The Status of the Sauropterygian Reptile Genera Ceresiosaurus, Lariosaurus, and Silvestrosaurus from the Middle Triassic of Europe
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Cranial Anatomy, Taxonomic Implications
[Palaeontology, Vol. 55, Part 4, 2012, pp. 743–773] CRANIAL ANATOMY, TAXONOMIC IMPLICATIONS AND PALAEOPATHOLOGY OF AN UPPER JURASSIC PLIOSAUR (REPTILIA: SAUROPTERYGIA) FROM WESTBURY, WILTSHIRE, UK by JUDYTH SASSOON1, LESLIE F. NOE` 2 and MICHAEL J. BENTON1* 1School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK; e-mails: [email protected], [email protected] 2Geociencias, departamento de Fisica, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota´ DC, Colombia; e-mail: [email protected] *Corresponding author. Typescript received 5 December 2010; accepted in revised form 6 April 2011 Abstract: Complete skulls of giant marine reptiles of the genera. The two Westbury Pliosaurus specimens share many Late Jurassic are rare, and so the discovery of the 1.8-m- features, including the form of the teeth, but marked differ- long skull of a pliosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay Forma- ences in the snout and parietal crest suggest sexual dimor- tion (Kimmeridgian) of Westbury, Wiltshire, UK, is an phism; the present specimen is probably female. The large important find. The specimen shows most of the cranial size of the animal, the extent of sutural fusion and the and mandibular anatomy, as well as a series of pathological pathologies suggest this is an ageing individual. An erosive conditions. It was previously referred to Pliosaurus brachy- arthrotic condition of the articular glenoids led to pro- spondylus, but it can be referred reliably only to the genus longed jaw misalignment, generating a suite of associated Pliosaurus, because species within the genus are currently in bone and dental pathologies. -
Foramina in Plesiosaur Cervical Centra Indicate a Specialized Vascular System
Foss. Rec., 20, 279–290, 2017 https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-279-2017 © Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Foramina in plesiosaur cervical centra indicate a specialized vascular system Tanja Wintrich1, Martin Scaal2, and P. Martin Sander1 1Bereich Paläontologie, Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany 2Institut für Anatomie II, Universität zu Köln, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9, 50937 Cologne, Germany Correspondence: Tanja Wintrich ([email protected]) Received: 16 August 2017 – Revised: 13 November 2017 – Accepted: 14 November 2017 – Published: 19 December 2017 Abstract. The sauropterygian clade Plesiosauria arose in the 1 Introduction Late Triassic and survived to the very end of the Cretaceous. A long, flexible neck with over 35 cervicals (the highest 1.1 Sauropterygian evolution and plesiosaur origins number of cervicals in any tetrapod clade) is a synapomor- phy of Pistosauroidea, the clade that contains Plesiosauria. Plesiosauria are Mesozoic marine reptiles that had a global Basal plesiosaurians retain this very long neck but greatly distribution almost from their origin in the Late Triassic reduce neck flexibility. In addition, plesiosaurian cervicals (Benson et al., 2012) to their extinction at the end of the have large, paired, and highly symmetrical foramina on the Cretaceous (Ketchum and Benson, 2010; Fischer et al., ventral side of the centrum, traditionally termed “subcentral 2017). Plesiosauria belong to the clade Sauropterygia and foramina”, and on the floor of the neural canal. We found are its most derived and only post-Triassic representatives, that these dorsal and the ventral foramina are connected by being among the most taxonomically diverse of all Meso- a canal that extends across the center of ossification of the zoic marine reptiles (Motani, 2009). -
Estimating the Evolutionary Rates in Mosasauroids and Plesiosaurs: Discussion of Niche Occupation in Late Cretaceous Seas
Estimating the evolutionary rates in mosasauroids and plesiosaurs: discussion of niche occupation in Late Cretaceous seas Daniel Madzia1 and Andrea Cau2 1 Department of Evolutionary Paleobiology, Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland 2 Independent, Parma, Italy ABSTRACT Observations of temporal overlap of niche occupation among Late Cretaceous marine amniotes suggest that the rise and diversification of mosasauroid squamates might have been influenced by competition with or disappearance of some plesiosaur taxa. We discuss that hypothesis through comparisons of the rates of morphological evolution of mosasauroids throughout their evolutionary history with those inferred for contemporary plesiosaur clades. We used expanded versions of two species- level phylogenetic datasets of both these groups, updated them with stratigraphic information, and analyzed using the Bayesian inference to estimate the rates of divergence for each clade. The oscillations in evolutionary rates of the mosasauroid and plesiosaur lineages that overlapped in time and space were then used as a baseline for discussion and comparisons of traits that can affect the shape of the niche structures of aquatic amniotes, such as tooth morphologies, body size, swimming abilities, metabolism, and reproduction. Only two groups of plesiosaurs are considered to be possible niche competitors of mosasauroids: the brachauchenine pliosaurids and the polycotylid leptocleidians. However, direct evidence for interactions between mosasauroids and plesiosaurs is scarce and limited only to large mosasauroids as the Submitted 31 July 2019 predators/scavengers and polycotylids as their prey. The first mosasauroids differed Accepted 18 March 2020 from contemporary plesiosaurs in certain aspects of all discussed traits and no evidence Published 13 April 2020 suggests that early representatives of Mosasauroidea diversified after competitions with Corresponding author plesiosaurs. -
A Revision of the Classification of the Plesiosauria with a Synopsis of the Stratigraphical and Geographical Distribution Of
LUNDS UNIVERSITETS ARSSKRIFT. N. F. Avd. 2. Bd 59. Nr l. KUNGL. FYSIOGRAFISKA SÅLLSKAPETS HANDLINGAR, N. F. Bd 74. Nr 1. A REVISION OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE PLESIOSAURIA WITH A SYNOPSIS OF THE STRATIGRAPHICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE GROUP BY PER OVE PERSSON LUND C. W. K. GLEER UP Read before the Royal Physiographic Society, February 13, 1963. LUND HÅKAN OHLSSONS BOKTRYCKERI l 9 6 3 l. Introduction The sub-order Plesiosauria is one of the best known of the Mesozoic Reptile groups, but, as emphasized by KuHN (1961, p. 75) and other authors, its classification is still not satisfactory, and needs a thorough revision. The present paper is an attempt at such a revision, and includes also a tabular synopsis of the stratigraphical and geo graphical distribution of the group. Some of the species are discussed in the text (pp. 17-22). The synopsis is completed with seven maps (figs. 2-8, pp. 10-16), a selective synonym list (pp. 41-42), and a list of rejected species (pp. 42-43). Some forms which have been erroneously referred to the Plesiosauria are also briefly mentioned ("Non-Plesiosaurians", p. 43). - The numerals in braekets after the generic and specific names in the text refer to the tabular synopsis, in which the different forms are numbered in successional order. The author has exaroined all material available from Sweden, Australia and Spitzbergen (PERSSON 1954, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1962a); the major part of the material from the British Isles, France, Belgium and Luxembourg; some of the German spec imens; certain specimens from New Zealand, now in the British Museum (see LYDEK KER 1889, pp. -
A New Plesiosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Portugal and the Early Radiation of Plesiosauroidea
A new plesiosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Portugal and the early radiation of Plesiosauroidea EDUARDO PUÉRTOLAS-PASCUAL, MIGUEL MARX, OCTÁVIO MATEUS, ANDRÉ SALEIRO, ALEXANDRA E. FERNANDES, JOÃO MARINHEIRO, CARLA TOMÁS, and SIMÃO MATEUS Puértolas-Pascual, E., Marx, M., Mateus, O., Saleiro, A., Fernandes, A.E., Marinheiro, J., Tomás, C. and Mateus, S. 2021. A new plesiosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Portugal and the early radiation of Plesiosauroidea. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 66 (2): 369–388. A new plesiosaur partial skeleton, comprising most of the trunk and including axial, limb, and girdle bones, was collected in the lower Sinemurian (Coimbra Formation) of Praia da Concha, near São Pedro de Moel in central west Portugal. The specimen represents a new genus and species, Plesiopharos moelensis gen. et sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis places this taxon at the base of Plesiosauroidea. Its position is based on this exclusive combination of characters: presence of a straight preaxial margin of the radius; transverse processes of mid-dorsal vertebrae horizontally oriented; ilium with sub-circular cross section of the shaft and subequal anteroposterior expansion of the dorsal blade; straight proximal end of the humerus; and ventral surface of the humerus with an anteroposteriorly long shallow groove between the epipodial facets. In addition, the new taxon has the following autapomorphies: iliac blade with less expanded, rounded and convex anterior flank; highly developed ischial facet of the ilium; apex of the neural spine of the first pectoral vertebra inclined posterodorsally with a small rounded tip. This taxon represents the most complete and the oldest plesiosaur species in the Iberian Peninsula. -
Evaluating the Ecology of Spinosaurus: Shoreline Generalist Or Aquatic Pursuit Specialist?
Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org Evaluating the ecology of Spinosaurus: Shoreline generalist or aquatic pursuit specialist? David W.E. Hone and Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. ABSTRACT The giant theropod Spinosaurus was an unusual animal and highly derived in many ways, and interpretations of its ecology remain controversial. Recent papers have added considerable knowledge of the anatomy of the genus with the discovery of a new and much more complete specimen, but this has also brought new and dramatic interpretations of its ecology as a highly specialised semi-aquatic animal that actively pursued aquatic prey. Here we assess the arguments about the functional morphology of this animal and the available data on its ecology and possible habits in the light of these new finds. We conclude that based on the available data, the degree of adapta- tions for aquatic life are questionable, other interpretations for the tail fin and other fea- tures are supported (e.g., socio-sexual signalling), and the pursuit predation hypothesis for Spinosaurus as a “highly specialized aquatic predator” is not supported. In contrast, a ‘wading’ model for an animal that predominantly fished from shorelines or within shallow waters is not contradicted by any line of evidence and is well supported. Spinosaurus almost certainly fed primarily from the water and may have swum, but there is no evidence that it was a specialised aquatic pursuit predator. David W.E. Hone. Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK. [email protected] Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 USA and Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560 USA. -
(Diapsida: Saurosphargidae), with Implications for the Morphological Diversity and Phylogeny of the Group
Geol. Mag.: page 1 of 21. c Cambridge University Press 2013 1 doi:10.1017/S001675681300023X A new species of Largocephalosaurus (Diapsida: Saurosphargidae), with implications for the morphological diversity and phylogeny of the group ∗ CHUN LI †, DA-YONG JIANG‡, LONG CHENG§, XIAO-CHUN WU†¶ & OLIVIER RIEPPEL ∗ Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China ‡Department of Geology and Geological Museum, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China §Wuhan Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Wuhan, 430223, PR China ¶Canadian Museum of Nature, PO Box 3443, STN ‘D’, Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4, Canada Department of Geology, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA (Received 31 July 2012; accepted 25 February 2013) Abstract – Largocephalosaurus polycarpon Cheng et al. 2012a was erected after the study of the skull and some parts of a skeleton and considered to be an eosauropterygian. Here we describe a new species of the genus, Largocephalosaurus qianensis, based on three specimens. The new species provides many anatomical details which were described only briefly or not at all in the type species, and clearly indicates that Largocephalosaurus is a saurosphargid. It differs from the type species mainly in having three premaxillary teeth, a very short retroarticular process, a large pineal foramen, two sacral vertebrae, and elongated small granular osteoderms mixed with some large ones along the lateral most side of the body. With additional information from the new species, we revise the diagnosis and the phylogenetic relationships of Largocephalosaurus and clarify a set of diagnostic features for the Saurosphargidae Li et al. -
Mesozoic Marine Reptile Palaeobiogeography in Response to Drifting Plates
ÔØ ÅÒÙ×Ö ÔØ Mesozoic marine reptile palaeobiogeography in response to drifting plates N. Bardet, J. Falconnet, V. Fischer, A. Houssaye, S. Jouve, X. Pereda Suberbiola, A. P´erez-Garc´ıa, J.-C. Rage, P. Vincent PII: S1342-937X(14)00183-X DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2014.05.005 Reference: GR 1267 To appear in: Gondwana Research Received date: 19 November 2013 Revised date: 6 May 2014 Accepted date: 14 May 2014 Please cite this article as: Bardet, N., Falconnet, J., Fischer, V., Houssaye, A., Jouve, S., Pereda Suberbiola, X., P´erez-Garc´ıa, A., Rage, J.-C., Vincent, P., Mesozoic marine reptile palaeobiogeography in response to drifting plates, Gondwana Research (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2014.05.005 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Mesozoic marine reptile palaeobiogeography in response to drifting plates To Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) Bardet N.a*, Falconnet J. a, Fischer V.b, Houssaye A.c, Jouve S.d, Pereda Suberbiola X.e, Pérez-García A.f, Rage J.-C.a and Vincent P.a,g a Sorbonne Universités CR2P, CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 38, 57 rue Cuvier, -
Sauropterygia I Placodontia, Pachypleurosauria, Nothosauroidea, Pistosauroidea
Teil 12A / Part 12A Sauropterygia I Placodontia, Pachypleurosauria, Nothosauroidea, Pistosauroidea by O. RlEPPEL With 80 Figures Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil • Munchen 2000 ISBN 3-931516-78-4 Contents Foreword (P. WELLNHOFER) V Acknowledgements VI Institutional Acronyms VII Figure Abbreviations VIII Introduction: History of the Concept of Sauropterygia 1 Phylogenetic Relationships of Stem-Group Sauropterygia 4 Stratigraphic and Geographic Distribution of Stem-Group Sauropterygia 6 General Skeletal Anatomy of Stem-Group Sauropterygia 10 Systematic Review 16 Superorder Sauropterygia OWEN, 1860 16 Order Placodontia COPE, 1871 16 Suborder Placodontoidea COPE, 1871 16 Family Paraplacodontidae PEYER & KUHN-SCHNYDER, 1955 17 Anatomy of Paraplacodontidae 17 Genus Paraplacodus PEYER, 1931 18 Family Placodontidae COPE, 1871 19 Anatomy of Placodontidae 19 Genus Placodus AGASSIZ, 1933 21 Suborder Cyamodontoidea NOPCSA, 1923 23 Anatomy of Cyamodontoidea 23 Interrelationships of Cyamodontoidea 25 Superfamily Cyamodontida NOPCSA, 1923 25 Family Henodontidae F. v. HUENE, 1948 26 Genus Henodus F. v. HUENE, 1936 26 Family Cyamodontidae NOPCSA, 1923 27 Genus Cyamodus MEYER, 1863 27 Superfamily Placochelyida ROMER, 1956 32 Family Macroplacidae nov. fam 32 Genus Macroplacus SCHUBERT-KLEMPNAUER, 1975 32 Family Protenodontosauridae nov. fam 33 Genus Protenodontosaurus PINNA, 1990 33 Family Placochelyidae ROMER, 1956 34 Genus Placochelys JAEKEL, 1902 34 Genus Psephoderma MEYER, 1858 36 Genus Psephosaurus E. FRAAS, 1896 38 Cyamodontoidea indet 39 IX Order Eosauropterygia -
Exceptional Vertebrate Biotas from the Triassic of China, and the Expansion of Marine Ecosystems After the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction
Earth-Science Reviews 125 (2013) 199–243 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Earth-Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev Exceptional vertebrate biotas from the Triassic of China, and the expansion of marine ecosystems after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction Michael J. Benton a,⁎, Qiyue Zhang b, Shixue Hu b, Zhong-Qiang Chen c, Wen Wen b, Jun Liu b, Jinyuan Huang b, Changyong Zhou b, Tao Xie b, Jinnan Tong c, Brian Choo d a School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK b Chengdu Center of China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China c State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China d Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China article info abstract Article history: The Triassic was a time of turmoil, as life recovered from the most devastating of all mass extinctions, the Received 11 February 2013 Permo-Triassic event 252 million years ago. The Triassic marine rock succession of southwest China provides Accepted 31 May 2013 unique documentation of the recovery of marine life through a series of well dated, exceptionally preserved Available online 20 June 2013 fossil assemblages in the Daye, Guanling, Zhuganpo, and Xiaowa formations. New work shows the richness of the faunas of fishes and reptiles, and that recovery of vertebrate faunas was delayed by harsh environmental Keywords: conditions and then occurred rapidly in the Anisian. The key faunas of fishes and reptiles come from a limited Triassic Recovery area in eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou provinces, and these may be dated relative to shared strati- Reptile graphic units, and their palaeoenvironments reconstructed. -
Tesis Doctoral 2018
TESIS DOCTORAL 2018 HISTORIA EVOLUTIVA DE SIMOSAURIDAE (SAUROPTERYGIA). CONTEXTO SISTEMÁTICO Y BIOGEOGRÁFICO DE LOS REPTILES MARINOS DEL TRIÁSICO DE LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA CARLOS DE MIGUEL CHAVES PROGRAMA DE DOCTORADO EN CIENCIAS FRANCISCO ORTEGA COLOMA ADÁN PÉREZ GARCÍA RESUMEN Los sauropterigios fueron un exitoso grupo de reptiles marinos que vivió durante el Mesozoico, apareciendo en el Triásico Inferior y desapareciendo a finales del Cretácico Superior. Este grupo alcanzó su máxima disparidad conocida durante el Triásico Medio e inicios del Triásico Superior, diversificándose en numerosos grupos con distintos modos de vida y adaptaciones tróficas. El registro fósil de este grupo durante el Triásico es bien conocido a nivel global, habiéndose hallado abundantes restos en Norteamérica, Europa, el norte de África, Oriente Próximo y China. A pesar del relativamente abundante registro de sauropterigios triásicos ibéricos, los restos encontrados son, por lo general, elementos aislados y poco informativos a nivel sistemático en comparación con los de otros países europeos como Alemania, Francia o Italia. En la presente tesis doctoral se realiza una puesta al día sobre el registro ibérico triásico de Sauropterygia, con especial énfasis en el clado Simosauridae, cuyo registro ibérico permanecía hasta ahora inédito. Además de la revisión de ejemplares de sauropterigios previamente conocidos, se estudian numerosos ejemplares inéditos. De esta manera, se evalúan hipótesis previas sobre la diversidad peninsular de este clado y se reconocen tanto formas definidas en otras regiones europeas y de Oriente Próximo, pero hasta ahora no identificadas en la península ibérica, como nuevos taxones. La definición de nuevas formas y el incremento de la información sobre otras previamente conocidas permiten la propuesta de hipótesis filogenéticas y la redefinición de varios taxones. -
Microstructure of Vertebrae, Ribs, and Gastralia of Triassic
Microstructure of Vertebrae, Ribs, and Gastralia of Triassic Sauropterygians-New Insights into the Microanatomical Processes Involved in Aquatic Adaptations of Marine Reptiles Nicole Klein, Aurore Canoville, Alexandra Houssaye To cite this version: Nicole Klein, Aurore Canoville, Alexandra Houssaye. Microstructure of Vertebrae, Ribs, and Gas- tralia of Triassic Sauropterygians-New Insights into the Microanatomical Processes Involved in Aquatic Adaptations of Marine Reptiles. Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolu- tionary Biology, Wiley-Blackwell, 2019, 302 (10), pp.1770-1791. 10.1002/ar.24140. hal-02351319 HAL Id: hal-02351319 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02351319 Submitted on 7 May 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Microstructure of vertebrae, ribs, and gastralia of Triassic sauropterygians – New insights into the microanatomical processes involved in aquatic adaptations of marine reptiles Nicole Klein1*, Aurore Canoville2, and Alexandra Houssaye3 1Steinmann Institute, Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany. 2 Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University & Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA. 3UMR 7179 CNRS/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Département Adaptations du Vivant, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75005 Paris, France.