scholarly journals A new diapsid from the Middle Triassic of southern China

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 1306-1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Li ◽  
Nicholas C. Fraser ◽  
Olivier Rieppel ◽  
Li-Jun Zhao ◽  
Li-Ting Wang

AbstractThe Middle and early Late Triassic of southern China is well known for a remarkable diversity of marine vertebrates, particularly reptiles, including an abundance of intriguing new forms (e.g., Jiang et al., 2005; Hu et al., 2011; Li et al., 2016). Here we describe a new diapsid from Yunnan Province. It possesses an elongate neck that exhibits a remarkable similarity to that of many Protorosauria, yet in other respects the skull and postcranium are much less derived.The new taxon is part of the so-called Panxian-Luoping Fauna and the deposits correspond to the Upper Member of the Guanling Formation, comprising thin to medium bedded, gray to dark-gray laminated marly limestone and limestone, with several layers of bentonite intercalated in the fossil level at Panxian (Wan, 2002; Motani et al., 2008; Jiang et al., 2009). Their age is Pelsonian (middle Anisian, Middle Triassic) as is indicated by the conodont Nicoraella kockeli Zone (Sun et al., 2006; Zhang et al., 2009). A recent U-Pb study indicates the absolute age of these middle Anisian beds to be close to 244 Ma (Wang et al., 2014).

2021 ◽  
pp. SP521-2021-121
Author(s):  
Qianqi Zhang ◽  
Daran Zheng ◽  
Bo Wang ◽  
Haichun Zhang

AbstractStudies of Triassic insects in China began in 1956, and so far, a total of 89 genera and 109 species have been found from the Triassic of China. The fossil records are from 17 provinces (or regions) in China are assigned to 11 orders except for two genera and species considered incertae sedis in Insecta. These Chinese Triassic insects including one Early Triassic, 53 Middle Triassic and 55 Late Triassic species are briefly reviewed in taxonomy and distribution, and listed here with detailed taxonomic and stratigraphic information. The Middle Triassic Tongchuan Entomofauna and Late Triassic Toksun Entomofauna are introduced much detailed from the perspectives of composition and taxonomy. Existing data indicate that the Chinese Triassic entomofauna is dominated by Hemiptera, Mecoptera and Coleoptera; the Chinese Early Triassic insects are only known from Fuyuan in Yunnan Province, Middle Triassic ones mainly known from northern China and sporadically from Guizhou Province, southern China, and Late Triassic ones widely seen in both northern and southern China; and the Middle and Late Triassic entomofaunas are similar in abundance but show a pattern of “more in northern China than in southern China”.


2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliana P. Coturel ◽  
Josefina Bodnar ◽  
Eduardo M. Morel ◽  
Daniel G. Ganuza ◽  
Ana J. Sagasti ◽  
...  

AbstractA new species of Osmundopsis Harris is described based on several impression-compression fossils from the upper section of the Potrerillos Formation (Uspallata Group) at Cerro Cacheuta Hill, Mendoza Province, Argentina. Osmundopsis zunigai sp. nov. is characterized by having fertile pinnae with a slender striate rachis, bearing widely separate, opposite to subopposite short falcate pinnules with an entire margin, rounded apex, and a partially reduced lamina. The pinnules bear sporangia loosely disposed in clusters of four or five on the abaxial side. The sporangia are wedge- to heart-shaped, shortly stalked, with cells of the apical region thickened, and have a vertical dehiscence slit. The spores are trilete and laevigate. This is the first record of Osmundopsis in the Triassic of Argentina. The mutual occurrence or co-preservation of Osmundopsis zunigai sp. nov. with sterile fronds of Cladophlebis kurtzi suggests the possibility that these species formed part of a dimorphic bipinnate frond. The diversity and geographic extent of fertile leaves of the Osmunda lineage in the early Late Triassic, with records in South Africa and Antarctica and now with this new taxon, support the idea of a moist mesothermal climatic belt in southern Gondwana.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey W. Martz ◽  
Bryan J. Small

The “red siltstone” member of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in the Eagle Basin of Colorado contains a diverse assemblage of dinosauromorphs falling outside of Dinosauria. This assemblage is the northernmost known occurrence of non-dinosaurian dinosauromorphs in North America, and probably falls within the Revueltian land vertebrate estimated biochronozone (215–207 Ma, middle to late Norian). Lagerpetids are represented by proximal femora and a humerus referable to Dromomeron romeri. Silesaurids (non-dinosaurian dinosauriforms) are the most commonly recovered dinosauromorph elements, consisting of dentaries, maxillae, isolated teeth, humeri, illia, femora, and possibly a scapula and tibiae. These elements represent a new silesaurid, Kwanasaurus williamparkeri, gen. et sp. nov., which possesses several autapomorphies: a short, very robust maxilla with a broad ascending process, a massive ventromedial process, a complex articular surface for the lacrimal and jugal, and 12 teeth; 14 dentary teeth; an ilium with an elongate and blade-like preacetabular process and concave acetabular margin; a femur with an extremely thin medial distal condyle and a depression on the distal end anterior to the crista tibiofibularis. The recognition of K. williamparkeri further demonstrates the predominantly Late Triassic diversity and widespread geographic distribution across Pangea of the sister clade to Asilisaurus, here named Sulcimentisauria. Silesaurid dentition suggests a variety of dietary specializations from faunivory and omnivory in the Middle Triassic and early Late Triassic (Carnian), to herbivory in the Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian), with the latter specialization possibly coinciding with the radiation of Sulcimentisauria across Pangea. The extremely robust maxilla and folidont teeth of K. williamparkei may represent a strong herbivorous dietary specialization among silesaurids.


1990 ◽  
Vol 127 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Metcalfe

AbstractThe Chuping Limestone of northwest Peninsular Malaysia, until recently considered entirely of Permian age, has yielded late Triassic (early Norian) conodonts. TheLimestone thus spans the time interval late Early Permian–Late Triassic and is in part equivalent to the Kodiang Limestone (Late Permian–Late Triassic) in Kedah andsimilar limestone sequences in south Thailand and north Sumatra. Early Late Triassic (Carnian) conodonts are also reported from pelagic limestones associated with bedded chertsof the Chert Member of the Semanggol Formation in Kedah. The Chert Member, previously considered of Middle Triassic age, is re-interpreted to represent Early, Middle and early Late Triassic deposition. The Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Malay Peninsula represent three distinct sedimentary regions: a stable shallow marine carbonate complex (ChupingLimestone, Kodiang Limestone), which forms part of an elongate carbonate platform on theSibumasu block; a deep water pelagic/turbidite basinal sequence (Semanggol Formation) which accumulated in either a foredeep basin or an intracratonic pull-apart basin related to strike-slip faulting; and a volcanic-sourced volcaniclastic basinal sequence on the East Malaya block (Semantan Formation and equivalents) which accumulated in either a forearc/intra-arc setting, or in a post-orogenic rift basin.


2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
María B. Lara ◽  
Bárbara Cariglino ◽  
Ana M. Zavattieri ◽  
Iracema Zacarías

AbstractThe presence of a new taxon, Duraznovis gallegoi new genus new species is reported and described from an early Late Triassic (Carnian) deposit in Argentina. Two specimens, recovered from the Quebrada del Durazno locality, uppermost levels of the Potrerillos Formation, Cuyana Basin (Mendoza), are represented by the molds of their shield and imprints of soft parts. The identity of these specimens appears enigmatic but closely resembles in the possession of a generalized arthropod morphology and a distinctive combination of characters, to living and fossil representatives of xiphosurans (Chelicerata) and notostracans (Branchiopoda). The new fossils are associated with a rich biota comprising abundant insects, spinicaudatans, plants, and scarce fish remains living in semipermanent swamps and/or ponds within a delta plain environment with intermittent episodes of flooding, in a warm temperate and humid megamonsoonal climate during Triassic times. In this context, we analyze the taphonomic and ecological implications of their presence. Lastly, these unique specimens at the Quebrada del Durazno locality adds to the diversity of the biota, revealing the importance of this site as an exceptional paleontological Triassic deposit.UUID: http://zoobank.org/8d1194c2-170c-4b7a-b0c6-5c08b0974d95


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Powers ◽  
Joseph F. Pachut

Seventy-three species of stenolaemate bryozoans are documented worldwide from the Triassic. Stage-level diversity and paleogeographical analyses reveal that the recovery of bryozoans following the end-Permian mass extinction was delayed until the Middle Triassic. Early Triassic bryozoans faunas, dominated by members of the Order Trepostomida, were depauperate and geographically restricted. Bryozoan diversity increased during the Middle Triassic and diversity peaked in the Carnian (early Late Triassic). High extinction rates throughout the Late Triassic led to the extinction of all stenolaemate orders except the Cyclostomida by the end of the Triassic. Comparisons between global carbonate rock volume, outcrop surface area, and bryozoan diversity indicate that the documented diversity pattern for bryozoans may have been related, in part, to the availability of carbonate environments during the Triassic.


Author(s):  
Nicholas C. Fraser ◽  
Hans-Dieter Sues

ABSTRACTThe first appearance of dinosaurs during the early Late Triassic coincided with marked faunal changes in terrestrial ecosystems. Most of the major groups of extant tetrapods (or their proximate sister-taxa), including mammaliaforms, crocodyliform archosaurs, lepidosaurs and turtles, also first appeared in the fossil record during the Late Triassic. On the other hand, a number of Palaeozoic ‘holdovers’, such as procolophonid parareptiles, dicynodont therapsids and many groups of temnospondyls, vanished near or at the end of the Triassic. The tempo and mode of this faunal turnover have long been debated, but there has been growing acceptance of a rather sudden event, although the precise dating of such an event remains controversial. However, new discoveries have cast doubt on this assumption. The persistence of non-dinosaurian dinosauromorphs alongside dinosaurs well into Norian times hints at a more protracted turnover. New data on Triassic insect assemblages indicate that turnover among insects may also have been more protracted and possibly not co-incident with the faunal changes among tetrapods. Future work directed toward improved absolute age assessments for major faunal assemblages will be critical for a better understanding of the transition from therapsid-dominated to dinosaur-dominated communities during the early Mesozoic.


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10101
Author(s):  
Sterling J. Nesbitt ◽  
John M. Zawiskie ◽  
Robert M. Dawley

Loricatan pseudosuchians (known as “rauisuchians”) typically consist of poorly understood fragmentary remains known worldwide from the Middle Triassic to the end of the Triassic Period. Renewed interest and the discovery of more complete specimens recently revolutionized our understanding of the relationships of archosaurs, the origin of Crocodylomorpha, and the paleobiology of these animals. However, there are still few loricatans known from the Middle to early portion of the Late Triassic and the forms that occur during this time are largely known from southern Pangea or Europe. Heptasuchus clarki was the first formally recognized North American “rauisuchian” and was collected from a poorly sampled and disparately fossiliferous sequence of Triassic strata in North America. Exposed along the trend of the Casper Arch flanking the southeastern Big Horn Mountains, the type locality of Heptasuchus clarki occurs within a sequence of red beds above the Alcova Limestone and Crow Mountain formations within the Chugwater Group. The age of the type locality is poorly constrained to the Middle—early Late Triassic and is likely similar to or just older than that of the Popo Agie Formation assemblage from the western portion of Wyoming. The holotype consists of associated cranial elements found in situ, and the referred specimens consist of crania and postcrania. Thus, about 30% of the osteology of the taxon is preserved. All of the pseudosuchian elements collected at the locality appear to belong to Heptasuchus clarki and the taxon is not a chimera as previously hypothesized. Heptasuchus clarki is distinct from all other archosaurs by the presence of large, posteriorly directed flanges on the parabasisphenoid and a distinct, orbit-overhanging postfrontal. Our phylogenetic hypothesis posits a sister-taxon relationship between Heptasuchus clarki and the Ladinian-aged Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from current-day Germany within Loricata. These two taxa share a number of apomorphies from across the skull and their phylogenetic position further supports ‘rauisuchian’ paraphyly. A minimum of three individuals of Heptasuchus are present at the type locality suggesting that a group of individuals died together, similar to other aggregations of loricatans (e.g., Heptasuchus, Batrachotomus, Decuriasuchus, Postosuchus).


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergi Trias-Llimós ◽  
Lisa Pennells ◽  
Aage Tverdal ◽  
Alexander V. Kudryavtsev ◽  
Sofia Malyutina ◽  
...  

AbstractSurprisingly few attempts have been made to quantify the simultaneous contribution of well-established risk factors to CVD mortality differences between countries. We aimed to develop and critically appraise an approach to doing so, applying it to the substantial CVD mortality gap between Russia and Norway using survey data in three cities and mortality risks from the Emerging Risk Factor Collaboration. We estimated the absolute and relative differences in CVD mortality at ages 40–69 years between countries attributable to the risk factors, under the counterfactual that the age- and sex-specific risk factor profile in Russia was as in Norway, and vice-versa. Under the counterfactual that Russia had the Norwegian risk factor profile, the absolute age-standardized CVD mortality gap would decline by 33.3% (95% CI 25.1–40.1) among men and 22.1% (10.4–31.3) among women. In relative terms, the mortality rate ratio (Russia/Norway) would decline from 9–10 to 7–8. Under the counterfactual that Norway had the Russian risk factor profile, the mortality gap reduced less. Well-established CVD risk factors account for a third of the male and around a quarter of the female CVD mortality gap between Russia and Norway. However, these estimates are based on widely held epidemiological assumptions that deserve further scrutiny.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4388 (3) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
RAORAO MO ◽  
GUOQUAN WANG ◽  
DING YANG ◽  
WEIHAI LI

Two leuctrid species of the Rhopalopsole magnicerca group are described as new, R. brevicula sp. nov. and R. jizushana sp. nov. from the Guangxi Autonomous Region of southern China, bordering Vietnam and Yunnan Province of southwestern China, respectively. The new species are compared with related taxa. 


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