James G. Napoli

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

The involvement of mineralized tissues in acid–base homeostasis was likely important in the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates. Extant reptiles encounter hypercapnia when submerged in water, but early tetrapods may have experienced hypercapnia on land due to their inefficient mode of lung ventilation (likely buccal pumping, as in extant amphibian...

Eutherian mammals—placentals and their closest extinct relatives—underwent a major radiation following the end-Cretaceous extinction, during which they evolved disparate anatomy and established new terrestrial ecosystems. Much about the timing, pace, and causes of this radiation remain unclear, in large part because we still know very little about...

Nonsyndromic unilateral coronal craniosynostosis (UCS) is a rare congenital disorder that results from premature fusion of either coronal suture. The result is growth restriction across the suture, between the ipsilateral frontal and parietal bones, leading to bony dysmorphogenesis affecting the calvarium, orbit, and skull base. Prior studies have...

The Late Cretaceous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex was recently split into three species based on the premise that variation in the T. rex hypodigm is exceptional, indicating cryptic species and “robust” and “gracile” morphs. The morphs are based on proportional ratios throughout the skeleton. The species are claimed to be stratigraphically separate, w...

Background: Unilateral coronal craniosynostosis (UCS) is a congenital disorder resulting from the premature suture fusion, leading to complex primary and compensatory morphologic changes in the shape of not only the calvarium and but also into the skull base. This deformity typically requires surgery to correct the shape of the skull and prevent n...

Dromaeosaurid theropods represent a rare but important clade of nonavialan dinosaurs. Their close evolutionary relationship to modern birds has placed them at the center of paleonto-logical research for the last several decades. Herein we describe a new species of dromaeosaurid-Kuru kulla, gen. et sp. nov.-based on a partial skeleton from the Late...

Generally, the species is considered to be the only naturally occurring taxon. However, species recognised and defined using different species delimitation criteria cannot readily be compared, impacting studies of biodiversity through Deep Time. This comparability issue is particularly marked when comparing extant with extinct species, because the...

Generally, the species is considered to be the only naturally occurring taxon. However, species recognised and defined using different species delimitation criteria cannot readily be compared, impacting studies of biodiversity through Deep Time. This comparability issue is particularly marked when comparing extant with extinct species, because the...

Introduction: Geometric morphometrics (GM) is an advanced landmark-based quantitative method used to study biological shape and form. Historically, GM has been limited to non-biomedical fields such as comparative biology; however, this technique confers advantages over traditional cephalometric methods, warranting a review of current applications...

Background: Geometric morphometric analysis with Procrustes superimposition is a commonly used method to characterize and study complex dysmorphology. The present study employs an advanced Procrustes-based approach to studying craniofacial dysmorphology in unilateral coronal synostosis and quantitatively describe bony patterns in this disorder, in...

Sthenurine kangaroos, extinct “giant kangaroos” known predominantly from the Plio-Pleistocene, have been proposed to have used bipedal striding as a mode of locomotion, based on the morphology of their hind limbs. However, sthenurine forelimb morphology has not been considered in this context, and has important bearing as to whether these kangaroos...

Background: Geometric morphometric analysis with Procrustes superimposition is an advanced computational tool that can be used to quantify dynamic changes in complex three-dimensional structures. The present study couples high resolution CT imaging with a Geometric Morphometric approach in order to further understand the complex dysmorphology that...