Paleontology

Early evolution of beetles regulated by the end-Permian deforestation

1. Xianye Zhao
2. Yilun Yu
3. Matthew E Clapham
4. Evgeny Yan
5. Jun Chen
6. Edmund A Jarzembowski
7. Xiangdong Zhao
8. Bo Wang

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The study proposes a new evolutionary-ecological scenario for Late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic beetles, supported by the summary of all available knowledge about early beetle fossils, including analyses of their taxon and morphological diversity and phylogenetic relationships. The effects of xylophagous beetles during the Paleozoic may have played a fundamental role in global biochemical cycles. The results advance our understanding of the evolutionary success of beetles and the many ways in which large environmental changes may affect biodiversity in general.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

New fossils of Australopithecus sediba reveal a nearly complete lower back

1. Scott A Williams
2. Thomas Cody Prang
3. Marc R Meyer
4. Thierra K Nalley
5. Renier Van Der Merwe
6. Christopher Yelverton
7. Daniel García-Martínez
8. Gabrielle A Russo
9. Kelly R Ostrofsky
10. Jeffrey Spear
11. Jennifer Eyre
12. Mark Grabowski
13. Shahed Nalla
14. Markus Bastir
15. Peter Schmid
16. Steven E Churchill
17. Lee R Berger

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This paper is a very valuable contribution to paleoanthropology especially to those who study the evolution of human posture and locomotion. Overall, the quality of some of the fossils is unusually high for this chronology, and the data are properly presented and analysed. However, the authors should be more cautious in their interpretation of the data which does not fully support their conclusions.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

An evidence-based 3D reconstruction of Asteroxylon mackiei, the most complex plant preserved from the Rhynie chert

1. Alexander J Hetherington
2. Siobhán L Bridson
3. Anna Lee Jones
4. Hagen Hass
5. Hans Kerp
6. Liam Dolan

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This paper will be of interest to readers in the field of plant evolutionary biology and paleontology, paleobotany in particular. Using novel 3D reconstruction techniques, the authors provide the first evidence-based reconstruction of Asteroxylon mackiei, the Early Devonian Rhynie chert plant known for a century, and demonstrate that it possessed an extinct pattern of root development transitional to the evolution of true roots in modern club-mosses. The use of multiple lines of evidence and 3D reconstructions based on serial sections of petrified materials provides compelling support for the key conclusions of the paper.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewers #1, #2, and #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Spatio-temporal diversity of dietary preferences and stress sensibilities of early and middle Miocene Rhinocerotidae from Eurasia: impact of climate changes

1. Manon Hullot
2. Gildas Merceron
3. Pierre-Olivier Antoine

Reviewed by Peer Community in Paleontology

How did extinct giant birds and pterosaurs fly? A comprehensive modeling approach to evaluate soaring performance

1. Yusuke Goto
2. Ken Yoda
3. Henri Weimerskirch
4. Katsufumi Sato

Reviewed by preLights

The record of Deinotheriidae from the Miocene of the Swiss Jura Mountains (Jura Canton, Switzerland)

1. Fanny Gagliardi
2. Olivier Maridet
3. Damien Becker

Reviewed by Peer Community in Paleontology

Transitional evolutionary forms in chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs: evidence from the Campanian of New Mexico

1. Denver W. Fowler
2. Elizabeth A. Freedman Fowler

Reviewed by PeerJ

What do ossification sequences tell us about the origin of extant amphibians?

1. Michel Laurin
2. Océane Lapauze
3. David Marjanović

Reviewed by Peer Community in Paleontology

Palaeobiological inferences based on long bone epiphyseal and diaphyseal structure - the forelimb of xenarthrans (Mammalia)

1. Eli Amson
2. John A Nyakatura

Reviewed by Peer Community in Paleontology