The first ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic of the Umbrian–Marchean Apennines (Marche, Central Italy)

2016 ◽  
Vol 154 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
ILARIA PAPARELLA ◽  
ERIN E. MAXWELL ◽  
ANGELO CIPRIANI ◽  
SCILLA RONCACÈ ◽  
MICHAEL W. CALDWELL
Keyword(s):  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Western Tethys ◽  
Shark Teeth ◽  
Local Endemic ◽  
First Time ◽  
Early Late

AbstractThe first ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Central–Northern Apennines (Marche, Italy) is here described for the first time. The specimen is relatively complete and is referred to Gengasaurus nicosiai gen. et sp. nov. based on a unique combination of characters, including a peculiar condition of the preaxial accessory facet on the humerus. The faunal association of the ichthyosaur-bearing level indicates a late Kimmeridgian – earliest Tithonian age, and its finding contributes significantly to our knowledge of the diversity of Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs from the Western Tethys. Two shark teeth assigned to the order Hexanchiformes were also recovered in association with the ichthyosaur specimen, suggesting that scavenging of the carcass might have occurred. Gengasaurus can be referred to Ophthalmosauridae based on the reduced extracondylar area of the basioccipital, and the presence of a preaxial digit. It differs from Ophthalmosaurus spp. in several respects, including the shape of the posterior basisphenoid, the shape of the supraoccipital, the anteriorly deflected preaxial facet of the humerus, and a proximodistally shortened ulna. The new taxon actually shares diagnostic characters with both members of the two main lineages recovered in previous phylogenetic analyses, more nested within Ophthalmosauridae. The affinities of Gengasaurus to genera from both the northern and southern hemispheres also suggest that connectivity between pelagic habitats was high during the early Late Jurassic, allowing dispersal of some forms, followed by local, endemic divergence.

A new primitive eucryptodiran turtle from the Upper Jurassic Phu Kradung Formation of the Khorat Plateau, NE Thailand

2014 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAIYAN TONG ◽  
WILAILUCK NAKSRI ◽  
ERIC BUFFETAUT ◽  
VARAVUDH SUTEETHORN ◽  
SURAVECH SUTEETHORN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Sichuan Basin ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Full Width ◽  
The Sichuan Basin

AbstractA new genus and new species of primitive eucryptodiran turtle, Phunoichelys thirakhupti gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of shell remains from the lower part of the Phu Kradung Formation, at Phu Noi locality, Kalasin Province, NE Thailand. It is assigned to Xinjiangchelyidae on the basis of the marginals covering the lateral end of the costals and the anal scutes invading the hypoplastra. The new taxon is further characterized by a low and rounded carapace without a cervical notch; the whole carapace and plastron covered with a clear ornamentation consisting of tiny irregular vermiculated furrows; a complete neural series that reaches the suprapygal; a very wide and short cervical scute; relatively wide vertebral scutes; and a long first thoracic rib that extends along the full width of the first costal. The sutured plastron/carapace connection and the marginals covering the lateral end of the second to seventh costals suggest that the turtles from Phu Noi may be related to some primitive xinjiangchelyids from the Sichuan Basin. The discovery of a xinjiangchelyid turtle in the lower part of the Phu Kradung Formation supports a Late Jurassic age for that part of the formation.

A new rhamphorhynchid (Pterosauria: Rhamphorhynchidae) from the Middle/Upper Jurassic of Qinglong, Hebei Province, China

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3158 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUNCHANG LÜ ◽  
DAVID M. UNWIN ◽  
BO ZHAO ◽  
CHUNLING GAO ◽  
CAIZHI SHEN
Keyword(s):  
Late Jurassic ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Hebei Province ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Skeletal Morphology ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
Distal Process ◽  
Nasal Process

A heavily compressed, but nearly complete fossil skeleton recovered from the Middle/Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Forma-tion of Mutoudeng, Qinglong County, Hebei Province, China, represents a new genus and species of long-tailed pterosaur,Qinglongopterus guoi gen. et sp. nov. The holotype and only known specimen has an estimated forelimb length of 0.18m. The new taxon is distinguished by a relatively short skull, a remarkably short pteroid with a distinctive knob-like distalexpansion, and a prepubis with a relatively slender distal process. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that Qinglongopter-us is a member of Rhamphorhynchidae, exhibiting many of the unique character states found in members of this clade.Qinglongopterus is strikingly similar to Rhamphorhynchus and more closely related to this taxon than to any other rham-phorhynchine, this pairing is supported by morphometric data and several synapomorphies (short, broad nasal process ofthe maxilla; forelimb length more than four times that of the hind limb; wing-phalanx one more than twice the length ofthe tibia). Qinglongopterus demonstrates that the highly derived skeletal morphology of Rhamphorhynchus, known onlyfrom the latest Jurassic (Tithonian) of Europe, had already appeared by the start of the Late Jurassic. This hints at evolu-tionary stasis in Rhamphorhynchinae, a phenomenon seemingly also present in two other clades of basal pterosaurs,Anurognathidae and Scaphognathinae, and contrasting sharply with basal monofenestratans which appear to have undergone extensive evolutionary change during the same interval.

scholarly journals First occurrence of a gigantic pliosaurid plesiosaur in the late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Mexico

2003 ◽  
Vol 174 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Céline Buchy ◽  
Eberhard Frey ◽  
Wolfgang Stinnesbeck ◽  
José Guadalupe López-Oliva
Keyword(s):  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
South American ◽  
Western Tethys ◽  
Marine Reptiles ◽  
Family Level ◽  
First Occurrence ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
The University

Abstract Reinvestigation of a partial vertebral column from the Kimmeridgian La Caja Formation of Mexico, housed in the University of Linares (Mexico), and previously attributed to a dinosaur, proves to be from a very large pliosaurid plesiosaur. This specimen represents the first plesiosaur described from the Jurassic of Mexico. Its length has been estimated at 15 metres and, as a juvenile, is considered to be one of the largest Jurassic marine reptiles. The remains of this animal are here described. The morphology of the vertebral column is not diagnostic beyond family level. Large pliosaur vertebrae of a similar size are known from the Upper Jurassic of Europe, and are often referred to the genera Liopleurodon or Simolestes but these identifications are based only upon the size of the centra and have no taxonomic justification. A portion of rostrum with teeth was discovered together with the vertebral column but is unfortunately now lost. The Mexican pliosaur fills geographical and chronological gaps between western Tethys and South American pliosaurs, and is an additional support to the hypothesis of a Hispanic corridor linking at least temporarily the NW European marine province with the western South American marine (Pacific) realm during the late Jurassic.

A review of pelvic shield morphology in ankylosaurs (Dinosauria: Ornithischia)

2011 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria M. Arbour ◽  
Michael E. Burns ◽  
Philip J. Currie
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Diagnostic Value ◽  
Evolutionary Trends ◽  
Parsimony Analysis ◽  
Geographic Context ◽  
Binary Character ◽  
First Time

The pelvic shield of ankylosaurian dinosaurs refers to an area of osteoderms lacking differentiated transverse bands over the pelvic region and it is used as a diagnostic character for various ankylosaur groups. The pelvic shield character varies across ankylosaur taxa but is typically coded as a binary character or is excluded from phylogenetic analyses, which obscures evolutionary trends and relationships. This study investigates for the first time pelvic shield morphology in a stratigraphic and geographic context. This paper comprehensively reviews pelvic shield morphology with firsthand observations of specimens, and proposes three categories of pelvic shield morphology. Category 1 pelvic shields have un-fused but tightly interlocking osteoderms. Category 2 pelvic shields have fused osteoderms forming rosettes and are restricted to the Late Jurassic to mid Cretaceous of North America and Europe. Category 3 pelvic shields have fused polygonal osteoderms of similar size, and are found in the mid- to Late Cretaceous of North America. Although the pelvic shield is used to characterize the Polacanthidae, an interpretation supported by this review, the validity of such a clade is dependent upon a global parsimony analysis incorporating this character. Future analyses of the Ankylosauria should incorporate a more detailed treatment of the pelvic shield to determine its diagnostic value within the group.

scholarly journals New transitional fossil from late Jurassic of Chile sheds light on the origin of modern crocodiles

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando E. Novas ◽  
Federico L. Agnolin ◽  
Gabriel L. Lio ◽  
Sebastián Rozadilla ◽  
Manuel Suárez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
South American ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Southern Chile ◽  
American Continent ◽  
South American Continent ◽  
New Discovery

AbstractWe describe the basal mesoeucrocodylian Burkesuchus mallingrandensis nov. gen. et sp., from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) Toqui Formation of southern Chile. The new taxon constitutes one of the few records of non-pelagic Jurassic crocodyliforms for the entire South American continent. Burkesuchus was found on the same levels that yielded titanosauriform and diplodocoid sauropods and the herbivore theropod Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, thus expanding the taxonomic composition of currently poorly known Jurassic reptilian faunas from Patagonia. Burkesuchus was a small-sized crocodyliform (estimated length 70 cm), with a cranium that is dorsoventrally depressed and transversely wide posteriorly and distinguished by a posteroventrally flexed wing-like squamosal. A well-defined longitudinal groove runs along the lateral edge of the postorbital and squamosal, indicative of a anteroposteriorly extensive upper earlid. Phylogenetic analysis supports Burkesuchus as a basal member of Mesoeucrocodylia. This new discovery expands the meagre record of non-pelagic representatives of this clade for the Jurassic Period, and together with Batrachomimus, from Upper Jurassic beds of Brazil, supports the idea that South America represented a cradle for the evolution of derived crocodyliforms during the Late Jurassic.

A new furry lobster (Crustacea, Decapoda, Synaxidae) from the Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) of northeastern France

2020 ◽  
Vol 296 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
René H.B. Fraaije ◽  
Barry W.M. Van Bakel ◽  
John W.M. Jagt ◽  
Richard Brochet
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Northeastern France

A new genus and species of achelatan lobster, Palaeopalinurellus culocervus, from the "Calcaire crayeux de Maxey" limestones (middle Oxfordian, Transversarium Zone) at "Le Cul du Cerf", near Orquevaux (Haute-Marne, northeastern France), are described. The new taxon constitutes the earliest record to date of a furry lobster worldwide and extends the stratigraphical range of this group of palinurids significantly. Another Late Jurassic (Tithonian) palinurid, Palinurus strambergensis Bachmayer, 1959, from tramberk (Moravia, Czech Republic), reveals the diagnostic features of the new genus and is here transferred to it.

Integrative systematics of clathrinid sponges: morphological, reproductive and phylogenetic characterisation of a new species of Leucetta from Antarctica (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea) with notes on the occurrence of flagellated sperm

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Riesgo ◽  
Fernanda F. Cavalcanti ◽  
Nathan J. Kenny ◽  
Pilar Ríos ◽  
Javier Cristobo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
Integrative Systematics ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species

Our study reports on the occurrence of a new species of Leucetta (Calcinea, Calcarea) from the Southern Ocean, Leucetta giribeti, sp. nov., collected in the shallow waters (15m depth) of Deception Island, South Shetland Islands. This new taxon is described based on a combination of morphological and molecular data, including the description of oocytes, embryos, larvae and sperm found in the choanosome. While female reproductive elements showed great similarities with those of other calcineans, sperm is reported here for the first time in the whole Calcinea subclass. Sperm cells are flagellated and possess a typical spermatic mid-piece, which is usually observed in cnidarians. In our phylogenetic analyses, we recovered Leucetta giribeti, sp. nov. as sister species of a clade formed by species of the genera Leucetta, Pericharax and Leucettusa. Although the clade in which Leucetta giribeti, sp. nov. is placed is supported by molecular and morphological features, we cannot propose a new genus due to uncertainties regarding the type species of the genus, Leucetta primigenia Haeckel, 1872. Our study reinforces the relevance of integrative approaches in the description of new taxa and contributes to resolving the poorly known reproductive patterns of Antarctic sponge species.

scholarly journals Anatomy and systematics of the diplodocoid Amphicoelias altus supports high sauropod dinosaur diversity in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 210377
Author(s):  
Philip D. Mannion ◽  
Emanuel Tschopp ◽  
John A. Whitlock
Keyword(s):  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Morrison Formation ◽  
Growth Series ◽  
Distinct Genus ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Phylogenetic Signature ◽  
High Diversity

Sauropod dinosaurs were an abundant and diverse component of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the USA, with 24 currently recognized species. However, some authors consider this high diversity to have been ecologically unviable and the validity of some species has been questioned, with suggestions that they represent growth series (ontogimorphs) of other species. Under this scenario, high sauropod diversity in the Late Jurassic of North America is greatly overestimated. One putative ontogimorph is the enigmatic diplodocoid Amphicoelias altus , which has been suggested to be synonymous with Diplodocus . Given that Amphicoelias was named first, it has priority and thus Diplodocus would become its junior synonym. Here, we provide a detailed re-description of A. altus in which we restrict it to the holotype individual and support its validity, based on three autapomorphies. Constraint analyses demonstrate that its phylogenetic position within Diplodocoidea is labile, but it seems unlikely that Amphicoelias is synonymous with Diplodocus . As such, our re-evaluation also leads us to retain Diplodocus as a distinct genus. There is no evidence to support the view that any of the currently recognized Morrison sauropod species are ontogimorphs. Available data indicate that sauropod anatomy did not dramatically alter once individuals approached maturity. Furthermore, subadult sauropod individuals are not prone to stemward slippage in phylogenetic analyses, casting doubt on the possibility that their taxonomic affinities are substantially misinterpreted. An anatomical feature can have both an ontogenetic and phylogenetic signature, but the former does not outweigh the latter when other characters overwhelmingly support the affinities of a taxon. Many Morrison Formation sauropods were spatio-temporally and/or ecologically separated from one another. Combined with the biases that cloud our reading of the fossil record, we contend that the number of sauropod dinosaur species in the Morrison Formation is currently likely to be underestimated, not overestimated.

scholarly journals The complicated and surprisingly early origin of the pterodactyloid bauplan

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Unwin
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Anatomical Changes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fifth Toe ◽  
Early Origin ◽  
Early Late ◽  
Complex Evolutionary History

The origin of the pterodactyloid bauplan from that of non-monofenestratan (‘rhamphorhynchoid’) pterosaurs involved extensive anatomical changes and had profound consequences for the evolutionary history of Pterodactyloidea, a clade that dominated the aerial realm throughout the Cretaceous. This important evolutionary transformation, about which almost nothing was known for almost two centuries, is now rapidly coming into focus thanks to a plethora of new pterosaur fossils from the Middle and Upper Jurassic of South America, Europe and China. So far, however, these finds have largely been considered in isolation from each other and few have been thoroughly evaluated. Phylogenetic analysis, combined with improved stratigraphic data for all potentially relevant taxa including putative non-pterodactyloid monofenstratans (NPMs) and the oldest known pterodactyloids (e.g. Liaodactylus) was used to generate a new map of the anatomical transformations and temporal history of the non-monofenestratan–pterodactyloid transition. Evolution of the pterodactyloid skull construction predates the Middle Jurassic, but remains almost completely undocumented by fossils. Liaodactylus reveals that innovation in pterodactyloid skull anatomy and the appearance of derived features was well underway prior to the Upper Jurassic. Douzhanopterus, a derived NPM, demonstrates that elongation of the metacarpus and reduction of the tail and fifth toe (classic pterodactyloid synapomorphies) also predates the Upper Jurassic, but disjunction in the degree of their development across taxa is not consistent with simple explanations such as ‘adaptation for flight’. Overall, late Early to early Late Jurassic pterosaurs were much more diverse and had a far more complex evolutionary history than heretofore recognised.

scholarly journals The complicated and surprisingly early origin of the pterodactyloid bauplan

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Unwin
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Anatomical Changes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fifth Toe ◽  
Early Origin ◽  
Early Late ◽  
Complex Evolutionary History

The origin of the pterodactyloid bauplan from that of non-monofenestratan (‘rhamphorhynchoid’) pterosaurs involved extensive anatomical changes and had profound consequences for the evolutionary history of Pterodactyloidea, a clade that dominated the aerial realm throughout the Cretaceous. This important evolutionary transformation, about which almost nothing was known for almost two centuries, is now rapidly coming into focus thanks to a plethora of new pterosaur fossils from the Middle and Upper Jurassic of South America, Europe and China. So far, however, these finds have largely been considered in isolation from each other and few have been thoroughly evaluated. Phylogenetic analysis, combined with improved stratigraphic data for all potentially relevant taxa including putative non-pterodactyloid monofenstratans (NPMs) and the oldest known pterodactyloids (e.g. Liaodactylus) was used to generate a new map of the anatomical transformations and temporal history of the non-monofenestratan–pterodactyloid transition. Evolution of the pterodactyloid skull construction predates the Middle Jurassic, but remains almost completely undocumented by fossils. Liaodactylus reveals that innovation in pterodactyloid skull anatomy and the appearance of derived features was well underway prior to the Upper Jurassic. Douzhanopterus, a derived NPM, demonstrates that elongation of the metacarpus and reduction of the tail and fifth toe (classic pterodactyloid synapomorphies) also predates the Upper Jurassic, but disjunction in the degree of their development across taxa is not consistent with simple explanations such as ‘adaptation for flight’. Overall, late Early to early Late Jurassic pterosaurs were much more diverse and had a far more complex evolutionary history than heretofore recognised.

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