The Postcranial Skeleton of Temnospondyls, and the Implications for Cladistic Analysis, Are Discussed
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New Permian Fauna from Tropical Gondwana
ARTICLE Received 18 Jun 2015 | Accepted 18 Sep 2015 | Published 5 Nov 2015 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9676 OPEN New Permian fauna from tropical Gondwana Juan C. Cisneros1,2, Claudia Marsicano3, Kenneth D. Angielczyk4, Roger M. H. Smith5,6, Martha Richter7, Jo¨rg Fro¨bisch8,9, Christian F. Kammerer8 & Rudyard W. Sadleir4,10 Terrestrial vertebrates are first known to colonize high-latitude regions during the middle Permian (Guadalupian) about 270 million years ago, following the Pennsylvanian Gondwanan continental glaciation. However, despite over 150 years of study in these areas, the bio- geographic origins of these rich communities of land-dwelling vertebrates remain obscure. Here we report on a new early Permian continental tetrapod fauna from South America in tropical Western Gondwana that sheds new light on patterns of tetrapod distribution. Northeastern Brazil hosted an extensive lacustrine system inhabited by a unique community of temnospondyl amphibians and reptiles that considerably expand the known temporal and geographic ranges of key subgroups. Our findings demonstrate that tetrapod groups common in later Permian and Triassic temperate communities were already present in tropical Gondwana by the early Permian (Cisuralian). This new fauna constitutes a new biogeographic province with North American affinities and clearly demonstrates that tetrapod dispersal into Gondwana was already underway at the beginning of the Permian. 1 Centro de Cieˆncias da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Piauı´, 64049-550 Teresina, Brazil. 2 Programa de Po´s-Graduac¸a˜o em Geocieˆncias, Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 50740-533 Recife, Brazil. 3 Departamento de Cs. Geologicas, FCEN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IDEAN- CONICET, C1428EHA Ciudad Auto´noma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. -
Stuttgarter Beiträge Zur Naturkunde
S^5 ( © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zobodat.at Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie) Herausgeber: Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, D-70191 Stuttgart Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk. Ser. B Nr. 278 175 pp., 4pls., 54figs. Stuttgart, 30. 12. 1999 Comparative osteology oi Mastodonsaurus giganteus (Jaeger, 1828) from the Middle Triassic (Lettenkeuper: Longobardian) of Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Thüringen) By Rainer R. Schoch, Stuttgart With 4 plates and 54 textfigures Abstract Mastodonsaurus giganteus, the most abundant and giant amphibian of the German Letten- keuper, is revised. The study is based on the excellently preserved and very rieh material which was excavated during road construction in 1977 near Kupferzeil, Northern Baden- Württemberg. It is shown that there exists only one diagnosable species of Mastodonsaurus, to which all Lettenkeuper material can be attributed. All finds from other horizons must be referred to as Mastodonsauridae gen. et sp. indet. because of their fragmentary Status. A sec- ond, definitely diagnostic genus of this family is Heptasaurus from the higher Middle and Upper Buntsandstein. Finally a diagnosis of the family Mastodonsauridae is provided. Ä detailed osteological description of Mastodonsaurus giganteus reveals numerous un- known or formerly inadequately understood features, yielding data on various hitherto poor- ly known regions of the skeleton. The sutures of the skull roof, which could be studied in de- tail, are significantly different from the schemes presented by previous authors. The endocra- nium and mandible are further points of particular interest. The palatoquadrate contributes a significant part to the formation of the endocranium by an extensive and complicated epi- pterygoid. -
Heber Den Archegosaurus Der Stciiikohleiiforntatioii. Wenn Auch
ZOBODAT - www.zobodat.at Zoologisch-Botanische Datenbank/Zoological-Botanical Database Digitale Literatur/Digital Literature Zeitschrift/Journal: Palaeontographica - Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte der Vorzeit Jahr/Year: 1851 Band/Volume: 1 Autor(en)/Author(s): Meyer Hermann Christian Erich von Artikel/Article: Ueber den Archegosaurus der Steinkohlenformation. 209-215 © Biodiversity Heritage Library, http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/; www.zobodat.at Heber den Archegosaurus der Stciiikohleiiforntatioii. Von Hermann von Meyer. Die Nachrichten über das Vorkommen von Reptilien in Gebilden älter als die Formation des Zechsteins hatten sich bei genauerer Prüfung immer als unhaltbar bewiesen. Man glaubte sich daher um so mehr berechtigt, anzunehmen, dass im Zechstein die ältesten Reptilien begraben lägen, als während der Versammlung der Naturforscher in Mainz Dr. Gergens und Alex. Braun mir eine Wirbelthier- Versteinerung aus dem der Steinkohlenformation angehörigen, durch seine Fische berühmten Schieferthon von Münster- Appel in der bayerschen Pfalz vorlegten, deren Beschaffenheit mehr auf ein Wirbelthier mit Füssen als auf einen Fisch schliessen Hess. Dieses merkwürdige kleine Geschöpf habe ich Anfangs 1844, es Apateon pedestris nennend, beschrieben (Jahrb. f. Min. 1844. S. 336), später aber in den Palaeontographicis (1. S. 152. Taf. 20. Fig. t.) dargelegt. Drei Jahre darauf gelang es dem Berghauptmann v. Dechen in den Sphärosideritnieren der Steinkohlenformation zu Lebach im Saarbrücken'schen, woraus zuvor ebenfalls nur Fische bekannt waren , Ueberreste zu entdecken , welche an die Gegenwart von Sauriern in diesem Ge- bilde glauben Hessen. Mit dem zu Münster-Appel gefundenen Thier stimmten sie nicht überein. Die erste Nachricht darüber theilte Goldfuss in der Niederrheinischen Gesellschaft für Natur- und Heilkunde in Bonn am 18. Februar 1847 mit. -
Gondwana Vertebrate Faunas of India: Their Diversity and Intercontinental Relationships
438 Article 438 by Saswati Bandyopadhyay1* and Sanghamitra Ray2 Gondwana Vertebrate Faunas of India: Their Diversity and Intercontinental Relationships 1Geological Studies Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B. T. Road, Kolkata 700108, India; email: [email protected] 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India; email: [email protected] *Corresponding author (Received : 23/12/2018; Revised accepted : 11/09/2019) https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2020/020028 The twelve Gondwanan stratigraphic horizons of many extant lineages, producing highly diverse terrestrial vertebrates India have yielded varied vertebrate fossils. The oldest in the vacant niches created throughout the world due to the end- Permian extinction event. Diapsids diversified rapidly by the Middle fossil record is the Endothiodon-dominated multitaxic Triassic in to many communities of continental tetrapods, whereas Kundaram fauna, which correlates the Kundaram the non-mammalian synapsids became a minor components for the Formation with several other coeval Late Permian remainder of the Mesozoic Era. The Gondwana basins of peninsular horizons of South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, India (Fig. 1A) aptly exemplify the diverse vertebrate faunas found Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar and Brazil. The from the Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic. During the last few decades much emphasis was given on explorations and excavations of Permian-Triassic transition in India is marked by vertebrate fossils in these basins which have yielded many new fossil distinct taxonomic shift and faunal characteristics and vertebrates, significant both in numbers and diversity of genera, and represented by small-sized holdover fauna of the providing information on their taphonomy, taxonomy, phylogeny, Early Triassic Panchet and Kamthi fauna. -
Tasmaniosaurus Triassicus from the Lower Triassic of Tasmania, Australia
The Osteology of the Basal Archosauromorph Tasmaniosaurus triassicus from the Lower Triassic of Tasmania, Australia Martı´n D. Ezcurra1,2* 1 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 2 GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilian-Universita¨t Mu¨nchen, Munich, Germany Abstract Proterosuchidae are the most taxonomically diverse archosauromorph reptiles sampled in the immediate aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction and represent the earliest radiation of Archosauriformes (archosaurs and closely related species). Proterosuchids are potentially represented by approximately 15 nominal species collected from South Africa, China, Russia, Australia and India, but the taxonomic content of the group is currently in a state of flux because of the poor anatomic and systematic information available for several of its putative members. Here, the putative proterosuchid Tasmaniosaurus triassicus from the Lower Triassic of Hobart, Tasmania (Australia), is redescribed. The holotype and currently only known specimen includes cranial and postcranial remains and the revision of this material sheds new light on the anatomy of the animal, including new data on the cranial endocast. Several bones are re-identified or reinterpreted, contrasting with the descriptions of previous authors. The new information provided here shows that Tasmaniosaurus closely resembles the South African proterosuchid Proterosuchus, but it differed in the presence of, for example, a slightly downturned premaxilla, a shorter anterior process of maxilla, and a diamond-shaped anterior end of interclavicle. Previous claims for the presence of gut contents in the holotype of Tasmaniosaurus are considered ambiguous. The description of the cranial endocast of Tasmaniosaurus provides for the first time information about the anatomy of this region in proterosuchids. -
A New Species of Cyclotosaurus (Stereospondyli, Capitosauria) from the Late Triassic of Bielefeld, NW Germany, and the Intrarelationships of the Genus
Foss. Rec., 19, 83–100, 2016 www.foss-rec.net/19/83/2016/ doi:10.5194/fr-19-83-2016 © Author(s) 2016. CC Attribution 3.0 License. A new species of Cyclotosaurus (Stereospondyli, Capitosauria) from the Late Triassic of Bielefeld, NW Germany, and the intrarelationships of the genus Florian Witzmann1,2, Sven Sachs3,a, and Christian J. Nyhuis4 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, G-B204, RI 02912, USA 2Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany 3Naturkundemuseum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Adenauerplatz 2, 33602 Bielefeld, Germany 4Galileo-Wissenswelt, Mummendorferweg 11b, 23769 Burg auf Fehmarn, Germany aprivate address: Im Hof 9, 51766 Engelskirchen, Germany Correspondence to: Florian Witzmann (fl[email protected]; fl[email protected]) Received: 19 January 2016 – Revised: 11 March 2016 – Accepted: 14 March 2016 – Published: 23 March 2016 Abstract. A nearly complete dermal skull roof of a capi- clotosaurus is the sister group of the Heylerosaurinae (Eo- tosaur stereospondyl with closed otic fenestrae from the mid- cyclotosaurus C Quasicyclotosaurus). Cyclotosaurus buech- dle Carnian Stuttgart Formation (Late Triassic) of Bielefeld- neri represents the only unequivocal evidence of Cycloto- Sieker (NW Germany) is described. The specimen is as- saurus (and of a cyclotosaur in general) in northern Germany. signed to the genus Cyclotosaurus based on the limited con- tribution of the frontal to the orbital margin via narrow lat- eral processes. A new species, Cyclotosaurus buechneri sp. nov., is erected based upon the following unique combina- 1 Introduction tion of characters: (1) the interorbital distance is short so that the orbitae are medially placed (shared with C. -
Palate Anatomy and Morphofunctional Aspects of Interpterygoid Vacuities in Temnospondyl Cranial Evolution
Lautenschlager, S., Witzmann, F., & Werneburg, I. (2016). Palate anatomy and morphofunctional aspects of interpterygoid vacuities in temnospondyl cranial evolution. Naturwissenschaften, 103, [79]. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-016-1402-z Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record License (if available): CC BY Link to published version (if available): 10.1007/s00114-016-1402-z Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via Springer at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-016-1402-z. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ Sci Nat (2016) 103:79 DOI 10.1007/s00114-016-1402-z ORIGINAL PAPER Palate anatomy and morphofunctional aspects of interpterygoid vacuities in temnospondyl cranial evolution Stephan Lautenschlager1 & Florian Witzmann2,3 & Ingmar Werneburg3,4,5 Received: 19 April 2016 /Revised: 1 August 2016 /Accepted: 23 August 2016 # The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Temnospondyls were the morphologically and tax- significance. Here, we applied finite element analysis, to test onomically most diverse group of early tetrapods with a near- the possibility that the interpterygoid vacuities served for global distribution during the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic. stress distribution during contraction of the jaw closing mus- Members of this group occupied a range of different habitats culature. -
Anatomy and Relationships of the Triassic Temnospondyl Sclerothorax
Anatomy and relationships of the Triassic temnospondyl Sclerothorax RAINER R. SCHOCH, MICHAEL FASTNACHT, JÜRGEN FICHTER, and THOMAS KELLER Schoch, R.R., Fastnacht, M., Fichter, J., and Keller, T. 2007. Anatomy and relationships of the Triassic temnospondyl Sclerothorax. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 52 (1): 117–136. Recently, new material of the peculiar tetrapod Sclerothorax hypselonotus from the Middle Buntsandstein (Olenekian) of north−central Germany has emerged that reveals the anatomy of the skull and anterior postcranial skeleton in detail. Despite differences in preservation, all previous plus the new finds of Sclerothorax are identified as belonging to the same taxon. Sclerothorax is characterized by various autapomorphies (subquadrangular skull being widest in snout region, ex− treme height of thoracal neural spines in mid−trunk region, rhomboidal interclavicle longer than skull). Despite its pecu− liar skull roof, the palate and mandible are consistent with those of capitosauroid stereospondyls in the presence of large muscular pockets on the basal plate, a flattened edentulous parasphenoid, a long basicranial suture, a large hamate process in the mandible, and a falciform crest in the occipital part of the cheek. In order to elucidate the phylogenetic position of Sclerothorax, we performed a cladistic analysis of 18 taxa and 70 characters from all parts of the skeleton. According to our results, Sclerothorax is nested well within the higher stereospondyls, forming the sister taxon of capitosauroids. Palaeobiologically, Sclerothorax is interesting for its several characters believed to correlate with a terrestrial life, although this is contrasted by the possession of well−established lateral line sulci. Key words: Sclerothorax, Temnospondyli, Stereospondyli, Buntsandstein, Triassic, Germany. -
Revista Brasileira De Paleontologia, 20(3), 2017
Rev. bras. paleontol. 20(3):333-344, Setembro/Dezembro 2017 © 2017 by the Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia doi:10.4072/rbp.2017.3.05 A NEW SPECIMEN OF AUSTRALERPETON COSGRIFFI BARBERENA, 1998 (STEREOSPONDYLI: RHINESUCHIDAE) FROM THE MIDDLE/UPPER PERMIAN RIO DO RASTO FORMATION, PARANÁ BASIN, BRAZIL KARINE LOHMANN AZEVEDO Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. [email protected] CRISTINA SILVEIRA VEGA Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. [email protected] MARINA BENTO SOARES Departamento de Paleontologia e Estratigrafia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, 91.540-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. [email protected] ABSTRACT – Here we present a skull and a lower jaw of a temnospondyl specimen collected from the São Jerônimo da Serra Site, an exposure of the Morro Pelado Member of the Rio do Rasto Formation (Middle/Upper Permian, Paraná Basin), Paraná State of southern Brazil. The sedimentary environment in which the fossil was preserved is characterized by a massive reddish mudstone derived from the slow deposition of fine sediments from suspended load in a terminal splay or ephemeral lake setting. The comparative anatomical description of the new specimen allows its assignment to the rhinesuchid Australerpeton cosgriffiBarberena . The new specimen represents the most complete skull and lower jaw of this species found up to date. Its high degree of ossification associated with its large skull size (58 cm long) indicates that it was a mature adult. -
A BRACHYOPID TEMNOSPONDYL from the LOWER CYNOGNATHUS ASSEMBLAGE ZONE in the NORTHERN KAROO BASIN, SOUTH AFRICA by Ross J. Damian
Palaeont. afr., 38, 57-69 (2002) A BRACHYOPID TEMNOSPONDYL FROM THE LOWER CYNOGNATHUS ASSEMBLAGE ZONE IN THE NORTHERN KAROO BASIN, SOUTH AFRICA by Ross J. Damiani and Ashleigh M. Jeannot Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa ABSTRACT A new brachyopid temnospondyl is described from the Early to Middle Triassic Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the upper Beaufort Group, Karoo Basin of South Africa. It is the fourth named brachyopid from the Karoo and the first from the northern part of the basin. Despite the incomplete nature of the holotype skull, the new brachyopid apparently shows closest affinities to Batrachosuchus watsoni. However, differences in the width of the sensory sulci, the absence of a transverse occipital sulcus, and the presence of a unique narial morphology, warrants separation at the species level. The holotype skull also provides insight into the morphology of the ventral surface of the skull roof and the configuration of the bones between the orbit and the nostril. A referTed right mandibular ramus, the most complete yet recovered of a brachyopid, also shows several unique features. A reconsideration of the taxonomy of the brachyopid genus Batrachosuchus reveals that Batrachosuchus watsoni possesses several characters distinct from the type species, Batrachosuchus browni, and is thus transfened to a new genus. In addition, 'Batrachosuchus' henwoodi and Batrachosuchus concordi probably do not pertain to the genus Batrachosuchus. Brachyopid diversity in the Karoo is exceeded only by the Mastodonsauridae and Rhinesuchidae, and they may eventually prove to be important aids in the biostratigraphy of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. -
Marzola Et Al 2017 Cyclotosaurus Greenland
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e1303501 (14 pages) Ó by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2017.1303501 ARTICLE CYCLOTOSAURUS NARASERLUKI, SP. NOV., A NEW LATE TRIASSIC CYCLOTOSAURID (AMPHIBIA, TEMNOSPONDYLI) FROM THE FLEMING FJORD FORMATION OF THE JAMESON LAND BASIN (EAST GREENLAND) MARCO MARZOLA *,1,2,3,4 OCTAVIO MATEUS 1,3 NEIL H. SHUBIN5 and LARS B. CLEMMENSEN 2 1GeoBioTec, Departamento de Ciencias^ da Terra, Faculdade de Ciencias^ e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Quinta da Torre, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal, [email protected]; [email protected]; 2Institut for Geovidenskab og Naturforvaltning (IGN), Det Natur-og Biovidenskabelige Fakultet, Københavns Universitet, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark, [email protected]; 3Museu da Lourinha,~ Rua Joao~ Luıs de Moura, 95, 2530-158 Lourinha,~ Portugal; 4Geocenter Møns Klint, Stengardsvej 8, DK-4751 Borre, Denmark; 5Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, U.S.A., [email protected] ABSTRACT—Cyclotosaurus naraserluki, sp. nov., is a new Late Triassic capitosaurid amphibian from lacustrine deposits in the Fleming Fjord Formation of the Jameson Land Basin in Greenland. It is based on a fairly complete and well-preserved skull associated with two vertebral intercentra. Previously reported as Cyclotosaurus cf. posthumus, C. naraserluki is unique among cyclotosaurs for having the postorbitals embaying the supratemporals posteromedially. The anterior palatal vacuity presents an autapomorphic complete subdivision by a wide medial premaxillary-vomerine bony connection. The parasphenoid projects between the pterygoids and the exoccipitals, preventing a suture between the two, a primitive condition shared with Rhinesuchidae, Eryosuchus, and Kupferzellia. -
Functional Morphology of Stereospondyl Amphibian Skulls
Functional Morphology of Stereospondyl Amphibian Skulls Samantha Clare Penrice Doctor of Philosophy School of Life Sciences College of Science July 2018 Functional morphology of stereospondyl amphibian skulls Stereospondyls were the most diverse clade of early tetrapods, spanning 190 million years, with over 250 species belonging to eight taxonomic groups. They had a range of morphotypes and have been found on every continent. Stereospondyl phylogeny is widely contested and repeatedly examined but despite these studies, we are still left with the question, why were they so successful and why did they die out? A group-wide analysis of functional morphology, informing us about their palaeobiology, was lacking for this group and was carried out in order to address the questions of their success and demise. Based on an original photograph collection, size independent skull morphometrics were used, in conjunction with analyses of the fossil record and comparative anatomy, to provide a synthesis of the functional morphology of stereospondyl amphibians. Stereospondyls originated in the Carboniferous and most taxonomic groups were extinct at the end of the Triassic. The early Triassic had exceptionally high numbers of short- lived genera, in habitats that were mostly arid but apparently experienced occasional monsoon rains. Genera turnover slowed and diversity was stable in the Middle Triassic, then declined with a series of extinctions of the Late Triassic. Stereospondyls showed the pattern of ‘disaster’ taxa: rapidly diversifying following a mass extinction, spreading to a global distribution, although this high diversity was relatively short-lived. Geometric morphometrics on characteristics of the skull and palate was carried out to assess general skull morphology and identified the orbital position and skull outline to be the largest sources of skull variation.