrapods: Insights from an Exceptional Fossil Mosasaur
August 9, 2010 Johan Lindgren, Michael W. Caldwell, Takuya Konishi, Luis M. Chiappe
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10.1371/journal.pone.0004366

PLOS ONE New Protocetid Whale from the Middle Eocene of Pakistan: Birth on Land, Precocial Development, and Sexual Dimorphism
February 4, 2009 Philip D. Gingerich, Munir ul-Haq, Wighart von Koenigswald, William J. Sanders, B. Holly Smith, Iyad S. Zalmout
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10.1371/journal.pone.0021295

PLOS ONE What Happened to Gray Whales during the Pleistocene? The Ecological Impact of Sea-Level Change on Benthic Feeding Areas in the North Pacific Ocean
July 6, 2011 Nicholas Pyenson, David Lindberg
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10.1371/journal.pone.0066075

PLOS ONE Absence of Suction Feeding Ichthyosaurs and Its Implications for Triassic Mesopelagic Paleoecology
December 11, 2013 Ryosuke Motani, Cheng Ji, Taketeru Tomita, Neil Kelley, Erin Maxwell, Da-yong Jiang, Paul Sander
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10.1371/journal.pone.0019480

PLOS ONE Short-Snouted Toothless Ichthyosaur from China Suggests Late Triassic Diversification of Suction Feeding Ichthyosaurs
May 23, 2011 Martin Sander, Xiaohong Chen, Long Cheng, Xiaofeng Wang
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10.1371/journal.pone.0010552

PLOS ONE Ancient Nursery Area for the Extinct Giant Shark Megalodon from the Miocene of Panama
May 10, 2010 Catalina Pimiento, Dana J. Ehret, Bruce J. MacFadden, Gordon Hubbell
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10.1371/journal.pone.0063586

PLOS ONE A Giant Chelonioid Turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco with a Suction Feeding Apparatus Unique among Tetrapods
July 11, 2013 Nathalie Bardet, Nour-Eddine Jalil, France de Lapparent de Broin, Damien Germain, Olivier Lambert, Mbarek Amaghzaz
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10.1371/journal.pone.0031294

PLOS ONE Iterative Evolution of Sympatric Seacow (Dugongidae, Sirenia) Assemblages during the Past ∼26 Million Years
February 3, 2012 Jorge Velez-Juarbe, Daryl Domning, Nicholas Pyenson