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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. -
Labyrinthodonts
Saurischian dinosaur Stegosaurus-plated dinosaur Pteranodon -flying reptile Ichthyosaurus-fish reptile Cynognathus -mammal –like reptile Family tree of reptiles Archaeopteryx LABYRINTHODONTS • Labyrinthodonts are the most ancient amphibians known, as well as the first vertebrates to have walked on land, having evolved from their fish ancestors during the Devonian period. • Labyrinthodont (Greek, "maze-toothed") is an obsolete term for any member of the extinct superorder (Labyrinthodontia) of amphibians, which constituted some of the dominant animals of Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic times (about 350 to 210 million years ago). • The name describes the pattern of infolding of the dentine and enamel of the teeth, which are often the only part of the creatures that fossilize. • They are also distinguished by a heavy solid skull (and therefore often named "Stegocephalia"), and complex vertebrae, the structure of which is useful in older classifications of the group. • The labyrinthodonts flourished for more than 150 million years. Particularly the early forms exhibited a lot of variation, yet there are still a few basic anatomical traits that make them fairly easy to recognise. Paleobiology: • The early labyrinthodonts where mostly aquatic, hunting in shallow water or weed filled tidal channels. They were short-legged and large headed, some could be up to four meters long. • Their skulls were massive, and their jaws were lined with small, sharp, conical teeth. Also, there was a second row of teeth on the roof of the mouth. In their way of living labyrinthodonts were probably similar to fishes - they laid eggs in the water, where their larvae developed into mature animals. -
Early Tetrapod Relationships Revisited
Biol. Rev. (2003), 78, pp. 251–345. f Cambridge Philosophical Society 251 DOI: 10.1017/S1464793102006103 Printed in the United Kingdom Early tetrapod relationships revisited MARCELLO RUTA1*, MICHAEL I. COATES1 and DONALD L. J. QUICKE2 1 The Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637-1508, USA ([email protected]; [email protected]) 2 Department of Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire SL57PY, UK and Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW75BD, UK ([email protected]) (Received 29 November 2001; revised 28 August 2002; accepted 2 September 2002) ABSTRACT In an attempt to investigate differences between the most widely discussed hypotheses of early tetrapod relation- ships, we assembled a new data matrix including 90 taxa coded for 319 cranial and postcranial characters. We have incorporated, where possible, original observations of numerous taxa spread throughout the major tetrapod clades. A stem-based (total-group) definition of Tetrapoda is preferred over apomorphy- and node-based (crown-group) definitions. This definition is operational, since it is based on a formal character analysis. A PAUP* search using a recently implemented version of the parsimony ratchet method yields 64 shortest trees. Differ- ences between these trees concern: (1) the internal relationships of aı¨stopods, the three selected species of which form a trichotomy; (2) the internal relationships of embolomeres, with Archeria -
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. -
Phylogeny and Evolution of the Dissorophoid Temnospondyls
Journal of Paleontology, 93(1), 2019, p. 137–156 Copyright © 2018, The Paleontological Society. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 0022-3360/15/0088-0906 doi: 10.1017/jpa.2018.67 The putative lissamphibian stem-group: phylogeny and evolution of the dissorophoid temnospondyls Rainer R. Schoch Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, D-70191 Stuttgart, Germany 〈[email protected]〉 Abstract.—Dissorophoid temnospondyls are widely considered to have given rise to some or all modern amphibians (Lissamphibia), but their ingroup relationships still bear major unresolved questions. An inclusive phylogenetic ana- lysis of dissorophoids gives new insights into the large-scale topology of relationships. Based on a TNT 1.5 analysis (33 taxa, 108 characters), the enigmatic taxon Perryella is found to nest just outside Dissorophoidea (phylogenetic defintion), but shares a range of synapomorphies with this clade. The dissorophoids proper are found to encompass a first dichotomy between the largely paedomorphic Micromelerpetidae and all other taxa (Xerodromes). Within the latter, there is a basal dichotomy between the large, heavily ossified Olsoniformes (Dissorophidae + Trematopidae) and the small salamander-like Amphibamiformes (new taxon), which include four clades: (1) Micropholidae (Tersomius, Pasawioops, Micropholis); (2) Amphibamidae sensu stricto (Doleserpeton, Amphibamus); (3) Branchiosaur- idae (Branchiosaurus, Apateon, Leptorophus, Schoenfelderpeton); and (4) Lissamphibia. The genera Platyrhinops and Eos- copus are here found to nest at the base of Amphibamiformes. Represented by their basal-most stem-taxa (Triadobatrachus, Karaurus, Eocaecilia), lissamphibians nest with Gerobatrachus rather than Amphibamidae, as repeatedly found by former analyses. -
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. -
Physical and Environmental Drivers of Paleozoic Tetrapod Dispersal Across Pangaea
ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07623-x OPEN Physical and environmental drivers of Paleozoic tetrapod dispersal across Pangaea Neil Brocklehurst1,2, Emma M. Dunne3, Daniel D. Cashmore3 &Jӧrg Frӧbisch2,4 The Carboniferous and Permian were crucial intervals in the establishment of terrestrial ecosystems, which occurred alongside substantial environmental and climate changes throughout the globe, as well as the final assembly of the supercontinent of Pangaea. The fl 1234567890():,; in uence of these changes on tetrapod biogeography is highly contentious, with some authors suggesting a cosmopolitan fauna resulting from a lack of barriers, and some iden- tifying provincialism. Here we carry out a detailed historical biogeographic analysis of late Paleozoic tetrapods to study the patterns of dispersal and vicariance. A likelihood-based approach to infer ancestral areas is combined with stochastic mapping to assess rates of vicariance and dispersal. Both the late Carboniferous and the end-Guadalupian are char- acterised by a decrease in dispersal and a vicariance peak in amniotes and amphibians. The first of these shifts is attributed to orogenic activity, the second to increasing climate heterogeneity. 1 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK. 2 Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany. 3 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. 4 Institut -
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. -
Tetrapod Localities from the Triassic of the SE of European Russia
Earth-Science Reviews 60 (2002) 1–66 www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev Tetrapod localities from the Triassic of the SE of European Russia Valentin P. Tverdokhlebova, Galina I. Tverdokhlebovaa, Mikhail V. Surkova,b, Michael J. Bentonb,* a Geological Institute of Saratov State University, Ulitsa Moskovskaya, 161, Saratov 410075, Russia b Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK Received 5 November 2001; accepted 22 March 2002 Abstract Fossil tetrapods (amphibians and reptiles) have been discovered at 206 localities in the Lower and Middle Triassic of the southern Urals area of European Russia. The first sites were found in the 1940s, and subsequent surveys, from the 1960s to the present day, have revealed many more. Broad-scale stratigraphic schemes have been published, but full documentation of the rich tetrapod faunas has not been presented before. The area of richest deposits covers some 900,000 km2 of territory between Samara on the River Volga in the NW, and Orenburg and Sakmara in the SW. Continental sedimentary deposits, consisting of mudstones, siltstones, sandstones, and conglomerates deposited by rivers flowing off the Ural Mountain chain, span much of the Lower and Middle Triassic (Induan, Olenekian, Anisian, Ladinian). The succession is divided into seven successive svitas, or assemblages: Kopanskaya (Induan), Staritskaya, Kzylsaiskaya, Gostevskaya, and Petropavlovskaya (all Olenekian), Donguz (Anisian), and Bukobay (Ladinian). This succession, comprising up to 3.5 km of fluvial and lacustrine sediments, documents major climatic changes. At the beginning of the Early Triassic, arid-zone facies were widely developed, aeolian, piedmont and proluvium. These were replaced by fluvial facies, with some features indicating aridity. -
A NEU' SMALL STEREOSPONDYLOUS LAB~BINTHODONT from the TRIASSIC BEDS of Soum AFRICA
A NEU' SMALL STEREOSPONDYLOUS LAB~BINTHODONT FROM THE TRIASSIC BEDS OF soum AFRICA By J. W. KITCHING ABSTRACT This paper describes an interesting new Amphibian, Laidleria gracilis gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower Triassic of South Africa (Cynognathus-zone) . It is a Stereospondylid Labyrinthodont, belonging to the family Trematosauridae, but it differs in being exceptionally small. Most of the skeleton is preserved and with it are associated masses of small dermal scutes reflecting the nature of the skin. A combination of some peculiar characteristics encourages the recognition of this specimen as representing a new family. INTRODUCTION In July 1954, Dr. F. E. Peabody of the University of California at Los Angeles wrote to Dr. A. S. Brink of this Institute, drawing his attention to a small, uncleaned specimen in the Albany Museum, Grahamstown, which he had casually seen in 1948 and which he describes as a "turtle-like Labyrinthodont". He requested this Institute to investigate the specimen, as he considered it of exceptional interest. In February 1955, while the present author was in the Karroo area on a field expedition, he visited the Albany Museum to see this specimen. It was still unprepared and Dr. Hewitt kindly agreed that the specimen could be taken to the Bernard Price Institute for preparation and description. This remarkable specimen consists of a complete skull and the greater part of the skeleton, with dermal ossicles associated. It was presented to the Albany Museum by Dr. P. W. Laidler, who collected it at Elucwecwe in the Engcobo district, Eastern Cape Province. When discovered the specimen was in situ, embedded upside down in a slab of hard grey sandstone, the grain of which agrees very favourably with the sandstones of the Cynognathus-zone in the Burghersdorp and Lady Frere districts. -
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.