{
  "abstract": "Spinosaurid theropods exhibited a relatively widespread distribution during the Cretaceous Period; however, biogeographical analyses have been limited, largely owing to their fragmentary nature and uncertainties in spinosaurid phylogeny. We conducted a biogeographical analysis of Megalosauroidea, with a focus on Spinosauridae, using the R package ‘BioGeoBEARS’ on multiple phylogenetic trees to test their probable dispersal patterns. The best-fit models suggest that spinosaurid evolutionary history was influenced by geodispersal followed by narrow and widespread vicariance, as well as regional sympatry between co-occurring taxa. Within Spinosauridae, we find at least two distinct dispersals from Europe into Africa and South America, as well as at least one dispersal from Europe into Asia. Based on existing climate model data, spinosaurids generally appear to occur in high mean annual temperature semi-aquatic environments (approx. 26.1–33.1°C) with relatively minimal seasonal variation (approx. ±8.46°C), which may have influenced their dispersal capability, as these preferences appearmore constrained compared with those of other medium-to-large theropods. These results imply a more limited biogeographical distribution for Spinosauridae compared with other clades, which may be owing to climatic dispersal barriers and environmental factors.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol 1 , Bristol, UK",
    "Department of Earth Sciences, University College London 2 , London, UK",
    "Freie Universität Berlin 3 , Berlin, Germany",
    "Het Nationaal Oertijdmuseum 4 , Boxtel, The Netherlands",
    "Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine 5 , Old Westbury, USA",
    "The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country 6 , USA",
    "Oklahoma State University Centre for Health Sciences 7 , Tulsa, USA",
    "Department of Biology, Northern Arizona University 8 , Flagstaff, USA",
    "Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University 9 , New York, USA",
    "Independent Researcher 10 , UK",
    "School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth 11 , Plymouth, UK",
    "School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham 12 , Birmingham, UK",
    "Sparsholt College 13 , Winchester, UK",
    "Writtle School of Agriculture, Animal and Environmental Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University 14 , Chelmsford, Essex, UK"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zak E. Lewis",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-2515-8434"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Charlie R. Scherer",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-5846-9789"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Tom T. P. van der Linden",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7898-3292"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Paul J. Byrne",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-6647-5019"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Bethany Burke"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Colin Boisvert",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-6964-2552"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Ezekiel V. O'Callaghan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Kenneth C. Rayburn",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-7832-7168"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Robert Mayer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Chance Guest"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Harry T. Jones",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3461-3046"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12
      ],
      "name": "Tristan Moran"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13
      ],
      "name": "Steven J. R. Allain",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5669-0149"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Cassius Morrison",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-3264-4752"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5zc0ze44npy38.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1098/rsos.260994",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13714370",
  "id": "5zc0ze44npy38",
  "issns": [
    "2054-5703"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260994/483930/Sailing-to-Gondwana-multiple-waves-of-spinosaurid",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Biogeography"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Earth and Environmental Science"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Palaeontology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1911|Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology"
    ]
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  "openalex": "W7224130866",
  "pdf_url": "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article-pdf/doi/10.1098/rsos.260994/6174049/rsos.260994.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13714370",
  "pmid": "42953344",
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": "The Royal Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5zc0ze44npy38.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:45Z",
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      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260994/483930/Sailing-to-Gondwana-multiple-waves-of-spinosaurid"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:40Z",
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      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953344"
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:21:53Z",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.260994"
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  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1911|Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology",
      "subfield": "evolutionary-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Sailing to Gondwana: multiple waves of spinosaurid dispersal to the southern continents",
  "title_text": "Sailing to Gondwana: multiple waves of spinosaurid dispersal to the southern continents",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:21:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5zc0ze44npy38",
  "venue": "Royal Society Open Science",
  "versions": []
}