Paleobiological reconstructions of joint mobility are an essential component of functional
analyses of extinct animals. Over the past half-decade, the methods underlying mobility …

The terrestrial origins of the diapsid Sauropterygia and Testudines are uncertain, with the
latter being highly controversially discussed to this day. For only 15 Ma, Nothosauroidea …

Our knowledge of vertebrate functional evolution depends on inferences about joint function
in extinct taxa. Without rigorous criteria for evaluating joint articulation, however, such …

Various Mesozoic marine reptile lineages evolved streamlined bodies and efficient lift-based
swimming, as seen in modern aquatic mammals. Ichthyosaurs had low-drag bodies, akin to …

Deciphering the biological function of rare or extinct species is key to understanding
evolutionary patterns across the tree of life. While soft tissues are vital determinants of joint …

Plesiosaurs are an enigmatic, diverse extinct group of Mesozoic marine reptiles well known
for their unique body plan with two pairs of flippers and usually an elongated neck. The long …

Plesiosaurs are a group of Mesozoic marine diapsids. Most derived plesiosaurs fall into one
of two typical body forms: those with proportionately small heads, short snouts, and …

The sauropterygian clade Plesiosauria arose in the Late Triassic and survived to the very
end of the Cretaceous. Plesiosauria evolved the greatest species diversity of any marine …

The fossil record represents the world's largest historical dataset of biodiversity. However,
the biomechanical and ecological potential of this dataset has been restricted by various …

Plesiosaurs are extinct marine reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic, well-known for their
unique body plan with two pairs of flippers and an elongated neck. What this long neck was …