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USGS Open-File Report 2007-1047 Short Research Paper

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USGS Open-File Report 2007-1047 Short Research Paper U.S. Geological Survey and The National Academies; USGS OF-2007-1047, Short Research Paper 003; doi:10.3133/of2007-1047.srp003 The Dinosaurs of the Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of the Central Transantarctic Mountains: Phylogenetic Review and Synthesis N. D. Smith1,2, P. J. Makovicky1, D. Pol3, W. R. Hammer4, and P. J. Currie5 1Department of Geology, The Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA ([email protected]) and ([email protected]) 2Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 1025 E. 57th Street, Culver 401, Chicago, IL 60637, USA 3CONICET, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Av. Fontana 140, Trelew 9100, Chubut, Argentina ([email protected]) 4Department of Geology, Augustana College, 639 38th street, Rock Island, IL 61201, USA ([email protected]) 5Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405 Biological Sciences Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ([email protected]) Abstract The Hanson Formation of the Central Transantarctic Mountains has yielded a diverse Early Jurassic terrestrial fauna, which includes the nearly complete theropod dinosaur, Cryolophosaurus ellioti, and a fragmentary basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. The Hanson Formation dinosaurs are important for understanding early dinosaur evolution because: 1) they preserve a mosaic of morphological traits that render them useful for interpreting poorly known parts of the dinosaur evolutionary tree; 2) they are from the Early Jurassic, a critical period in early dinosaur evolution about which knowledge is scant; and 3) they are the only known Early Jurassic dinosaurs from Antarctica, making them particularly valuable for understanding patterns of biotic interchange during this time. Recent research suggests that Cryolophosaurus belongs to a geographically widespread clade of mid-sized, Early Jurassic theropods with cranial crests that includes Dilophosaurus wetherilli, ‘Dilophosaurus’ sinensis, and Dracovenator, and renders Coelophysoidea sensu lato non-monophyletic. The Antarctic sauropodomorph represents a distinct taxon that is a member of a similarly diverse massospondylid clade. This taxon shares a number of features with more derived sauropodomorphs, and provides additional evidence for the paraphyly of Prosauropoda. The phylogenetic relationships of the Antarctic dinosaurs are also consistent with a pattern of worldwide faunal homogeneity between Early Jurassic continental biotas. Furthermore, these analyses support a “ladder-like” arrangement for basal theropod and basal sauropodomorph phylogeny, suggesting that these groups passed through “coelophysoid” and “prosauropod” stages of morphological organization early in their respective evolutionary histories. Citation: Smith, N. D., P. J. Makovicky, D. Pol, W. R. Hammer, and P. J. Currie (2007), The dinosaurs of the Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of the Central Transantarctic Mountains: Phylogenetic review and synthesis, in Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World––Online Proceedings of the 10th ISAES, edited by A. K. Cooper and C. R. Raymond et al., USGS Open-File Report 2007-1047, Short Research Paper 003, 5 p.; doi:10.3133/of2007-1047.srp003. Introduction involving Antarctica during the Early Jurassic, for which The Hanson Formation consists of siliceous siltstones, data were previously lacking. tuffs, and tuffaceous sandstones, and outcrops extensively on several peaks in the Beardmore Glacier region of the Phylogenetic Review Central Transantarctic Mountains (Elliot, 1996). It was Cryolophosaurus ellioti formally named in 1996 to differentiate its tuffaceous Hammer and Hickerson (1994) originally noted the layers from the underlying, volcanoclastic-poor Falla interesting mosaic of features present in Formation. Over the course of two field seasons of Cryolophosaurus, and though they provided no detailed collecting (1990-91, 2003-04), a quarry near the base of assessment of the taxon’s relationships, they did suggest the Hanson Formation at approximately 4,100 meters on possible affinities with Middle-Late Jurassic tetanurans. Mt. Kirkpatrick has yielded a diverse Early Jurassic Cryolophosaurus posseses a number of plesiomorphic vertebrate fauna (Hammer and Hickerson, 1994; Smith et characteristics with respect to tetanuran theropods, al., in press; Hammer and Smith, in review; Smith and concentrated primarily in the post-cranial skeleton (e.g., Pol, in review). Faunal elements include a nearly amphicoelous cervical centra, a sigmoidal femur with an complete skeleton of the theropod dinosaur anteromedially directed head, a low, triangular astragalar Cryolophosaurus ellioti, a distal left femur and articulated ascending process; Smith et al., in press). In contrast, right metatarsus of a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur (Fig. several putatively derived features are present in the skull 1), a single postcanine tooth from the right maxilla of a (e.g., the antorbital fossa extends onto the lateroventral tritylodont, and a pterosaur humerus. The phylogenetic side of the nasal, the presence of nasolacrimal crests, an relationships of these taxa have remained enigmatic, expanded anterior end of the jugal, a deep surangular, and though recent work (Smith et al., in press; Smith and Pol, a pendant medial process on the articular; Smith et al., in in review) summarized here is shedding new light on the press). This interesting combination of morphological relationships of these animals and character evolution characters, coupled with the current state of flux in basal within their respective groups. These studies also provide theropod relationships, has likely contributed to the critical preliminary information on biogeographic patterns lability of Cryolophosaurus in recent phylogenetic 10th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences Figure 1. Skull of Cryolophosaurus ellioti (FMNH PR1821) in right lateral aspect (A). Right astragalus, distal tarsals, and metatarsals I-IV of the Antarctic sauropodomorph (FMNH PR1823) in posterior aspect (B). Photographs by J. Weinstein (FMNH). analyses, which have recovered this taxon as an premaxilla to a blade-like nasal crest, a foramen at the allosauroid (Sereno et al., 1996), or as the basal-most base of the nasal process of the premaxilla, extension of tetanuran (Carrano and Sampson, 2003; Smith et al., the antorbital fossa onto the nasal, and the presence of a 2005). A recent in-depth morphological description of nasolacrimal crest (Smith et al., in press). Cryolophosaurus and comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of basal theropod dinosaurs (Smith et al., in Hanson Formation Sauropodomorph press) suggests that the traditional content of Hammer and Hickerson (1996) tentatively referred the Coelophysoidea is non-monophyletic, and that fragmentary remains of a basal sauropodomorph from the Cryolophosaurus forms a clade with some traditional Hanson Formation to the family Plateosauridae, though ‘coelophysoids’ (Dilophosaurus wetherilli), as well as this referral was not based on any detailed anatomical some newly described and poorly known Early Jurassic features beyond the relative size of the material. As with theropods (Dracovenator regenti Yates, 2005; and basal theropod systematics, the taxonomy and ‘Dilophosaurus’ sinensis Hu, 1993). This clade of phylogenetic relationships of basal sauropodomorph medium-bodied, Early Jurassic theropods is more closely dinosaurs are experiencing considerable revision, with the related to a (Neoceratosauria + Tetanurae) clade than to traditional grouping of basal members within a the more basal ‘coelophysoids’ (i.e., Liliensternus + monophyletic Prosauropoda supported or rejected to Coelophysidae; Fig. 2). Although support for varying degrees (Galton and Upchurch, 2004; Yates, relationships in this part of the tree is not robust, it 2006, 2007; Smith and Pol, in review; see also appears that the mosaic of morphological features present contributions in Barrett and Batten, 2007). Our research in these poorly known Early Jurassic taxa is driving the has revealed that the Antarctic material represents a new phylogenetic signal. Many of these taxa possess classic taxon, clearly distinguished from Plateosaurus and other ‘coelophysoid’ features (e.g., a low angle between the basal sauropodomorphs by several autapomorphic alveolar and anterior margin of the premaxilla, a subnarial features in the metatarsus (Smith and Pol, in review). A gap, a raised ventral margin of the antorbital fossa, etc.), preliminary phylogenetic analysis modified from the but also share features with more derived tetanurans comprehensive dataset of Yates (2006, 2007) suggests and/or neoceratosaurs (e.g., keyhole-shaped orbit, that the new Antarctic taxon is allied with the anteriorly positioned maxillary tooth row, lacrimal massospondylid (sensu Yates, 2006) taxa fenestra, deep surangular, etc.). The effects of missing Massospondylus, Coloradisaurus, and Lufengosaurus data on character optimization confound the identification (Smith and Pol, in review; Fig. 2). Several of unambiguous synapomorphies at the base of the synapomorphies shared by the Antarctic sauropodomorph (‘Dilophosaurus’ sinensis, Dracovenator, Dilophosaurus and one or more of these massospondylids include: the wetherilli, Cryolophosaurus) clade, though several presence of a proximolateral flange on the plantar surface features that may support this grouping include: the of metatarsal II, a well-developed facet on metatarsal II contribution of the posterodorsal process of the for articulation
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