2026-10-12T09:10:18Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34056366 2026-10-02T11:34:13Z category_39 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Supplementary file 3_Paleoecological dynamics of the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition: insights from the Vaca Muerta Formation marine biota.docx Verónica V. Vennari (25302060) Leticia Luci (25302063) Yanina Herrera (694193) Cecilia S. Cataldo (3292095) Agustina G. Toscano (25302066) Luciana S. Marin (25302069) A. Mariel Andrada (25302072) Sole Gouiric-Cavalli (25302075) Beatriz Aguirre-Urreta (25302078) Ecology invertebrate paleoecology Neuquén Basin Tithonian-Berriasian Valanginian vertebrate paleoecology <p>The global understanding of the functioning of Mesozoic marine ecosystems has historically been heavily biased toward paleoecological models based on Northern Hemisphere localities with exceptional preservation; meanwhile, highly fossiliferous Western Gondwana sites remained poorly addressed. To contribute to filling this gap, this study provides the first integrated, multi-trophic paleoecological reconstruction of both marine macroinvertebrate and vertebrate associations in Western Gondwana. We synthesize and analyze two age- and stratigraphically constrained taxonomic datasets from different paleogeographic positions over the carbonate ramp of the Vaca Muerta Formation (Neuquén Basin, Argentina): the Sierra de la Cara Cura and Cerro Lotena sections. The data obtained enabled us to evaluate ecosystem dynamics using quantitative and qualitative tools, including Westermann Morphospace modeling, multi-level benthic tiering, and vertebrate trophic-guild analyses. The results reveal a complex, vertically stratified pelagic realm that remained functionally stable for over nine million years. The vertebrate assemblage is abundant and taxonomically diverse, including top predators and more specialized forms. Actinopterygian fishes, particularly, displayed a wide range of body shapes, locomotor modes, and feeding strategies, spanning pelagic to demersal/benthic habitats and encompassing suspension-feeding, invertivorous, microphagous, piscivorous, and durophagous forms. Mesopredatory marine reptiles’ morphological disparity suggests strict niche partitioning despite preying upon similar food sources. Ammonite communities tracked a shallowing-upward trend, shifting from early Tithonian streamlined, demersal active swimmers into heavily sculptured planktonic drifters mechanically adapted to storm-dominated environments. Conversely, the benthic realm dynamics remained decoupled from the water column and were strictly regulated by oxygenation, water energy, and substrate consistency variations. Benthic invertebrate ecosystems shifted from highly impoverished, opportunistic, or pseudoplanktic communities during the early Tithonian into highly diversified, multi-tiered assemblages punctuated by extensive oyster biostromes as oxygenation improved by the late Berriasian, before a final shallowing trend led to a major ecological reorganization at the Intravalanginian Discontinuity. Direct and indirect evidence on biotic interactions reveal a highly interconnected, complex trophic network, spanning microplanktonic producers to hypercarnivorous reptile apex predators. Ultimately, these findings highlight the coordinated eco-spatial and trophic mechanisms of Gondwanan ecosystems and establish the Neuquén Basin as a critical window into global marine dynamics during the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition.</p> 2026-10-02T11:34:13Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fevo.2026.1923277.s003 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Supplementary_file_3_Paleoecological_dynamics_of_the_Jurassic-Cretaceous_transition_insights_from_the_Vaca_Muerta_Formation_marine_biota_docx/34056366 CC BY 4.0