Whales are an extraordinary study group for questions about ecology and evolution
because their combinations of extreme body sizes and unique foraging strategies are …

Marine reptiles and mammals are phylogenetically so distant from each other that their
marine adaptations are rarely compared directly. We reviewed ecophysiological features in …

Many biodiversity studies focus on explaining high tropical species richness, but an equally
dramatic yet understudied pattern involves the divergent richness of land, sea and …

Secondary transitions to aquatic environments are common among vertebrates, and aquatic
lineages display several adaptations to this realm, some of which might make these …

BACKGROUND More than 30 different lineages of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and
mammals have independently invaded oceans ecosystems. Prominent examples include …

The L ate J urassic to E arly C retaceous interval represents a time of environmental
upheaval and cataclysmic events, combined with disruptions to terrestrial and marine …

Recent studies suggested that many fossil marine turtles might not be closely related to
extant marine turtles (Chelonioidea). The uncertainty surrounding the origin and …

The aquatic habitat of marine “air-breathing” vertebrates provides a significant
thermoregulatory challenge due to the high thermal conductivity of water. In addition to …

The striking resemblance of long-snouted aquatic mammals and reptiles has long been
considered an example of morphological convergence, yet the true cause of this similarity …

Mesozoic marine ecosystems were dominated by several clades of reptiles, including
sauropterygians, ichthyosaurs, crocodylomorphs, turtles, and mosasaurs, that repeatedly …