Serjoscha Evers

First paper accepted with new affiliation - exciting 🐢🤩

Out now in Biology Letters, my latest paper tackles an apparently simple question: how many characters are needed to reconstruct a phylogeny? TL;DR: in most cases between 100 and 500, more than a substantial portion of morphological datasets, but the story is more complex... doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...

Thanks so much! Oliver Wings thought of this exhibit (for the Bamberg museum he is director of) & I liked the idea so much that I’m helping him now and want to feature it after it first ran in Bamberg.

We’re organizing an exhibit on fake fossils… does this shop have a webpage and does it send to Europe?

So excited to see our paper on #phylogenetics and #morphometrics integrated with feeding #ecology in the surgeonfishes by @linnealungstrom.bsky.social get posted, her first in a series on their incredibly cool biology. 🐟🦑🧪🌎🌿

We have a new paper out! Turtle ancestors evolved a shell—but what else? We found that an unique rostral vasculature was also obtained gradually along the lineage, and that one of the earliest turtles Proganochelys likely retained a mostly ancestral state!🐢 sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10....

Image from paper with rostral vasculature canals as coloured lines in transparent skull of turtle in lateral view.

@seishirotada.bsky.social & colleagues explore the evolution of rostral vasculature in turtles – a topic close to my personal interests due to my carotid and overall skull-CT work. Fantastic images in this one!

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Manouria morla sp. nov., the Ancient One: an Early Miocene large tortoise from the Swamps of Ahníkov, Czechia - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology Tortoises (Testudinidae) are a clade of turtles highly specialized to terrestrial environments, mainly living in semi-arid conditions. Herein, we present Manouria morla sp. nov., a new species of the genus Manouria, which is considered to be the most basal extant testudinid genus. The studied material comes from the Ahníkov I fossil site, formerly known as Merkur or Merkur-North, located in the Most Basin in NW Bohemia (Czechia), dated to the Early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 3). Manouria morla sp. nov. is the oldest member of the Manouria lineage, which nowadays inhabits SE Asia only, and therefore its biogeography and plausible European origin are discussed. The specific type of multiplication of plastral scutes in the inguinal region is discussed as a new morphological character diagnostic for the genus. Based on zoological studies, specific environmental requirements of the genus Manouria allow us to use this taxon as a proxy for the paleoclimate reconstruction of the Ahníkov I fossil site which suggests a broadleaf evergreen tropical wet forest. The simplified use of fossil testudinids as a proxy for reconstructing semi-arid palaeoclimate is therefore disproven.

Chroust & colleagues describe w Manouria morla a new Miocene tortoise that possibly clarifies the evolutionary origin of the extant Manouria lineage – a case not clear even with molecular data (sister to Gopherus? early branching testudinids?)

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Figure from the paper showing relationships of neural arches with neural plates and neural centra in cross-sections of turtle carapace 3D models

New papers in the Turtle Evolution Symposium Proceedings! Juliette Menon & Walter Joyce published a paper re-describing a Cretaceous sea turtle – but the main story here in my opinion is the homology statements regarding neural positions. Brilliant student work!

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Christian Foth @mfnberlin.bsky.social is offering a 3-year PhD position in the DfG project "Postnatal Ontogenetic Patterns within Avialae (Dinosauria, Theropoda)", and he asked me to circulate this announcement 👇 Please share widely!

jobs.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/jobposting/e...

Testudinid turtle remains from the Late Miocene palaeo-island of Gargano, Italy, and an overview of Mediterranean insular tortoises - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology The Late Miocene Gargano “Terre Rosse” in southern Italy has yielded a diverse vertebrate fauna that comprises an array of endemic taxa, including forms characterized by extreme sizes and unique morphologies. We here document new testudinid fossil remains from this insular assemblage. The material comprises a mandible, abundant (though mostly fragmentary) shell remains, appendicular elements, and a few vertebrae, originating from different localities within the Gargano assemblage. Based on its femur morphology, we tentatively refer the Gargano form to Solitudo, a late Neogene and Quaternary insular genus, otherwise known from a few Mediterranean islands. Unfortunately, the incomplete preservation of the trochanters hinders observation of the main diagnostic character of Solitudo, however, the similarities in the femoral head and diaphysis allow an open identification of the Gargano material as cf. Solitudo sp. Still, the Gargano tortoise offers new anatomical information on the Mediterranean insular tortoises. An interesting feature of the few preserved plastral elements is the presence of sulci as distinct raised ridges, a character that has been reported in other insular extant and extinct tortoises as well. The preserved hyoplastron has a medially straight and laterally concave humeropectoral sulcus and a wide axillary scute, pointing to some resemblance to geochelonans. Moreover, the morphology of the mandible from Gargano, which has its lingual serration reaching towards the symphyseal area, is also indicative of geochelonan affinities. If our identification is correct, the Gargano form would correspond to the earliest occurrence of Solitudo, denoting that this insular testudinid already radiated during the Late Miocene. A thorough overview of the diversity and taxonomy of insular testudinids from the Mediterranean islands is provided.

And, fresh off the press yesterday is Georgalis and colleagues' paper on the testudinids from Gargano. The paper includes an overview of Mediterranean island tortoises.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Taxonomic reassessment of “Podocnemis” argentinensis (Testudines, Pleurodira) from the Maíz Gordo Formation (late Paleocene) with a description of new specimens from the western flank of Sierra del Mal Paso, Province of Jujuy, Argentina - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology We reassess the taxonomy of the problematic taxon “Podocnemis” argentinensis from the Maíz Gordo Formation (late Paleocene) at Quebrada Queñoal (type locality), Departamento de Humahuaca, Jujuy province, Argentina. This plastron-based species was initially named as a member of the genus Podocnemis (Podocnemididae) based on the holotype and one referred specimen. Considering the dubious generic assignment of the holotype of “Podocnemis” argentinensis, we performed a thorough revision of the morphological characters of this taxon, based on the holotype and previously undescribed specimens from the same lithostratigraphic unit in the Casa Grande-Vizcarra river area (western flank of the Mal Paso Range, Tres Cruces Sub-basin) in Jujuy province, Argentina. The new referred specimens include a collection of shells found in association with one skull from Quebrada del Agujero, as well as some shells from Quebrada del Puesto in the same region. Comparison between the extended hypodigm of “Podocnemis” argentinensis and other podocnemidids suggests the assignment of this species to a new generic entity, based on the presence of a short preorbital skull portion with steeply curved prefrontal bones, both exoccipital bones with a dorso-medial process restricting the dorsal part of the foramen magnum to a narrow cleft, lateral orbits, absence of an interorbital groove, high maxillae, a large vomer and the generalized gular, extragular and humeral scute pattern. We included this species in a phylogenetic analysis to assess its relationships with other pelomedusoid turtles. It is recovered as the sister taxon of Gestemys powelli, with which it shares the following four synapomorphies: foramen posterius canalis carotici interni outside the basisphenoid, long basioccipital, reduced nuchal embayment and dorsoventral flattening of the shell. The clade including “Podocnemis” argentinensis and Gestemys constitutes a Paleogene Argentinean lineage which is more closely related to Erymnochelyinae and Peltocephalinae than to Podocnemidinae, a position supported by a more covered adductor fossa and a large anterior opening of the cavum pterygoidei.

de la Fuente & colleagues erect a new genus, Cattoiemys, for materials previously known as "Podocnemis" argentinensis. It's good to see some waster-baskets getting taxonomic attention, and the study even includes cranial segmentations as a personal highlight!

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The first occurrence of “Plesiochelyidae” marine turtles in the Early Cretaceous of South America - Swiss Journal of Palaeontology Thalassochelydians represent one of the earliest radiations of coastal to marine-adapted turtles, spanning from the Jurassic to Cretaceous periods. This study describes Craspedochelys renzi sp. nov., a new thalassochelydian, “plesiochelyid” turtle from the Hauterivian stage of the Early Cretaceous in Colombia. It is the youngest and the only known record of “Plesiochelyidae’ outside Europe. The holotype, housed at the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, was rediscovered after over 60 years and includes a partial shell, hindlimb bones, and caudal vertebrae. C. renzi shares key traits with “Plesiochelyidae”, including a V-shaped posterior plastral lobe lacking an anal notch; an indentation at the hypoplastra-xiphiplastra contact; an “intermediate” bone between neural 8 and suprapygal 1; a fully ossified carapace and bridge; and absence of carapacial fontanelles. Within “Plesiochelyidae”, it is assigned to Craspedochelys by its broader carapace, with an estimated length/width ratio of 4.12 for left costal 4, similar to other species in the genus; a relatively shorter plastron; and wider hyoplastra. Geological evidence links the specimen to the Moina Formation, a shallow marine deposit from the Hauterivian. This discovery expands the genus’ spatial and temporal range, underscoring its evolutionary and paleobiogeographic significance. It highlights the importance of museum collections in re-evaluating long-overlooked specimens, enriching our understanding of past biodiversity and turtle dispersal patterns.

I've been delayed posting the new papers from the Turtle Evolution Symposium Special Volume...

Cadena et al. describe a new thalssochelydian species, Craspedochely renzi, from Colombia:

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

JOBS JOBS JOBS! Stony Brook are advertising two assistant professorships in vertebrate palaeo/evolution, one focused on (in the words of the SVP programme) NOT DINOSAURS and the other on evolutionary neurology:
apply.interfolio.com/172502
apply.interfolio.com/172517

Join us! We are hiring a new #curator at the #AMNH in #Vertebrate #Zoology careers.amnh.org/postings/4600 #academicjobs #tenuretrack

‼️ PAPER ALERT ‼️
We describe a new German ichthyosaur species: Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, from Upper Toarcian layers of Mistelgau (Bavaria). 🇩🇪
👉 Published in Fossil Record with @feikosaur.bsky.social , Jelle Heijne & Nicole Klein. Check the full article here: fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...

Lectures

Wowzers. A _ton_ of cool talks by amazing people available on @palaeoverse.bsky.social palaeoverse.org/lectures 🧪

Side view of fossil skull of a pistosaur in my hand.

For #FossilFriday, here is the holotype of Pistosaurus longaevus (UMO BT-682) from the collections of the Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken in Bayreuth. I’ve removed the specimen from exhibits to have it photographed for a research project.

I am extremely happy to see that our review on fossil tip-dating is out in early view in Systematic Biology! A huge thanks to all the authors of this massive project (@heckeberg.bsky.social, @basantakhakurel.bsky.social, Gustavo Darlim, and @hoehna.bsky.social)! academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

Nearly five-meter-long slab of belemnite battleground with skeleton of Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis – the inspiration for the beautiful artwork by Andrey Atuchin in my previous post. Specimen is from Mistelgau, excavated by and curated at Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken in Bayreuth, Germany

The study was conducted by @spichergael.bsky.social & colleagues (@feikosaur.bsky.social) & published today in @mfnberlin.bsky.social's Open access journal Fossil Record. Congrats to all authors! It's available here: fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...

Fossil & artwork to be exhibited at UMO in future.

Freshly deceased Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis on a Jurassic sea floor covered in Belemnite rostra (a "belemnite battleground"). Artwork by Andrey Atuchin.

News @ Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken (UMO) in Bayreuth: new ichthyosaur, Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, named today after UMO's prime excavation site, the Jurassic clay pit Mistelgau. @olorotitan.bsky.social beautifully reconstructed the to-be fossil on a belemnite battleground typical for the locality.

Grüne Anzeige des Naturkundemuseums Stuttgart, die eine Stelle für Ausstellungskurator*in (m/w/d) zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt ausschreibt.

Gesucht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt: Ausstellungskurator*in (m/w/d).
E 13 TV-L, zunächst befristet auf drei Jahre mit der Option auf eine dauerhafte Übernahme
Bewerbungsfrist: 19.10.2025
➡️ https://t1p.de/smj6o

#Job #Jobs #JobAd #Stellen #Kulturjobs #Museumsjobs #Stellenangebot #Stuttgart

Glad to see “Turts” session is not parallel to Romer Prize session, which is usually my highlight at SVP (and certainly was in 2019 during the last one I managed to attend)

New from #BiologyLetters: Combining fossil taxa with and without morphological data improves dated phylogenetic analyses buff.ly/abJm5Zv | #Evolution #Palaeontology #Taxonomy

Did you know..?
Turtle phylogeny implies that land tortoises evolved from an aquatic ancestor, which is rare in amniotes 🐢 The earliest turtles may have been aquatic or terrestrial, we don't know for sure!

Read more by Schoch & Sues (2017): buff.ly/NZFn0gl
@sirjoscha.bsky.social #PaleoSky #Fossils

Nice. Let’s hope this stops people from the common practise of printing a whole paper with 28 figures on a billboard sized landscape paper… but let’s face it - chances are it will be chaos.

Allopleuron has quite distinct neutrals b/c they are as broad as long & they have a different shape along the margins than this specimen. So I’d rule out Allopleuron, but some sort of sea turtle seems indeed likely. Any Campanian sea turtle is exciting - let’s hope for more findings in the future!

This indeed looks like it could be a neural bone of a turtle. These are not very diagnostic, so it would be hard to ID it taxonomically. The bone is quite thick and lacks ornamentation, which rules out some clades.

Very sad to hear Mark Norell has passed away. He was a giant in specimen-based vertebrate paleontology and an absolute legend to all of us at the AMNH. His theoretical research in phylogenetics and the fossil record was inspirational to me when I was an undergrad contemplating future research ideas

Planning on watching the ERC's webinar this Thursday 11 September? It's for grant applicants with in-depth questions on the ERC process.

But, before you tune in:

Make sure you know the basics 📹 bit.ly/463AbYl

Get answers to some extra questions 📑 europa.eu/!y49yxF