Philip J. Currie - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Philip J. Currie
Two new theropods from the Jurassic of Xinjing, people's Republic of China
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1991
Cretaceous Research, Mar 1, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
PeerJ, Mar 4, 2021
Locomotion is a fundamental aspect of palaeobiology and often investigated by comparing osteologi... more Locomotion is a fundamental aspect of palaeobiology and often investigated by comparing osteological structures and proportions. Previous studies document a stepwise accumulation of avian-like features in theropod dinosaurs that accelerates in the clade Maniraptora. However, the soft tissues that influenced the skeleton offer another perspective on locomotory adaptations. Examination of the pelvis for osteological correlates of hind limb and tail musculature allowed reconstruction of primary locomotory muscles across theropods and their closest extant relatives. Additionally, the areas of pelvic muscle origins were quantified to measure relative differences within and between taxa, to compare morphological features associated with cursoriality, and offer insight into the evolution of locomotor modules. Locomotory inferences based on myology often corroborate those based on osteology, although they occasionally conflict and indicate greater complexity than previously appreciated. Maniraptoran pelvic musculature underscores previous studies noting the multifaceted nature of cursoriality and suggests that a more punctuated step in caudal decoupling occurred at or near the base of Maniraptora.
Evolution, Jul 30, 2019
Over the last two decades, paleontologists have pieced together the early evolutionary history of... more Over the last two decades, paleontologists have pieced together the early evolutionary history of feathers. Simple hair-like feathers served as insulating pelage, but the first feathers with complex branching structures and a plainer form evolved for the purpose of sexual display. The evolution of these complex display feathers was essential to the later evolution of flight. Feathers illustrate how sexual selection can generate complex novel phenotypes, which are then available for natural selection to modify and direct toward novel functions. In the longstanding metaphor of the adaptive landscape, sexual selection is a means by which lineages resting on one adaptive peak may gradually bridge a gap to another peak, without the landscape itself being first altered by environmental changes.
Feathered dinosaurs from China
Hunting Ancient Dragons in China and Canada
Special publication, 1994
I was eleven years old when I read a book by Roy Chapman Andrews (1953) that changed my life. It ... more I was eleven years old when I read a book by Roy Chapman Andrews (1953) that changed my life. It was a book about dinosaurs, those magnificent animals that had captured my interest when I was even younger. But more significantly, the book was about looking for the remains of these ancient dragons in the Gobi Desert of China and Mongolia, and for the first time I learned that there was a potential career in hunting dinosaurs. The day I read the book was the day I decided to become a paleontologist. But in my wildest dreams I never imagined that I would follow in the footsteps of Andrews and end up in the Gobi Desert.
Variability of bone microstructure and growth lines in the evolution of troodontids and dromaeosaurids
Acta Zoologica
Comptes Rendus Palevol
The osteology of Pilmatueia faundezi Coria, Windholz, Ortega & Currie, 2019, a dicraeosaurid saur... more The osteology of Pilmatueia faundezi Coria, Windholz, Ortega & Currie, 2019, a dicraeosaurid sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Patagonia, is reassessed from the perspective of a new specimen (MLL-Pv-010) that provides additional information on the axial skeleton and the pectoral girdle. The specimen MLL-Pv-010 is composed of three articulated anterior-middle cervical vertebrae (with their respective ribs in position and an associated fourth rib), seven dorsal vertebrae with associated dorsal ribs, a distal caudal vertebra, a left scapula and the proximal end of a right scapula. The new specimen shows features, especially in the middle cervical vertebrae, that link it to Pilmatueia faundezi. Additionally, the specimen MLL-Pv-010 shows features previously unknown for the species, such as the morphology and orientation of the bifid neural spines of the anterior and mid-cervical vertebrae. The information obtained from the specimen MLL-Pv-010 allows us to propose an expanded diagnos...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
We review the distinguished and varied career of our friend and colleague, palaeontologist Dr. Da... more We review the distinguished and varied career of our friend and colleague, palaeontologist Dr. Dale A. Russell, following the recent news of his death. Dale relished his work and approached his research — whether it be on mosasaur systematics, dinosaur extinction, or the evolution of animal intelligence — with great gusto. A deep and contextual thinker, Dale had a penchant for metanarrative rarely equaled in these times of increased research specialization. This quality, combined with his outgoing and collaborative nature, allowed Dale to make friends and colleagues with highly varied research interests throughout the world. We remember Dale fondly and cherish the opportunity to share the stories of his adventures (and misadventures) across the globe.
A new hypothesis of eudromaeosaurian evolution: CT scans assist in testing and constructing morphological characters
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Two exceptionally preserved juvenile specimens of Gorgosaurus libratus (Tyrannosauridae, Albertosaurinae) provide new insight into the timing of ontogenetic changes in tyrannosaurids
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Biosis: Biological Systems, 2021
Recent studies have identified numerous pathologies in the cranial domes of pachycephalosaurid di... more Recent studies have identified numerous pathologies in the cranial domes of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. These studies utilized CT images of domes to identify secondary woven bone and sclerosis associated with the pathologies. These features were critical for diagnosing post-traumatic osteomyelitis, which supported the head-butting behaviour hypothesis. However, conventional CT image resolution may not be sufficient to identify secondary woven bone or sclerotic bone in fossil specimens. UALVP 8504 (cf. Foraminacephale brevis), a dome possessing putative bone lesions, was thin-sectioned and micro-CT scanned. Thin sections revealed the lesions are lytic, without any secondary woven bone or sclerosis, falsifying the diagnosis of osteomyelitis. The morphology and histology of the lesions of UALVP 8504 are not diagnostic and resemble both post-traumatic and non-traumatic lesions. However, UALVP 8504 possesses shifted vascular canals (repositioning via remodeling, which maintains anatom...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2021
For sheer complexity, braincases are generally considered anatomically conservative. However, rec... more For sheer complexity, braincases are generally considered anatomically conservative. However, recent research on the braincases of tyrannosaurids have revealed extensive morphological variations. This line of inquiry has its root in Dale Russell’s review of tyrannosaurids in which he established Daspletosaurus torosus — a large tyrannosaurine from the Campanian of southern Alberta. In the wake of systematic revisions to tyrannosaurines previously assigned to Daspletosaurus, one potentially distinct species remains undescribed. This paper describes and compares a braincase referable to this species with that of the holotype for Daspletosaurus torosus using computerized-tomography-based reconstructions. The two braincases have numerous differences externally and internally. The specimen of Daspletosaurus sp. has a bottlenecked olfactory tract, short and vertical lagena, and a developed ascending column of the anterior tympanic recess. The holotype of Daspletosaurus torosus has many un...
Palaeontologia Electronica, 2014
The commercial collection and sale of fossils, as well as the still developing regulations involv... more The commercial collection and sale of fossils, as well as the still developing regulations involving collection of fossils on public lands, have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in paleontology. These issues pit not only professional paleontologists and commercial collectors against each other, but have produced rifts within the paleontological community. Here Shimada and his co-authors vigorously present a position supported by many vertebrate paleontologists. I repeat a call in an earlier commentary (Plotnick, 2011; palaeo-electronica.org/2011_1/commentary/mainstream.htm) for additional contributions that would discuss these issues that are so crucial to our field. Please send directly to Roy E.
Scientific Reports, 2019
Despite being known from every continent, the geological record of pterosaurs, the first group of... more Despite being known from every continent, the geological record of pterosaurs, the first group of vertebrates to develop powered flight, is very uneven, with only a few deposits accounting for the vast majority of specimens and almost half of the taxonomic diversity. Among the regions that stand out for the greatest gaps of knowledge regarding these flying reptiles, is the Afro-Arabian continent, which has yielded only a small number of very fragmentary and incomplete materials. Here we fill part of that gap and report on the most complete pterosaur recovered from this continent, more specifically from the Late Cretaceous (~95 mya) Hjoûla Lagerstätte of Lebanon. This deposit is known since the Middle Ages for the exquisitely preserved fishes and invertebrates, but not for tetrapods, which are exceedingly rare. Mimodactylus libanensis gen. et sp. nov. differs from the other Afro-Arabian pterosaur species named to date and is closely related to the Chinese species Haopterus gracilis, ...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2018
Preserved labile tissues (e.g. skin, muscle) in the fossil record of terrestrial vertebrates are ... more Preserved labile tissues (e.g. skin, muscle) in the fossil record of terrestrial vertebrates are increasingly becoming recognized as an important source of biological and taphonomic information. Here, we combine a variety of synchrotron radiation techniques with scanning electron and optical microscopes to elucidate the structure of 72 million-year-old squamous (scaly) skin associated with a hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. Scanning electron and optical microscopy independently reveal that the three-dimensionally preserved scales are associated with a band of carbon-rich layers up to a total thickness of 75 μm. Compositionally, this band deviates from that of the surrounding matrix; Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and soft X-ray spectromicroscopy analyses indicate the presence of carboxylic compounds. The regions corresponding to the integumentary layers are distinctively enriched in iron compared to the associated sedimentary matrix and seem...
Data in Brief, 2018
Dinosaur community composition data for eleven fossil localities in the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Ba... more Dinosaur community composition data for eleven fossil localities in the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Basin of Mongolia are compiled from field observations and records in the literature. Counts were generated from skeletons and represent numbers of individuals preserved in each locality. These data were used in the analyses of Funston et al. [1] "Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity, and ecology in the Nemegt Basin" in the Nemegt Ecosystems Special Issue of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, where the results are discussed.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019
Hagfish depart so much from other fishes anatomically that they were sometimes considered not ful... more Hagfish depart so much from other fishes anatomically that they were sometimes considered not fully vertebrate. They may represent: ( i ) an anatomically primitive outgroup of vertebrates (the morphology-based craniate hypothesis); or ( ii ) an anatomically degenerate vertebrate lineage sister to lampreys (the molecular-based cyclostome hypothesis). This systematic conundrum has become a prominent case of conflict between morphology- and molecular-based phylogenies. To date, the fossil record has offered few insights to this long-branch problem or the evolutionary history of hagfish in general, because unequivocal fossil members of the group are unknown. Here, we report an unequivocal fossil hagfish from the early Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. The soft tissue anatomy includes key attributes of living hagfish: cartilages of barbels, postcranial position of branchial apparatus, and chemical traces of slime glands. This indicates that the suite of characters unique to living hagfish appe...
FACETS, 2017
A partial pterosaur pelvis from the Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Canada adds to our knowl... more A partial pterosaur pelvis from the Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Canada adds to our knowledge of Late Cretaceous pterosaurs. The pelvis is tentatively referred to Azhdarchidae and represents the first pelvic material from a North American azhdarchid. The morphology of the ilium is bizarre compared with other pterosaurs: it is highly pneumatized, the preacetabular process tapers anteriorly, and muscle scars show that it would have anchored strong adductor musculature for the hindlimb. The acetabulum is deep and faces ventrolaterally, allowing the limb to be positioned underneath the body. These features support previous suggestions that azhdarchids were well adapted to terrestrial locomotion.
Two new theropods from the Jurassic of Xinjing, people's Republic of China
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1991
Cretaceous Research, Mar 1, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
PeerJ, Mar 4, 2021
Locomotion is a fundamental aspect of palaeobiology and often investigated by comparing osteologi... more Locomotion is a fundamental aspect of palaeobiology and often investigated by comparing osteological structures and proportions. Previous studies document a stepwise accumulation of avian-like features in theropod dinosaurs that accelerates in the clade Maniraptora. However, the soft tissues that influenced the skeleton offer another perspective on locomotory adaptations. Examination of the pelvis for osteological correlates of hind limb and tail musculature allowed reconstruction of primary locomotory muscles across theropods and their closest extant relatives. Additionally, the areas of pelvic muscle origins were quantified to measure relative differences within and between taxa, to compare morphological features associated with cursoriality, and offer insight into the evolution of locomotor modules. Locomotory inferences based on myology often corroborate those based on osteology, although they occasionally conflict and indicate greater complexity than previously appreciated. Maniraptoran pelvic musculature underscores previous studies noting the multifaceted nature of cursoriality and suggests that a more punctuated step in caudal decoupling occurred at or near the base of Maniraptora.
Evolution, Jul 30, 2019
Over the last two decades, paleontologists have pieced together the early evolutionary history of... more Over the last two decades, paleontologists have pieced together the early evolutionary history of feathers. Simple hair-like feathers served as insulating pelage, but the first feathers with complex branching structures and a plainer form evolved for the purpose of sexual display. The evolution of these complex display feathers was essential to the later evolution of flight. Feathers illustrate how sexual selection can generate complex novel phenotypes, which are then available for natural selection to modify and direct toward novel functions. In the longstanding metaphor of the adaptive landscape, sexual selection is a means by which lineages resting on one adaptive peak may gradually bridge a gap to another peak, without the landscape itself being first altered by environmental changes.
Feathered dinosaurs from China
Hunting Ancient Dragons in China and Canada
Special publication, 1994
I was eleven years old when I read a book by Roy Chapman Andrews (1953) that changed my life. It ... more I was eleven years old when I read a book by Roy Chapman Andrews (1953) that changed my life. It was a book about dinosaurs, those magnificent animals that had captured my interest when I was even younger. But more significantly, the book was about looking for the remains of these ancient dragons in the Gobi Desert of China and Mongolia, and for the first time I learned that there was a potential career in hunting dinosaurs. The day I read the book was the day I decided to become a paleontologist. But in my wildest dreams I never imagined that I would follow in the footsteps of Andrews and end up in the Gobi Desert.
Variability of bone microstructure and growth lines in the evolution of troodontids and dromaeosaurids
Acta Zoologica
Comptes Rendus Palevol
The osteology of Pilmatueia faundezi Coria, Windholz, Ortega & Currie, 2019, a dicraeosaurid saur... more The osteology of Pilmatueia faundezi Coria, Windholz, Ortega & Currie, 2019, a dicraeosaurid sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Patagonia, is reassessed from the perspective of a new specimen (MLL-Pv-010) that provides additional information on the axial skeleton and the pectoral girdle. The specimen MLL-Pv-010 is composed of three articulated anterior-middle cervical vertebrae (with their respective ribs in position and an associated fourth rib), seven dorsal vertebrae with associated dorsal ribs, a distal caudal vertebra, a left scapula and the proximal end of a right scapula. The new specimen shows features, especially in the middle cervical vertebrae, that link it to Pilmatueia faundezi. Additionally, the specimen MLL-Pv-010 shows features previously unknown for the species, such as the morphology and orientation of the bifid neural spines of the anterior and mid-cervical vertebrae. The information obtained from the specimen MLL-Pv-010 allows us to propose an expanded diagnos...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
We review the distinguished and varied career of our friend and colleague, palaeontologist Dr. Da... more We review the distinguished and varied career of our friend and colleague, palaeontologist Dr. Dale A. Russell, following the recent news of his death. Dale relished his work and approached his research — whether it be on mosasaur systematics, dinosaur extinction, or the evolution of animal intelligence — with great gusto. A deep and contextual thinker, Dale had a penchant for metanarrative rarely equaled in these times of increased research specialization. This quality, combined with his outgoing and collaborative nature, allowed Dale to make friends and colleagues with highly varied research interests throughout the world. We remember Dale fondly and cherish the opportunity to share the stories of his adventures (and misadventures) across the globe.
A new hypothesis of eudromaeosaurian evolution: CT scans assist in testing and constructing morphological characters
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Two exceptionally preserved juvenile specimens of Gorgosaurus libratus (Tyrannosauridae, Albertosaurinae) provide new insight into the timing of ontogenetic changes in tyrannosaurids
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Biosis: Biological Systems, 2021
Recent studies have identified numerous pathologies in the cranial domes of pachycephalosaurid di... more Recent studies have identified numerous pathologies in the cranial domes of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. These studies utilized CT images of domes to identify secondary woven bone and sclerosis associated with the pathologies. These features were critical for diagnosing post-traumatic osteomyelitis, which supported the head-butting behaviour hypothesis. However, conventional CT image resolution may not be sufficient to identify secondary woven bone or sclerotic bone in fossil specimens. UALVP 8504 (cf. Foraminacephale brevis), a dome possessing putative bone lesions, was thin-sectioned and micro-CT scanned. Thin sections revealed the lesions are lytic, without any secondary woven bone or sclerosis, falsifying the diagnosis of osteomyelitis. The morphology and histology of the lesions of UALVP 8504 are not diagnostic and resemble both post-traumatic and non-traumatic lesions. However, UALVP 8504 possesses shifted vascular canals (repositioning via remodeling, which maintains anatom...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2021
For sheer complexity, braincases are generally considered anatomically conservative. However, rec... more For sheer complexity, braincases are generally considered anatomically conservative. However, recent research on the braincases of tyrannosaurids have revealed extensive morphological variations. This line of inquiry has its root in Dale Russell’s review of tyrannosaurids in which he established Daspletosaurus torosus — a large tyrannosaurine from the Campanian of southern Alberta. In the wake of systematic revisions to tyrannosaurines previously assigned to Daspletosaurus, one potentially distinct species remains undescribed. This paper describes and compares a braincase referable to this species with that of the holotype for Daspletosaurus torosus using computerized-tomography-based reconstructions. The two braincases have numerous differences externally and internally. The specimen of Daspletosaurus sp. has a bottlenecked olfactory tract, short and vertical lagena, and a developed ascending column of the anterior tympanic recess. The holotype of Daspletosaurus torosus has many un...
Palaeontologia Electronica, 2014
The commercial collection and sale of fossils, as well as the still developing regulations involv... more The commercial collection and sale of fossils, as well as the still developing regulations involving collection of fossils on public lands, have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in paleontology. These issues pit not only professional paleontologists and commercial collectors against each other, but have produced rifts within the paleontological community. Here Shimada and his co-authors vigorously present a position supported by many vertebrate paleontologists. I repeat a call in an earlier commentary (Plotnick, 2011; palaeo-electronica.org/2011_1/commentary/mainstream.htm) for additional contributions that would discuss these issues that are so crucial to our field. Please send directly to Roy E.
Scientific Reports, 2019
Despite being known from every continent, the geological record of pterosaurs, the first group of... more Despite being known from every continent, the geological record of pterosaurs, the first group of vertebrates to develop powered flight, is very uneven, with only a few deposits accounting for the vast majority of specimens and almost half of the taxonomic diversity. Among the regions that stand out for the greatest gaps of knowledge regarding these flying reptiles, is the Afro-Arabian continent, which has yielded only a small number of very fragmentary and incomplete materials. Here we fill part of that gap and report on the most complete pterosaur recovered from this continent, more specifically from the Late Cretaceous (~95 mya) Hjoûla Lagerstätte of Lebanon. This deposit is known since the Middle Ages for the exquisitely preserved fishes and invertebrates, but not for tetrapods, which are exceedingly rare. Mimodactylus libanensis gen. et sp. nov. differs from the other Afro-Arabian pterosaur species named to date and is closely related to the Chinese species Haopterus gracilis, ...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2018
Preserved labile tissues (e.g. skin, muscle) in the fossil record of terrestrial vertebrates are ... more Preserved labile tissues (e.g. skin, muscle) in the fossil record of terrestrial vertebrates are increasingly becoming recognized as an important source of biological and taphonomic information. Here, we combine a variety of synchrotron radiation techniques with scanning electron and optical microscopes to elucidate the structure of 72 million-year-old squamous (scaly) skin associated with a hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. Scanning electron and optical microscopy independently reveal that the three-dimensionally preserved scales are associated with a band of carbon-rich layers up to a total thickness of 75 μm. Compositionally, this band deviates from that of the surrounding matrix; Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and soft X-ray spectromicroscopy analyses indicate the presence of carboxylic compounds. The regions corresponding to the integumentary layers are distinctively enriched in iron compared to the associated sedimentary matrix and seem...
Data in Brief, 2018
Dinosaur community composition data for eleven fossil localities in the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Ba... more Dinosaur community composition data for eleven fossil localities in the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Basin of Mongolia are compiled from field observations and records in the literature. Counts were generated from skeletons and represent numbers of individuals preserved in each locality. These data were used in the analyses of Funston et al. [1] "Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity, and ecology in the Nemegt Basin" in the Nemegt Ecosystems Special Issue of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, where the results are discussed.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019
Hagfish depart so much from other fishes anatomically that they were sometimes considered not ful... more Hagfish depart so much from other fishes anatomically that they were sometimes considered not fully vertebrate. They may represent: ( i ) an anatomically primitive outgroup of vertebrates (the morphology-based craniate hypothesis); or ( ii ) an anatomically degenerate vertebrate lineage sister to lampreys (the molecular-based cyclostome hypothesis). This systematic conundrum has become a prominent case of conflict between morphology- and molecular-based phylogenies. To date, the fossil record has offered few insights to this long-branch problem or the evolutionary history of hagfish in general, because unequivocal fossil members of the group are unknown. Here, we report an unequivocal fossil hagfish from the early Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. The soft tissue anatomy includes key attributes of living hagfish: cartilages of barbels, postcranial position of branchial apparatus, and chemical traces of slime glands. This indicates that the suite of characters unique to living hagfish appe...
FACETS, 2017
A partial pterosaur pelvis from the Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Canada adds to our knowl... more A partial pterosaur pelvis from the Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Canada adds to our knowledge of Late Cretaceous pterosaurs. The pelvis is tentatively referred to Azhdarchidae and represents the first pelvic material from a North American azhdarchid. The morphology of the ilium is bizarre compared with other pterosaurs: it is highly pneumatized, the preacetabular process tapers anteriorly, and muscle scars show that it would have anchored strong adductor musculature for the hindlimb. The acetabulum is deep and faces ventrolaterally, allowing the limb to be positioned underneath the body. These features support previous suggestions that azhdarchids were well adapted to terrestrial locomotion.