Sailing to Gondwana: multiple waves of spinosaurid dispersal to the southern continents
14 affiliations
- 1School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol 1 , Bristol, UK
- 2Department of Earth Sciences, University College London 2 , London, UK
- 3Freie Universität Berlin 3 , Berlin, Germany
- 4Het Nationaal Oertijdmuseum 4 , Boxtel, The Netherlands
- 5Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine 5 , Old Westbury, USA
- 6The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country 6 , USA
- 7Oklahoma State University Centre for Health Sciences 7 , Tulsa, USA
- 8Department of Biology, Northern Arizona University 8 , Flagstaff, USA
- 9Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University 9 , New York, USA
- 10Independent Researcher 10 , UK
- 11School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth 11 , Plymouth, UK
- 12School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham 12 , Birmingham, UK
- 13Sparsholt College 13 , Winchester, UK
- 14Writtle School of Agriculture, Animal and Environmental Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University 14 , Chelmsford, Essex, UK
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.
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BibTeX
@article{lewis2026sailing,
title = {{Sailing to Gondwana: multiple waves of spinosaurid dispersal to the southern continents}},
author = {Zak E. Lewis and Charlie R. Scherer and Tom T. P. van der Linden and Paul J. Byrne and Bethany Burke and Colin Boisvert and Ezekiel V. O'Callaghan and Kenneth C. Rayburn and Robert Mayer and Chance Guest and Harry T. Jones and Tristan Moran and Steven J. R. Allain and Cassius Morrison},
journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1098/rsos.260994},
url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260994/483930/Sailing-to-Gondwana-multiple-waves-of-spinosaurid},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sailing to Gondwana: multiple waves of spinosaurid dispersal to the southern continents
AU - Zak E. Lewis
AU - Charlie R. Scherer
AU - Tom T. P. van der Linden
AU - Paul J. Byrne
AU - Bethany Burke
AU - Colin Boisvert
AU - Ezekiel V. O'Callaghan
AU - Kenneth C. Rayburn
AU - Robert Mayer
AU - Chance Guest
AU - Harry T. Jones
AU - Tristan Moran
AU - Steven J. R. Allain
AU - Cassius Morrison
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Royal Society Open Science
DO - 10.1098/rsos.260994
UR - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260994/483930/Sailing-to-Gondwana-multiple-waves-of-spinosaurid
AB - 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.
SN - 2054-5703
ER -