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2024

171. Schnetz L, Dunne EM, Feichtinger I, Butler RJ, Coates MI, Sansom IJ. In press. Rise and diversification of chondrichthyans in the Paleozoic. Paleobiology.

170. Schnetz L, Butler RJ, Coates MI, Sansom IJ. 2024. The skeletal completeness of the Palaeozoic chondrichthyan fossil record. Royal Society Open Science 11:231451.

169. Foffa D, Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ, Brusatte SL, Walsh S, Fraser NC, Barrett PM. 2024 (published online 2023). The osteology of the Late Triassic reptile Scleromochlus taylori from µCT data. The Anatomical Record. 

168. Butler RJ, Meade LE, Cleary TJ, McWhirter KT, Brown EE, Kemp TS, Benito J, Fraser NC. 2024 (published online 2023). Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England. The Anatomical Record.

167. Fawcett MJ, Lautenschlager S, Bestwick J, Butler RJ. 2024 (published online 2023). Functional morphology of the Triassic apex predator Saurosuchus galilei (Pseudosuchia: Loricata) and convergence with a post-Triassic theropod dinosaur. The Anatomical Record.

2023

166. Spiekman SNF, Fernandez V, Butler RJ, Dollman KN, Maidment SCR. 2023. A taxonomic revision and cranial description of Terrestrisuchus gracilis (Archosauria, Crocodylomorpha) from the Late Triassic of Pant-y-ffynnon Quarry (southern Wales). Papers in Palaeontology 9:e1534.

165. Ezcurra M, Bandyopadhyay S, Sengupta D, Sen K, Sennikov AG, Sookias RB, Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ. 2023. A new archosauriform species from the Panchet Formation of India and the diversification of Proterosuchidae after the end-Permian mass extinction. Royal Society Open Science 10:230387.

164. Oussou A, Falkingham PL, Butler RJ, Boumir K, Ouarhache D, Ech-Charay K, Charrière A, Maidment SCR. 2023. New Middle to ?Late Jurassic dinosaur tracksites in the Central High Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Royal Society Open Science 10: 231091

163. Foffa D, Nesbitt SJ, Kligman BT, Stocker MR, Butler RJ. 2023. New specimen and redescription of Anisodontosaurus greeri and the spatiotemporal origins of Trilophosauridae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 43:e2220015

162. Dunne EM, Thompson S, Rosindell J, Butler RJ, Close RA. 2023. Mechanistic neutral models show that sampling biases drive the apparent explosion of early tetrapod diversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution.

161. Benevento GL, Benson RBJ, Close RA, Butler RJ. 2023. Early Cenozoic increases in mammal diversity cannot be explained solely by expansion into larger body sizes. Palaeontology 66:e12653. 

160. Edgar KM, Haller L, Cashmore DD, Dunne EM, Butler RJ. 2023. Stratigraphic and geographic distribution of dinosaur tracks in the UK. Journal of the Geological Society.

159. Prondvai E, Butler RJ. 2023. Radial porosity profiles are a powerful tool for tracing locomotor maturation in developing limb bones. Journal of Morphology 284:e21567.

158. Edgar KM, Meade LE, Jones HT, Haller L, Scriven S, Reedman C, Butler RJ. 2023. The condition, use and future of the UK’s largest accessible dinosaur tracksite at Spyway Quarry, Dorset. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 134:125–138.   

157. Dunne EM, Farnsworth A, Benson RBJ, Godoy PL, Greene SE, Valdes PJ, Lunt DJ, Butler RJ. 2023. Climate controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs. Current Biology 33:206–214.

 

2022

156. Rayner RR, Butler RJ, Kammerer CF, Choiniere JN. 2022. Guttigomphus avilionis gen. et sp. nov., a trirachodontid cynodont from the upper Cynognathus Assemblage Zone, Burgersdorp Formation of South Africa. PeerJ 10:e14355.

155. Foffa D, Dunne EM, Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ, Fraser NC, Brusatte SL, Farnsworth A, Lunt DJ, Valdes PJ, Walsh, S, Barrett PM. 2022. Scleromochlus and the early evolution of Pterosauromorpha. Nature 610:313–318.

154. Bestwick J, Jones AS, Nesbitt SJ, Lautenschlager S, Rayfield EJ, Cuff AR, Button DJ, Barrett PM, Porro LB, Butler RJ. 2022. Cranial functional morphology of the pseudosuchian Effigia and implications for its ecological role in the Triassic. The Anatomical Record 305:2435–2462.

153. Schnetz L, Butler RJ, Coates MI, Sansom IJ. 2022. Skeletal and soft tissue completeness of the acanthodian fossil record. Palaeontology 65:e12616.

152. Prondvai E, Kocsis Á, Abourachid A, Adriaens D, Godefroit P, Hu D, Butler RJ. 2022. Radial Porosity Profiles: a new bone histological method for comparative developmental analysis of diametric limb bone growth. Royal Society Open Science 9: 211893.

151. Bestwick J, Godoy PL, Maidment SCR, Ezcurra MD, Wroe M, Raven TJ, Bonsor JA, Butler RJ. 2022. Relative skull size evolution in Mesozoic archosauromorphs: potential drivers and morphological uniqueness of erythrosuchid archosauriforms. Palaeontology 65:e12599.

150. Brown EE, Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Maidment SCR. 2022. Assessing conflict between early neornithischian tree topologies. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 19:1183-1206

149. Benson RBJ, Godoy P, Bronzati M, Butler RJ, Gearty W. 2022. Reconstructed evolutionary patterns for crocodile-line archosaurs demonstrate impact of failure to log-transform body size data. Communications Biology 5:171.

148. Butler RJ, Fernandez V, Nesbitt SJ, Leite J, Gower DJ. 2022. A new pseudosuchian archosaur from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania. Royal Society Open Science 9:211622.

147. Ma W, Pittman M, Butler RJ, Lautenschlager S. 2022. Macroevolutionary trends in theropod dinosaur feeding mechanics. Current Biology 32:677–686.

 

2021

146. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Close RA, Saupe E, Rabosky DL. 2021. Biodiversity in time and space in the fossil record. Current Biology 31:R1225–R1236.

145. Spiekman S, Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ, Fraser NC, Maidment SCR. 2021. Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales. Royal Society Open Science 8:210915.

144. Panciroli E, Benson RBJ, Fernandez V, Butler RJ, Fraser NC, Luo Z-X, Walsh S. 2021. New species of mammaliaform and the cranium of Borealestes (Mammaliaformes: Docodonta) from the Middle Jurassic of the British Isles. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 192:1323–1362.

143. Tolchard R, Kammerer C, Butler RJ, Hendrickx C, Benoit J, Abdala F, Choiniere JN. 2021. A new large gomphodont from the Triassic of South Africa and its implications for Gondwanan biostratigraphy. Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology 41:e1929265.

142. Breeden BT, Raven TJ, Butler RJ, Rowe T, Maidment SCR. 2021. The anatomy and palaeobiology of the early armoured dinosaur Scutellosaurus lawleri (Ornithischia: Thyreophora) from the Kayenta Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Arizona. Royal Society Open Science 8: 201676.

141. Cashmore DD, Butler RJ, Maidment SCR. 2021. Taxonomic identification bias does not drive patterns of abundance and diversity in theropod dinosaurs. Biology Letters 17:20210168.

140. Radermacher VJ, Fernandez V, Schachner ER, Butler RJ, Bordy EM, Hudgins MN, de Klerk WJ, Chapelle KEJ, Choiniere JN. 2021. A new Heterodontosaurus specimen elucidates the unique ventilatory macroevolution of ornithischian dinosaurs. eLife 10:e66036.

139. Maidment SCR, Dean CD, Mansergh R, Butler RJ. 2021. Deep-time biodiversity patterns and the dinosaurian fossil record of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior, North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288: 20210692.

138. Bestwick J, Jones AS, Purnell MA, Butler RJ. 2021. Dietary constraints of phytosaurian reptiles revealed by dental microwear textural analysis. Palaeontology 64: 119–136.

137. Dunne EM, Farnsworth A, Greene SE, Lunt DJ, Butler RJ. 2021. Climatic drivers of latitudinal variation in Late Triassic tetrapod diversity. Palaeontology 64: 101–117.

136. Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ, Maidment SCR, Sansom IJ, Meade LE, Radley JD. 2021. A revision of the early neotheropod genus Sarcosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Sinemurian) of central England. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191:113–149.

2020

135. Foffa D, Butler RJ, Nesbitt SJ, Walsh S, Barrett PM, Brusatte SL, Fraser NC. 2020. Revision of Erpetosuchus (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) and new erpetosuchid material from the Late Triassic ‘Elgin Reptile’ fauna based on µCT scanning techniques. Earth & Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 111: 209–233.

134. Panciroli E, Benson RBJ, Walsh S, Butler RJ, Castro T, Jones MEH, Evans SE. Diverse vertebrate assemblage of the Kilmaluag Formation (Bathonian) of Skye, Scotland. Earth & Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 111: 135–156.

133. Maidment SCR, Sennikov AG, Ezcurra MD, Dunne EM, Gower DJ, Hedrick BP, Meade LE, Raven TJ, Paschchenko DI, Butler RJ. 2020. The postcranial skeleton of the erythrosuchid archosauriform Garjainia prima from the Early Triassic of European Russia. Royal Society Open Science 7.

132. Cashmore DD, Mannion PD, Upchurch P, Butler RJ. 2020. Ten more years of discovery: revisiting the quality of the sauropodomorph dinosaur fossil record. Palaeontology 63:951–978.

 

131. Bestwick J, Unwin DM, Butler RJ, Purnell MA. 2020. Dietary diversity and evolution of the earliest true flying vertebrates revealed by dental microwear texture analysis. Nature Communications 11:5293.

130. Montefeltro FC, Lautenschlager S, Godoy PL, Ferreira GS, Butler RJ. 2020. A unique predator in a unique ecosystem: modelling the apex predator within a Late Cretaceous crocodyliform-dominated fauna from Brazil. Journal of Anatomy 237:323–333.

129. Pinheiro FL, Oliveira D, Butler RJ. 2020. Osteology of the archosauromorph Teyujagua paradoxa and the early evolution of the archosauriform skull. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 189:378–417.

128. Close RA, Benson RBJ, Saupe EE, Clapham ME, Butler RJ. 2020. The spatial structure of Phanerozoic marine animal diversity. Science 368:420–424.

127. Close RA, Benson RBJ, Alroy J, Carrano MT, Cleary TJ, Dunne EM, Mannion PD, Uhen MD, Butler RJ. 2020. The apparent exponential radiation of Phanerozoic land vertebrates is an artefact of spatial sampling biases. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287:20200372.

126. Scheyer TM, Spiekman SNF, Sues H-D, Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ, Jones MEH. 2020. Colobops: a juvenile rhynchocephalian reptile (Lepidosauromorpha), not a diminutive archosauromorph with an unusually strong bite. Royal Society Open Science 7.

125. Ezcurra MD, Jones AS, Gentil AR, Butler RJ. 2020. Early archosauromorphs: the crocodile and dinosaur precursors. Encyclopedia of Geology, 2nd edition.

124. Bird HC, Milner AC, Shillito AP, Butler RJ. 2020. A lower Carboniferous (Visean) tetrapod trackway represents the earliest record of an edopoid amphibian from the UK. Journal of the Geological Society 177:276–282.

123. Brown EE, Butler RJ, Ezcurra MD, Bhullar B-A, Lautenschlager S. 2020. Endocranial anatomy and life habits of the Early Triassic archosauriform Proterosuchus fergusi. Palaeontology 63:255–282.

2019

122. Butler RJ, Sennikov AG, Dunne EM, Ezcurra MD, Hedrick B, Maidment SCR, Meade LE, Raven TJ, Gower DJ. 2019. Cranial anatomy and taxonomy of the erythrosuchid archosauriform Vjushkovia triplicostata Huene, 1960 from the Early Triassic of European Russia. Royal Society Open Science 6:191289.

121. Butler RJ, Sennikov AG, Ezcurra MD, Gower DJ. 2019. The last erythrosuchid? A revision of Chalishevia cothurnata Ochev, 1980 from the late Middle Triassic of European Russia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 64: 757–774.

120. Tolchard F, Nesbitt SJ, Desojo JB, Viglietti P, Butler RJ, Choiniere JN. 2019. 'Rauisuchian' material from the lower Elliot Formation of South Africa and Lesotho: implications for Late Triassic biogeography and biostratigraphy. Journal of African Earth Sciences 160:103610.

119. Godoy PL, Benson RBJ, Bronzati M, Butler RJ. 2019. The multi-peak adaptive landscape of crocodylomorph body size evolution. BMC Evolutionary Biology 19:167.

118. Cashmore DD, Butler RJ. 2019. Skeletal completeness of the non-avian theropod dinosaur fossil record. Palaeontology 62:951–981.

117. Kammerer CF, Viglietti PA, Hancox J, Butler RJ, Choiniere JN. 2019. A new kannemeyeriiform dicynodont (Ufudocyclops mukanelai gen. et sp. nov.) from Subzone C of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (Triassic of South Africa) with implications for biostratigraphic correlation with other African Triassic faunas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 39:e1596921.

116. Lehmann OER, Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ, Lloyd GT. 2019. Biases in disparity analyses with the generalized Euclidean distance. Palaeontology 62:837–849.

115. Butler RJ, Jones AS, Buffetaut E, Mandl G, Scheyer T, Schultz O. 2019. Description and phylogenetic placement of a new marine species of phytosaur (Archosauriformes: Phytosauria) from the Late Triassic of Austria. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 187:198–228.

114. Brown EE, Cashmore DD, Simmons NB, Butler RJ. 2019. Quantifying the completeness of the bat fossil record. Palaeontology 62:757–776.

113. Butler RJ, Ezcurra MD, Liu J, Sookias RB, Sullivan C. 2019. The anatomy and phylogenetic position of the erythrosuchid archosauriform Guchengosuchus shiguaiensis from the earliest Middle Triassic of China. PeerJ 7:e6435.

112. Close RA, Benson RBJ, Alroy J, Behrensmeyer AK, Benito J, Carrano MT, Cleary TJ, Dunne EM, Mannion PD, Uhen MD, Butler RJ. 2019. Diversity dynamics of Phanerozoic terrestrial tetrapods at the local-community scale. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3:590–597.

111. Marsola JCA, Bittencourt JS, Butler RJ, Da Rosa AAS, Sayão JM, Langer MC. 2019. A new dinosaur with theropod affinities from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation, South Brazil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e1531878.

110. Marsola JCA, Ferreira GS, Langer MC, Button DJ, Butler RJ. 2019. Increases in sampling support the southern Gondwanan hypothesis for the origin of dinosaurs. Palaeontology 62:473–482.

109. Ezcurra MD, Gower DJ, Sennikov A, Butler RJ. 2019. The osteology of the holotype of the early erythrosuchid Garjainia prima Ochev, 1958 (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the upper Lower Triassic of European Russia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 185:717–783.

108. Hedge J, Shillito AP, Davies NS, Butler RJ, Sansom IJ. 2019. Invertebrate trace fossils from the Alveley Member, Salop Formation (Pennsylvanian, Carboniferous), Shropshire, UK. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 130:103–111.

2018

107. Jones AS, Butler RJ. 2018. A new phylogenetic analysis of Phytosauria (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) with the application of continuous and geometric morphometric character coding. PeerJ 6:e5901.

106. Bestwick J, Unwin DM, Butler RJ, Henderson DM, Purnell MA. 2018. Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches. Biological Reviews 93:2021–2048.

105. Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ. 2018. The rise of the ruling reptiles and ecosystem recovery from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285:20180361.

104. Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ, Ezcurra MD, Charig AJ, Barrett PM. 2018. The anatomy of Teleocrater rhadinus, an early avemetatarsalian from the lower portion of the Lifua Member of the Manda Beds (Middle Triassic); pp. 142–177 in C. A. Sidor, S. J. Nesbitt (eds.), Vertebrate and Climatic Evolution in the Triassic Rift Basins of Tanzania and Zambia. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 17. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 37 (6, Supplement).

103. Butler RJ, Nesbitt SJ, Charig AJ, Gower DJ, Barrett PM. 2018. Mandasuchus tanyauchen, gen. et sp. nov., a pseudosuchian archosaur from the Manda Beds (?Middle Triassic) of Tanzania; pp. 96–121 in C. A. Sidor, S. J. Nesbitt (eds.), Vertebrate and Climatic Evolution in the Triassic Rift Basins of Tanzania and Zambia. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 17. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 37 (6, Supplement).

102. Panciroli E, Benson RBJ, Butler RJ. 2018. New partial dentaries of amphitheriid mammalian Palaeoxonodon ooliticus from Scotland, and posterior dentary morphology in early cladotherians. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 63:197–206.

101. Godoy PL, Ferreira GS, Montefeltro FC, Vila Nova BC, Butler RJ, Langer MC. 2018. Evidence for heterochrony in the cranial evolution of fossil crocodyliforms. Palaeontology 61:543–558.

100. Close RA, Alroy J, Evers SW, Butler RJ. 2018. How should we estimate diversity in the fossil record? Testing richness estimators using sampling-standardised discovery curves. Methods in Ecology & Evolution 9:1386–1400.

99. Dunne EM, Close RA, Button DJ, Brocklehurst N, Cashmore DD, Lloyd GT, Butler RJ. 2018. Diversity change during the rise of tetrapods and the impact of the ‘Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse’. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285:20172730.

 

2017

98. Tutin S, Butler RJ. 2017. The completeness of the fossil record of plesiosaurs, marine reptiles from the Mesozoic. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 62:563–573.

97. Button DJ, Lloyd GT, Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ. 2017. Mass extinctions drove global faunal cosmopolitanism on the supercontinent Pangaea. Nature Communications 8:733.

96. Close RA, Benson RBJ, Upchurch P, Butler RJ. 2017. Controlling for the species-area effect supports constrained long-term Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate diversification. Nature Communications 8:15381.

95. Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ, Ezcurra MD, Barrett PM, Stocker MR, Angielczyk KD, Smith RMH, Sidor CA, Niedźwiedzki G, Sennikov A, Charig AJ. 2017.The earliest bird-line archosaurs and the assembly of the dinosaur body plan. Nature 544:484–487.

2016

94. Meade LE, Jones AS, Butler RJ. 2016. A revision of tetrapod footprints from the late Carboniferous of the West Midlands, UK. PeerJ 4:e2718. 

93. McPhee BW, Upchurch P, Mannion PD, Sullivan C, Butler RJ, Barrett PM. 2016. A revision of Sanpasaurus yaoi Young, 1944 from the Early Jurassic of China, and its relevance to the early evolution of Sauropoda (Dinosauria). PeerJ 4:e2578

92. Foth C, Ezcurra M, Sookias RB, Brusatte SL, Butler RJ. 2016. Unappreciated diversification of stem archosaurs during the Middle Triassic predated the dominance of dinosaurs. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16:188. 

91. Lautenschlager S, Butler RJ. 2016. Neural and endocranial anatomy of Triassic phytosaurian reptiles and convergence with fossil and modern crocodylians. PeerJ 4:e2251.

90. Sobral G, Sookias RB, Bhullar B-AS, Smith RMH, Butler RJ, Müller J. 2016. New information on the braincase and inner ear of Euparkeria capensis Broom: implications for diapsid and archosaur evolution. Royal Society Open Science 3:160072.

89. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Yates AM, Baron MG, Choniere JN. 2016. New specimens of the basal ornithischian dinosaur Lesothosaurus diagnosticus Galton, 1978 from the Early Jurassic of South Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 50:48–63. 

88. Pinheiro FL, De França MAG, Lacerda MB, Butler RJ, Schultz CL. 2016. An exceptional fossil skull from South America illuminates the origins of the archosauriform radiation. Scientific Reports 6:22817. 

 

87. Dean CD, Mannion PD, Butler RJ. 2016. Preservational bias controls the fossil record of pterosaurs. Palaeontology 59:225–247. 

86. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Alroy J, Mannion PD, Carrano MT, Lloyd GT. 2016. Near-stasis in the long-term diversification of Mesozoic tetrapods. PLoS Biology 14:e1002359. 

85. Kammerer, CF, Butler RJ, Bandyopadhyay S, Stocker MR. 2016. Relationships of the Indian phytosaur Parasuchus hislopi Lydekker, 1885. Papers in Palaeontology 2:1–23.  

84. Ezcurra MD, Montefeltro F, Butler RJ. 2016. The early evolution of rhynchosaurs. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 3:142. 

2015

 

83. Mannion PD, Benson RBJ, Carrano MT, Tennant JP, Judd J, Butler RJ. 2015. Climate constrains the evolutionary history and biodiversity of crocodylians. Nature Communications 6:8438. 

82. Liu J, Butler RJ, Sullivan C, Ezcurra MD. 2015. “Chasmatosaurus ultimus”, a putative proterosuchid archosauriform from the Middle Triassic, is an indeterminate crown archosaur. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35:e965779. 

81. Upchurch P, Andres B, Butler RJ, Barrett PM. An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates. Historical Biology 27:697–717.

 

80. Butler RJ, Ezcurra MD, Montefeltro FC, Samathi A, Sobral G. 2015. A new species of basal rhynchosaur (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the early Middle Triassic of South Africa, and the early evolution of Rhynchosauria. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 174:571–588. 

79. Brusatte SL, Butler RJ, Mateus O, Steyer JS. 2015. A new species of Metoposaurus from the Late Triassic of Portugal and comments on the systematics and biogeography of metoposaurid temnospondyls. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35:e912988. 

78. Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ. 2015. Post-hatchling cranial ontogeny in the Early Triassic diapsid reptile Proterosuchus fergusi. Journal of Anatomy 226:387–402. 

77. Brusatte SL, Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Carrano MT, Evans DC, Lloyd GT, Mannion PD, Norell MA, Peppe DJ, Upchurch P, Williamson TE. 2015. The extinction of the dinosaurs. Biological Reviews 90:628–642. 

76. Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ. Taxonomy of the proterosuchid archosauriforms (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the earliest Triassic of South Africa, and implications for the early archosauriform radiation. Palaeontology 58:141–170. 

2014

75. Sookias RB, Sullivan C, Liu J, Butler RJ. 2014. Systematics of putative euparkeriids (Diapsida: Archosauriformes) from the Triassic of China. PeerJ 2:e658. 

74. Sookias RB, Sennikov AG, Gower DJ, Butler RJ. 2014. The monophyly of Euparkeriidae (Reptilia: Archosauriformes) and the origins of crown Archosauria: a revision of Dorosuchus neoetus from the Middle Triassic of Russia. Palaeontology 57:1177–1202.  

73. Niedźwiedzki G, Brusatte SL, Sulej T, Butler RJ. 2014. Basal dinosauriform and theropod dinosaurs from the middle-late Norian (Late Triassic) of Poland: implications for Triassic dinosaur evolution and distribution. Palaeontology 57:1121–1142. 

72. Gower DJ, Hancox PJ, Botha-Brink J, Sennikov AG, Butler RJ. 2014. A new species of Garjainia Ochev, 1958 (Diapsida: Archosauriformes: Erythrosuchidae) from the Early Triassic of South Africa. PLoS ONE 9:e111154.

71. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Mundil R, Scheyer TM, Irmis RB, Sánchez-Villagra MR. 2014. A palaeoequatorial ornithischian and new constraints on early dinosaur diversification. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281:20141147.  

70. Mateus O, Butler RJ, Brusatte SL, Steyer JS, Whiteside JH. 2014. The first phytosaur (Diapsida, Archosauriformes) from the Late Triassic of the Iberian Peninsula. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34:970–975.

69. Butler RJ, Sullivan C, Ezcurra MD, Liu J, Lecuona A, Sookias RB. 2014. New clade of enigmatic early archosaurs yields insights into early pseudosuchian phylogeny and the biogeography of the archosaur radiation. BMC Evolutionary Biology 14:128.

68. Benson RBJ, Frigot RA, Goswami A, Andres B, Butler RJ. 2014. Competition and constraint drove Cope's rule in the evolution of giant flying reptiles. Nature Communications 5:3567.

67. Ezcurra MD, Scheyer T, Butler RJ. 2014. The origin and early evolution of Sauria: reassessing the Permian saurian fossil record and the timing of the crocodile-lizard divergence. PLOS ONE 9:e89165.

66. Butler RJ, Rauhut OWM, Stocker MR, Bronowicz R. 2014. Redescription of the phytosaurs Paleorhinus ("Francosuchus") angustifrons and Ebrachosuchus neukami from Germany, with implications for Late Triassic biochronology. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 170:155–208. 

2013

65. Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ, Gower DJ. 2013. A new archosauriform (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Manda beds (Middle Triassic) of southwestern Tanzania. PLOS ONE 8:e72753.

64. Niedźwiedzki G, Brusatte SL, Butler RJ. 2013. Prorotodactylus and Rotodactylus tracks: an ichnological record of dinosauromorphs from the Early–Middle Triassic of Poland. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt SJ, Desojo JB, Irmis RB (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications 379:319–351.

63. Stocker MR, Butler RJ. 2013. Phytosauria. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt SJ, Desojo JB, Irmis RB (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications 379:91–117.

62. Sookias RB, Butler RJ. 2013. Euparkeriidae. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt SJ, Desojo JB, Irmis RB (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications 379:35–48.

61. Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ, Gower DJ. 2013. Proterosuchia: the origin and early history of Archosauriformes. In: Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin, Nesbitt SJ, Desojo JB, Irmis RB (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publications 379:9–33.

60. Butler RJ. 2013. “Francosuchustrauthi is not Paleorhinus: implications for Late Triassic vertebrate biostratigraphy. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33:858–864.

59. Toljagić O, Butler RJ. 2013. The Triassic/Jurassic mass extinction as trigger for the Mesozoic radiation of crocodylomorphs. Biology Letters 9:20130095.

58. Benson RBJ, Mannion PD, Butler RJ, Upchurch P, Goswami A, Evans SE. 2013. Cretaceous tetrapod fossil record sampling and faunal turnover: implications for biogeography and the rise of modern clades. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 372:88–107.

57. Butler RJ, Benson RBJ, Barrett PM. 2013. Pterosaur diversity: untangling the influences of sampling biases, Lagerstätten, and genuine biodiversity signals. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 372:78–87.

56. Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ. 2013. Redescription of the archosaur Parringtonia gracilis from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania, and the antiquity of Erpetosuchidae. Geological Magazine 150:225–238.

55. Butler RJ, Yates AM, Rauhut OWM, Foth C. A pathological tail in a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from South Africa: evidence of traumatic amputation? Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33:224–228.

54. Brusatte SL, Butler RJ, Niedźwiedzki G, Sulej T, Bronowicz R, Satkunas J. 2013. First record of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from Lithuania: phytosaurs (Diapsida: Archosauriformes) of probable Late Triassic age, with a review of phytosaur biogeography. Geological Magazine 150:110–121.

2012

53. Han F-L, Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Xu X. 2012. Postcranial anatomy of Jeholosaurus shangyuanensis (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32:1370–1395.

52. Ősi A, Prondvai E, Butler RJ, Weishampel DB. 2012. Phylogeny, histology and inferred body size evolution in a new rhabdodontid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Hungary. PLOS ONE 7:e44318.

51. Mannion PD, Benson RBJ, Upchurch P, Butler RJ, Carrano MT, Barrett PM. 2012. A temperate palaeodiversity peak in Mesozoic dinosaurs and evidence for Late Cretaceous geographical partitioning. Global Ecology and Biogeography 21:898–908.

50. Sookias RB, Benson RBJ, Butler RJ. 2012. Biology, not environment, drives major temporal patterns in terrestrial tetrapod body size. Biology Letters 8:674–677.

49. Brusatte SL, Butler RJ, Prieto-Marquez A, Norell MA. 2012. Dinosaur morphological diversity and the end-Cretaceous extinction. Nature Communications 3:804.

48. Foth C, Brusatte SL, Butler RJ. 2012. Do different disparity proxies converge on a common signal? Insights from the cranial morphometrics and evolutionary history of Pterosauria (Diapsida: Archosauria). Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25:904–915.

47. Sookias RB, Butler RJ, Benson RBJ. 2012. Rise of dinosaurs reveals major body size transitions are driven by passive processes of trait evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279:2180–2187.

46. Butler RJ, Porro LB, Galton PM, Chiappe LM. 2012. Anatomy and cranial functional morphology of the small-bodied dinosaur Fruitadens haagarorum (Ornithischia: Heterodontosauridae) from the Upper Jurassic of the USA. PLOS ONE 7:e31556.

45. Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Gower DJ. 2012. Reassessment of the evidence for postcranial skeletal pneumaticity in Triassic archosaurs, and the early evolution of the avian respiratory system. PLOS ONE 7:e34094.

44. Butler RJ, Brusatte SL, Andres B, Benson RBJ. 2012. How do rock record biases affect studies of disparity in deep time? A case study of the Pterosauria (Reptilia: Archosauria). Evolution 66:147–162.

43. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Carrano MT, O’Connor PM. 2012. Air-filled postcranial bones in theropod dinosaurs: physiological implications and the ‘reptile’-bird transition. Biological Reviews 87:168­–193.

 

 

2011

42. Butler RJ, Brusatte SL, Reich M, Nesbitt SJ, Schoch RR, Hornung JJ. 2011. The sail-backed reptile Ctenosauriscus from the latest Early Triassic of Germany and the timing and biogeography of the early archosaur radiation. PLOS ONE 6:e25693.

41. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Twitchett RJ, Hutt S. 2011. New material of Valdosaurus canaliculatus (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of southern England. Special Papers in Palaeontology 86:131–163.

40. Upchurch P, Mannion PD, Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Carrano MT. 2011. Geological and anthropogenic controls on the sampling of the terrestrial fossil record: a case study from the Dinosauria. In: Comparing the Geological and Fossil Records: Implications for Biodiversity Studies, McGowan AJ, Smith AB (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publication 358:209–240.

39. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ. 2011. Uncovering the diversification history of marine tetrapods: ecology influences the effect of geological sampling biases. In: Comparing the Geological and Fossil Records: Implications for Biodiversity Studies, McGowan AJ, Smith AB (eds). Geological Society, London, Special Publication 358:191–207.

38. Norman DB, Crompton AW, Butler RJ, Porro LB, Charig AC. 2011. The Lower Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur Heterodontosaurus tucki Crompton and Charig, 1962: cranial anatomy, functional morphology, taxonomy and relationships. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163:182–276.

37. Butler RJ, Jin L, Chen J, Godefroit P. 2011. The postcranial osteology and phylogenetic position of the small ornithischian dinosaur Changchunsaurus parvus from the Quantou Formation (Cretaceous: Aptian-Cenomanian) of Jilin Province, northeastern China. Palaeontology 54:667–683.

36. Butler RJ, Benson RBJ, Carrano MT, Mannion PD, Upchurch P. 2011. Sea-level, dinosaur diversity, and sampling biases: investigating the ‘common cause’ hypothesis in the terrestrial realm. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278:1165–1170.

35. Brusatte SL, Niedźwiedzki G, Butler RJ. 2011. Footprints pull origin and diversification of dinosaur stem-lineage deep into Early Triassic. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278:1107–1113.

34. Porro LB, Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Moore-Fay S, Abel RL. 2011. New heterodontosaurid specimens from the Lower Jurassic of southern Africa and the early ornithischian dinosaur radiation. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101:351–366.

33. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Nesbitt SJ. 2011. The roles of herbivory and omnivory in early dinosaur evolution. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101:383–396.

 

 

2010

32. Wang X, Pan R, Butler RJ, Barrett PM. 2010. The postcranial skeleton of the iguanodontian ornithopod Jinzhousaurus yangi from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101:135–159.

31. Butler RJ. 2010. The anatomy of the basal ornithischian dinosaur Eocursor parvus from the lower Elliot Formation (Late Triassic) of South Africa. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160:648–684.

30. Brusatte SL, Nesbitt SJ, Irmis RB, Butler RJ, Benton MJ, Norell MA. 2010. The origin and early radiation of dinosaurs. Earth-Science Reviews 101:68–100.

29. Ősi A, Butler RJ, Weishampel DB. 2010. A Late Cretaceous ceratopsian dinosaur from Europe with Asian affinities. Nature 465:466–468.

28. Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Kenrick P, Penn MG. 2010. Testing coevolutionary hypotheses over geological timescales: interactions between Cretaceous dinosaurs and plants. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 100:1–15.

27. Benson RBJ, Butler RJ, Lindgren J, Smith AS. 2010. Mesozoic marine tetrapod diversity: mass extinctions and temporal heterogeneity in geological megabiases affecting vertebrates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 277:829–834.

26. Jin L, Chen J, Zan S, Butler RJ, Godefroit P. 2010. Cranial anatomy of the small ornithischian dinosaur Changchunsaurus parvus from the Quantou Formation (Cretaceous: Aptian–Cenomanian) of Jilin Province, northeastern China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30:196–214.

25. Butler RJ, Galton PM, Porro LB, Chiappe LM, Henderson DM, Erickson GM. 2010. Lower limits of ornithischian dinosaur body size inferred from a diminutive new Upper Jurassic heterodontosaurid from North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 277:375–381.

2009

24. Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Abel RL, Gower DJ. 2009. A possible ctenosauriscid archosaur from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29:1022–1031.

23. Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Gower DJ. 2009. Postcranial skeletal pneumaticity and air-sacs in the earliest pterosaurs. Biology Letters 5:557–560.

22. Brusatte SL, Butler RJ, Sulej T, Niedźwiedzki G. 2009. The taxonomy and anatomy of rauisuchian archosaurs from the Late Triassic of Germany and Poland. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54:221–230.

21. Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Nowbath S, Upchurch P. 2009. Estimating the effects of the rock record on pterosaur diversity patterns: implications for hypotheses of bird/pterosaur competitive replacement. Paleobiology 35:432–446.

20. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Wang X-L, Xu X. 2009. Cranial anatomy of the iguanodontoid ornithopod Jinzhousaurus yangi from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54:35–48.

19. Butler RJ, Sullivan RM. 2009. The phylogenetic position of the ornithischian dinosaur Stenopelix valdensis from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany: implications for the early fossil record of Pachycephalosauria. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54:21–34.

18. Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Kenrick P, Penn MG. 2009. Diversity patterns amongst dinosaurs and plants during the Cretaceous: implications for hypotheses of dinosaur/angiosperm co-evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22:446–459.

17. Butler RJ, Barrett PM, Kenrick P, Penn MG. 2009. Testing co-evolutionary hypotheses over geological timescales: interactions between Mesozoic non-avian dinosaurs and cycads. Biological Reviews 84:73–89.

16. Butler RJ, Zhao Q. 2009. The small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs Micropachycephalosaurus hongtuyanensis and Wannanosaurus yansiensis from the Late Cretaceous of China. Cretaceous Research 30:63–77.

 

PUBLICATION LIST

2008

15. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Edwards NP, Milner AR. 2008. Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas. Zitteliana B 28:61–107.

14. Butler RJ, Upchurch P, Norman DB. 2008. The phylogeny of the ornithischian dinosaurs. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6:1–40.

13. Butler RJ, Porro LB, Norman DB. 2008. A juvenile skull of the primitive ornithischian Heterodontosaurus tucki from the ‘Stormberg’ of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28:702–711.

12. Butler RJ, Goswami A. 2008. Body size evolution in Mesozoic birds: little evidence for Cope's rule. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 26:1673–1682.

11. Butler RJ, Barrett PM. 2008. Palaeoenvironmental controls on the distribution of Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaurs. Naturwissenschaften 95:1027–1032.

10. Butler RJ, Galton PM. 2008. The ‘dermal armour’ of the Wealden dinosaur Hypsilophodon: a reappraisal. Cretaceous Research 29:636–642.

9. Chen J, Butler RJ, Jin L. 2008. New material of large-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs, including an iguanodontian ornithopod, from the Quantou Formation (middle Cretaceous: Aptian–Cenomanian) of Jilin Province, northeastern China. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 248:309–314.

8. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Novas FE, Moore-Fay S, Moody JM, Clark JM, Sanchez-Villagra MR. 2008. Dinosaur remains from the La Quinta Formation (Lower or Middle Jurassic) of the Venezuelan Andes. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 82:163–177.

2005–2007

7. Butler RJ, Smith RMH, Norman DB. 2007. A primitive ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa, and the early evolution and diversification of Ornithischia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 274:2041–2046.

6. Norman DB, Butler RJ, Maidment SCR. 2007. Reconsidering the status and affinities of the ornithischian dinosaur Tatisaurus oehleri Simmons, 1965. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 150:865–874.

5. Butler RJ, Upchurch P. 2007. The problem of highly incomplete taxa and the phylogenetic relationships of the theropod dinosaur Juravenator starki. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27:253–256.

4. Corfe IJ, Butler RJ. 2006. Comment on ‘A Well-Preserved Archaeopteryx Specimen with Theropod Features’. Science 313:1238.

3. Butler RJ, Porro LB, Heckert AB. 2006. A supposed heterodontosaurid tooth from the Rhaetian of Switzerland and a reassessment of the European Late Triassic record of Ornithischia (Dinosauria). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte 10:613–633.

2. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Knoll F. 2005. Small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25:823–834.

1. Butler RJ. 2005. The ‘fabrosaurid’ ornithischian dinosaurs of the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of South Africa and Lesotho. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145:175–218.

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