Mohamad Bazzi

All Publications

• The famous fish beds of Lebanon: the Upper Cretaceous Lagerstätten of Haqel, Hjoula, Nammoura and Sahel Aalma JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY George, H., Bazzi, M., El Hossny, T., Ashraf, N., Saad, P., Clements, T. 2024; 181 (5)

  View details for DOI 10.1144/jgs2023-210

  View details for Web of Science ID 001270254000002

• A unique example of the Late Cretaceous horseshoe crab <i>Tachypleus syriacus</i> preserves transitional bromalites ALCHERINGA Bicknell, R. C., Bazzi, M., Meling, C., Rashkova, A., Pankowski, M. V., Botton, M., Cuomo, C. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1080/03115518.2024.2348748

  View details for Web of Science ID 001228205500001

• Cautionary tales on the use of proxies to estimate body size and form of extinct animals. Ecology and evolution Gayford, J. H., Engelman, R. K., Sternes, P. C., Itano, W. M., Bazzi, M., Collareta, A., Salas-Gismondi, R., Shimada, K. 2024; 14 (9): e70218

  Abstract

  Body size is of fundamental importance to our understanding of extinct organisms. Physiology, ecology and life history are all strongly influenced by body size and shape, which ultimately determine how a species interacts with its environment. Reconstruction of body size and form in extinct animals provides insight into the dynamics underlying community composition and faunal turnover in past ecosystems and broad macroevolutionary trends. Many extinct animals are known only from incomplete remains, necessitating the use of anatomical proxies to reconstruct body size and form. Numerous limitations affecting the appropriateness of these proxies are often overlooked, leading to controversy and downstream inaccuracies in studies for which reconstructions represent key input data. In this perspective, we discuss four prominent case studies (Dunkleosteus, Helicoprion, Megalodon and Perucetus) in which proxy taxa have been used to estimate body size and shape from fragmentary remains. We synthesise the results of these and other studies to discuss nuances affecting the validity of taxon selection when reconstructing extinct organisms, as well as mitigation measures that can ensure the selection of the most appropriate proxy. We argue that these precautionary measures are necessary to maximise the robustness of reconstructions in extinct taxa for better evolutionary and ecological inferences.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ece3.70218

  View details for PubMedID 39224151

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11368419

• Static Dental Disparity and Morphological Turnover in Sharks across the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction CURRENT BIOLOGY Bazzi, M., Kear, B. P., Blom, H., Ahlberg, P. E., Campione, N. E. 2018; 28 (16): 2607-+

  Abstract

  The Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-Pg) mass extinction profoundly altered vertebrate ecosystems and prompted the radiation of many extant clades [1, 2]. Sharks (Selachimorpha) were one of the few larger-bodied marine predators that survived the K-Pg event and are represented by an almost-continuous dental fossil record. However, the precise dynamics of their transition through this interval remain uncertain [3]. Here, we apply 2D geometric morphometrics to reconstruct global and regional dental morphospace variation among Lamniformes (Mackerel sharks) and Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks). These clades are prevalent predators in today's oceans, and were geographically widespread during the late Cretaceous-early Palaeogene. Our results reveal a decoupling of morphological disparity and taxonomic richness. Indeed, shark disparity was nearly static across the K-Pg extinction, in contrast to abrupt declines among other higher-trophic-level marine predators [4, 5]. Nevertheless, specific patterns indicate that an asymmetric extinction occurred among lamniforms possessing low-crowned/triangular teeth and that a subsequent proliferation of carcharhiniforms with similar tooth morphologies took place during the early Paleocene. This compositional shift in post-Mesozoic shark lineages hints at a profound and persistent K-Pg signature evident in the heterogeneity of modern shark communities. Moreover, such wholesale lineage turnover coincided with the loss of many cephalopod [6] and pelagic amniote [5] groups, as well as the explosive radiation of middle trophic-level teleost fishes [1]. We hypothesize that a combination of prey availability and post-extinction trophic cascades favored extant shark antecedents and laid the foundation for their extensive diversification later in the Cenozoic [7-10].

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.093

  View details for Web of Science ID 000442111300030

  View details for PubMedID 30078565