This study focuses on the assessment of the degradation processes occurring in three sandstone infills of fossilized Late Jurassic ornithopod tridactyl footprints, found in 2001 in a coastline cliff in Porto das Barcas (Lourinhã, Portugal) and exhibited in a museum display since 2004. These dinosaur footprints present nowadays severe decay phenomena compromising their physical integrity and are leading gradually to their loss of value. The deterioration patterns were recorded, a map of their distribution was prepared and several samples were collected both in the dinosaur footprints and in the coastline cliff. Different analytical procedures were applied such as XRD, FTIR, FESEM and Ion Chromatography. A microclimatic survey was also performed and air temperature and relative humidity was measured during eight months both indoor and also outdoor. The decay patterns observed are a combination intrinsic and extrinsic factors the stone material, namely swelling of clay minerals in the rock matrix (smectite and chlorite-smectite mixed-layer), presence of salts (mainly chlorides), application of past conservation treatments (poly(vinyl) acetate and epoxy resins) and with the museum's indoor thermohygrometric conditions (mainly non-stable hygrometric conditions). This scientific knowledge is therefore essential to the sustainable preservation of this paleontological heritage.

This study focuses on the assessment of the degradation processes occurring in three sandstone infills of fossilized Late Jurassic ornithopod tridactyl footprints, found in 2001 in a coastline cliff in Porto das Barcas (Lourinhã, Portugal) and exhibited in a museum display since 2004. These dinosaur footprints present nowadays severe decay phenomena compromising their physical integrity and are leading gradually to their loss of value. The deterioration patterns were recorded, a map of their distribution was prepared and several samples were collected both in the dinosaur footprints and in the coastline cliff. Different analytical procedures were applied such as XRD, FTIR, FESEM and Ion Chromatography. A microclimatic survey was also performed and air temperature and relative humidity was measured during eight months both indoor and also outdoor. The decay patterns observed are a combination intrinsic and extrinsic factors the stone material, namely swelling of clay minerals in the rock matrix (smectite and chlorite-smectite mixed-layer), presence of salts (mainly chlorides), application of past conservation treatments (poly(vinyl) acetate and epoxy resins) and with the museum’s indoor thermohygrometric conditions (mainly non-stable hygrometric conditions). This scientific knowledge is therefore essential to the sustainable preservation of this paleontological heritage.

The Late Triassic (Norian–early Rhaetian) Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland preserves a diverse fossil fauna, including both body and trace fossils. Trackways of large quadrupedal archosaurs, although already reported in 1994 and mentioned in subsequent publications, are here described and figured in detail for the first time, based on photogrammetric data collected during fieldwork in 2012. Two trackways can be referred to Eosauropus, while a third, bipedal trackway may be referred to Evazoum, both of which have been considered to represent sauropodomorph dinosaur tracks. Both the Evazoum and the Eosauropus trackways are distinctly larger than other trackways referred to the respective ichnogenera. The trackmaker of the best preserved Eosauropus trackway is constrained using a synapomorphy-based approach. The quadrupedal posture, the entaxonic pes structure, and five weight-bearing digits indicate a derived sauropodiform trackmaker. Other features exhibited by the tracks, including the semi-digitigrade pes and the laterally deflected unguals, are commonly considered synapomorphies of more exclusive clades within Sauropoda. The present trackway documents an early acquisition of a eusauropod-like pes anatomy while retaining a well-developed claw on pedal digit IV, which is reduced in eusauropods. Although unequivocal evidence for sauropod dinosaurs is no older than the Early Jurassic, the present trackway provides evidence for a possible Triassic origin of the group.

The Ørsted Dal Member of the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation in East Greenland is well known for its rich vertebrate fauna, represented by numerous specimens of both body and ichnofossils. In particular, the footprints of theropod dinosaurs have been described. Recently, an international expedition discovered several slabs with 100 small chirotheriid pes and manus imprints (pes length 4–4.5 cm) in siliciclastic deposits of this unit. They show strong similarities with Brachychirotherium, a characteristic Upper Triassic ichnogenus with a global distribution. A peculiar feature in the Fleming Fjord specimens is the lack of a fifth digit, even in more deeply impressed imprints. Therefore, the specimens are assigned here tentatively to cf. Brachychirotherium. Possibly, this characteristic is related to the extremely small size and early ontogenetic stage of the trackmaker. The record from Greenland is the first evidence of this morphotype from the Fleming Fjord Formation. Candidate trackmakers are crocodylian stem group archosaurs; however, a distinct correlation with known osteological taxa from this unit is not currently possible. While the occurrence of sauropodomorph plateosaurs in the bone record links the Greenland assemblage more closer to that from the Germanic Basin of central Europe, here the described footprints suggest a Pangaea-wide exchange.Supplementary material: Three-dimensional model of cf. Brachychirotherium pes–manus set (from MGUH 31233b) from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation (Norian–Rhaetian) of East Greenland as pdf, ply and jpg files (3D model created by Oliver Wings; photographs taken by Jesper Milàn) is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2133546

The Ørsted Dal Member of the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation in East Greenland is well known for its rich vertebrate fauna, represented by numerous specimens of both body and ichnofossils. In particular, the footprints of theropod dinosaurs have been described. Recently, an international expedition discovered several slabs with 100 small chirotheriid pes and manus imprints (pes length 4–4.5 cm) in siliciclastic deposits of this unit. They show strong similarities with Brachychirotherium, a characteristic Upper Triassic ichnogenus with a global distribution. A peculiar feature in the Fleming Fjord specimens is the lack of a fifth digit, even in more deeply impressed imprints. Therefore, the specimens are assigned here tentatively to cf. Brachychirotherium. Possibly, this characteristic is related to the extremely small size and early ontogenetic stage of the trackmaker. The record from Greenland is the first evidence of this morphotype from the Fleming Fjord Formation. Candidate trackmakers are crocodylian stem group archosaurs; however, a distinct correlation with known osteological taxa from this unit is not currently possible. While the occurrence of sauropodomorph plateosaurs in the bone record links the Greenland assemblage more closer to that from the Germanic Basin of central Europe, here the described footprints suggest a Pangaea-wide exchange.Supplementary material: Three-dimensional model of cf. Brachychirotherium pes–manus set (from MGUH 31233b) from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation (Norian–Rhaetian) of East Greenland as pdf, ply and jpg files (3D model created by Oliver Wings; photographs taken by Jesper Milàn) is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2133546

How snow leopard gradually adapted to the extreme environments in Tibet remains unexplored due to the scanty fossil record in Tibet. Here, we recognize five valid outside-Tibet records of the snow leopard lineage. Our results suggest that the snow leopard dispersed out of the Tibetan Plateau multiple times during the Quaternary. The osteological anatomy of the modern snow leopard shows adaptation to the steep slope and, to a lesser extent, cold/high-altitude environment. Fossils and phylogeny suggest that the snow leopard experienced a gradual strengthening of such adaptation, especially since the Middle Pleistocene ( 0.8 million years). Species distribution modeling suggests that the locations of the fossil sites are not within most suitable area, and we argue that local landscape features are more influential factors than temperature and altitude alone. Our study underscores the importance of integrating morphology, fossil records, and species distribution modeling, to comprehensively understand the evolution, ecology, and inform conservation strategies for endangered species. Integrated morphology, fossil records, and SDM reveal the evolution and adaptation in the snow leopard lineage.

The Late Triassic deposits in the Jameson Land Basin, central East Greenland, stand as a crucial fossil area, yielding a diverse Norian vertebrate fauna. This basin, situated at a palaeolatitude of 41° N on the northern rim of Pangea and bordered in the North by the Boreal Sea, was a hub of activity during the Late Triassic. A large ephemeral to perennial lake system developed in the central and eastern parts of the basin, with rivers transporting sediment from the uplands northwest of the basin. Our research focused on the microvertebrate remains recovered from an expedition to Jameson Land in 1991 which yielded significant findings. These specimens, meticulously photographed and listed in a catalogue, comprise 950 vertebrate remains. Notably, we have identified new taxa never described from the Late Triassic sediments of Greenland, including sharks (Lissodus, Rhomphaiodon), bony fish (Gyrolepis), and reptiles (Doswelliidae and Rhynchocephalia). The revision of two sphenodontians jaw fragments as Clevosauridae, in association with Lissodus lepagei, Lissodus cf. Lissodus minimus, Rhomphaiodon sp., Saurichthys sp., and Gyrolepis sp., which are taxa that are highly documented in Europe and Asia, confirms a relationship between faunas of Greenland and Eurasia during the Late Triassic, a statement previously based on macro vertebrate studies.

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Africa is the only continent that now straddles arid zones located beneath the descending limbs of both the northern and southern Hadley cells, and it has done so since it became a distinct continent in the Early Cretaceous. Since that time, Africa has drifted tectonically some 12 degrees north and rotated approximately 45 degrees counterclockwise. This changing latitudinal setting and position of the landmass under the relatively stable Hadley Cells is manifested as southward migration of climatic zones over the past 132 million years. Data from kerogen, X-ray diffraction analysis of sedimentary matrix, carbon isotopes from shell samples and tooth enamel,new 40Ar/39Ar radiometric dates, pollen and plant macrofossils, and fossil vertebrates indicate a productive upwelling system adjacent to a coastal desert since the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean; however, the position of the coastal desert has migrated southward as Africa drifted north, resulting in today's Skeleton Coast and Benguela Current. This migration has had a profound effect on the placement of the West African coast relative to areas of high marine productivity and resulting extensive hydrocarbon deposits, on the placement of arid zones relative to the continent especially the Skeleton Coast desert, on the climatic history of the Congo Basin (which shows a Late Cretaceous decrease in aridity based on the relative abundance of analcime in the Samba core), and in reducing the southern temperate region of Africa from 17% of continental area during the Cretaceous to 2% today. We show here that these related geographic and environmental changes drove ecological and evolutionary adjustments in southern African floras and faunas, specifically with respect to the distribution of anthropoid primates, the occurrence of modern relicts such as the gnetalean Welwitschia mirabilis, endemism as in the case of ice plants, and mammalian adaption to an open environment as in springhares. Africa's tectonic drift through climate zones has been a first-order environmental determinant since the Early Cretaceous.

The jigsaw-puzzle fit of South America and Africa is an icon of plate tectonics and continental drift. Fieldwork in Angola since 2002 allows the correlation of onshore outcrops and offshore geophysical and well-core data in the context of rift, sag, salt, and post-salt drift phases of the opening of the central South Atlantic. These outcrops, ranging in age from >130 Ma to <71 Ma, record Early Cretaceous outpouring of the Etendeka-Paraná Large Igneous Province (Bero Volcanic Complex) and rifting, followed by continental carbonate and siliciclastic deposition (Tumbalunda Formation) during the sagging of the nascent central South Atlantic basin. By the Aptian, evaporation of sea water resulted in thick salt deposits (Bambata Formation), terminated by sea floor spreading. The Equatorial Atlantic Gateway began opening by the early Late Cretaceous (100 Ma) and allowed flow of currents between the North and South Atlantic, creating environmental conditions that heralded the introduction of marine reptiles. These dramatic outcrops are a unique element of geoheritage because they arguably comprise the most complete terrestrially exposed geological record of the puzzle-like icon of continental drift.

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Vertebrate-bearing fossiliferous outcrops of Cretaceous age in sub-Saharan Africa are rare because of younger superficial deposits, vegetation cover, and the widespread occurrence of Precambrian metamorphic plateau basement comprising much of the continent. However, one area of extensive marine and nonmarine
Cretaceous exposures is found between the plateau and the coast in Angola. The Angolan margin was formed in conjunction with the breakup of Gondwana and subsequent growth of the South Atlantic. Cretaceous deposits are constrained in age by the emplacement of oceanic crust, which began no later than magnetozone M3
(approximately 128 Ma, Barremian). Shallow marine facies are exposed in sea cliffs but equivalent facies become increasingly terrestrial inland. Few vertebrate fossils have been described from Angola aside from sharks.
Notable exceptions are the late Turonian mosasaurs Angolasaurus bocagei and Tylosaurus iembeensis from northern Angola. Those taxa are significant because they are among the earliest derived mosasaurs. Recent field work led to the discovery of a new skull of Angolasaursus as well as sharks, fish, plesiosaurs, the skull of a new taxon of turtle, additional mosasaurs, and the articulated forelimb of a sauropod dinosaur, the first reported dinosaur from Angola. In southern Angola, marine sediments spanning the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary are found.

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Although nonavian theropod have received considerable interest in the last years, their ontogeny still remains poorly understood, especially the ontogenetical changes affecting their skull (Rauhut
and Fechner, 2005). The quadrate, for instance, is preserved in several embryos and juvenile specimens belonging to many clades of theropods such as the Tyrannosauridae (Carr, 1999), Compsognathidae (Dal Sasso and Maganuco, 2011), Therizinosauroidea (Kúndrat et al., 2007), Oviraptoridae (Norell et al., 1994; Norell et al., 2001; Weishampel et al., 2008) and Troodontidae (Varrichio et al., 2002) but very little is usually said about the anatomy of this bone and no one has ever investigated ontogenetical variation in the nonavian theropod quadrate. The discovery of two quadrates belonging to embryos of the sinraptorid Lourinhanosaurus antunesi from Portugal and five isolated quadrates pertaining to juvenile, subadult and adult specimens of Spinosauridae from Morocco fills this gap and allows some ontogenetic information to be drawn for this bone in these two specific clades of Theropoda.
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The Lourinhã Formation (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) of Central West Portugal is well known for its diversified dinosaur fauna similar to that of the Morrison Formation of North America; both areas share dinosaur taxa including the top predator Torvosaurus, reported in Portugal. The material assigned to the Portuguese T. tanneri, consisting of a right maxilla and an incomplete caudal centrum, was briefly described in the literature and a thorough description of these bones is here given for the first time. A comparison with material referred to Torvosaurus tanneri allows us to highlight some important differences justifying the creation of a distinct Eastern species. Torvosaurus gurneyi n. sp. displays two autapomorphies among Megalosauroidea, a maxilla possessing fewer than eleven teeth and an interdental wall nearly coincidental with the lateral wall of the maxillary body. In addition, it differs from T. tanneri by a reduced number of maxillary teeth, the absence of interdental plates terminating ventrally by broad V-shaped points and falling short relative to the lateral maxillary wall, and the absence of a protuberant ridge on the anterior part of the medial shelf, posterior to the anteromedial process. T. gurneyi is the largest theropod from the Lourinhã Formation of Portugal and the largest land predator discovered in Europe hitherto. This taxon supports the mechanism of vicariance that occurred in the Iberian Meseta during the Late Jurassic when the proto-Atlantic was already well formed. A fragment of maxilla from the Lourinhã Formation referred to Torvosaurus sp. is ascribed to this new species, and several other bones, including a femur, a tibia and embryonic material all from the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian of Portugal, are tentatively assigned to T. gurneyi. A standard terminology and notation of the theropod maxilla is also proposed and a record of the Torvosaurus material from Portugal is given.

Theropod dinosaurs form a highly diversified clade, and their teeth are some of the most common components of the Mesozoic dinosaur fossil record. This is the case in the Lourinhã Formation (Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) of Portugal, where theropod teeth are particularly abundant and diverse. Four isolated theropod teeth are here described and identified based on morphometric and anatomical data. They are included in a cladistic analysis performed on a data matrix of 141 dentition-based characters coded in 60 taxa, as well as a supermatrix combining our dataset with six recent datamatrices based on the whole theropod skeleton. The consensus tree resulting from the dentition-based data matrix reveals that theropod teeth provide reliable data for identification at approximately family level. Therefore, phylogenetic methods will help identifying theropod teeth with more confidence in the future. Although dental characters do not reliably indicate relationships among higher clades of theropods, they demonstrate interesting patterns of homoplasy suggesting dietary convergence in (1) alvarezsauroids, therizinosaurs and troodontids; (2) coelophysoids and spinosaurids; (3) compsognathids and dromaeosaurids; and (4) ceratosaurids, allosauroids and megalosaurids.

Based on morphometric and cladistic analyses, the biggest tooth from Lourinhã is referred to a mesial crown of the megalosaurid Torvosaurus tanneri, due to the elliptical cross section of the crown base, the large size and elongation of the crown, medially positioned mesial and distal carinae, and the coarse denticles. The smallest tooth is identified as Richardoestesia, and as a close relative of R. gilmorei based on the weak constriction between crown and root, the “eight-shaped” outline of the base crown and, on the distal carina, the average of ten symmetrically rounded denticles per mm, as well as a subequal number of denticles basally and at mid-crown. Finally, the two medium-sized teeth belong to the same taxon and exhibit pronounced interdenticular sulci between distal denticles, hooked distal denticles for one of them, an irregular enamel texture, and a straight distal margin, a combination of features only observed in abelisaurids. They provide the first record of Abelisauridae in the Jurassic of Laurasia and one of the oldest records of this clade in the world, suggesting a possible radiation of Abelisauridae in Europe well before the Upper Cretaceous.

ABSTRACT Modern birds are typified by the presence of feathers, complex evolutionary innovations that were already widespread in the group of theropod dinosaurs (Maniraptoriformes) that include crown Aves. Squamous or scaly reptilian-like skin is, however, considered the plesiomorphic condition for theropods and dinosaurs more broadly. Here, we review the morphology and distribution of non-feathered integumentary structures in non-avialan theropods, covering squamous skin and naked skin as well as dermal ossifications. The integumentary record of non-averostran theropods is limited to tracks, which ubiquitously show a covering of tiny reticulate scales on the plantar surface of the pes. This is consistent also with younger averostran body fossils, which confirm an arthral arrangement of the digital pads. Among averostrans, squamous skin is confirmed in Ceratosauria (Carnotaurus), Allosauroidea (Allosaurus, Concavenator, Lourinhanosaurus), Compsognathidae (Juravenator), and Tyrannosauroidea (Santanaraptor, Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, Tarbosaurus, Tyrannosaurus), whereas dermal ossifications consisting of sagittate and mosaic osteoderms are restricted to Ceratosaurus. Naked, non-scale bearing skin is found in the contentious tetanuran Sciurumimus, ornithomimosaurians (Ornithomimus) and possibly tyrannosauroids (Santanaraptor), and also on the patagia of scansoriopterygids (Ambopteryx, Yi). Scales are surprisingly conservative among non-avialan theropods compared to some dinosaurian groups (e.g. hadrosaurids); however, the limited preservation of tegument on most specimens hinders further interrogation. Scale patterns vary among and/or within body regions in Carnotaurus, Concavenator and Juravenator, and include polarised, snake-like ventral scales on the tail of the latter two genera. Unusual but more uniformly distributed patterning also occurs in Tyrannosaurus, whereas feature scales are present only in Albertosaurus and Carnotaurus. Few theropods currently show compelling evidence for the co-occurrence of scales and feathers (e.g. Juravenator, Sinornithosaurus), although reticulate scales were probably retained on the mani and pedes of many theropods with a heavy plumage. Feathers and filamentous structures appear to have replaced widespread scaly integuments in maniraptorans. Theropod skin, and that of dinosaurs more broadly, remains a virtually untapped area of study and the appropriation of commonly used techniques in other palaeontological fields to the study of skin holds great promise for future insights into the biology, taphonomy and relationships of these extinct animals.