A new armoured amphibian from the Upper Permian of East Africa

1959 ◽  
Vol 242 (691) ◽  
pp. 207-281 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Appendicular Skeleton ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Caudal Vertebrae ◽  
Mode Of Life ◽  
New Diagnosis ◽  
Marly Limestone ◽  
Composite Restoration

Amphibian material collected by Mr F. R. Parrington from an Upper Permian locality in the Ruhuhu Valley of Tanganyika has been prepared with the aid of acid. An account of the technique adopted is given. The remains consist of three imperfect skulls, some skull fragments and about 300 post-cranial bones, most of which were contained in blocks of marly limestone. The material is assigned to a new genus and species for which the name Peltobatrachus pustulatus is proposed and a diagnosis given. The cranial material is described and a composite restoration is given. The pattern of dermal roofing bones is of the ‘temnospondyl’ type, but the surface is ornamented with pustules instead of the normal labyrinthodont ornament. The whole skull, including supraoccipital, basioccipital and opisthotic, is heavily ossified. Parts of a jaw ramus, including a well-developed retroarticular process, are described. The dorsal vertebrae are shown to consist of single, elongate notochordal centra and free ‘intervertebral’ neural arches. It is concluded that the dorsal vertebrae are not stereospondylous. Caudal vertebrae consisting of neural arches, centra and separate small intercentra with haemal arches are described and a reconstruction is made of the caudal region. The dorsal ribs are adapted to carry the heavy dermal armour: a complete sacral rib and forked caudal ribs are also described. Imperfect remains of the appendicular skeleton include a scapulocoracoid and cleithrum, humerus, pelvis and femur. The inferred relation of the cleithrum to the clavicle is not of the normal labyrinthodont type. The species has a characteristic massive dermal armour. Two dermal shields are preserved, together with a large number of scutes, some singly and some sutured as transverse bands. The armour is reconstructed as pectoral and pelvic shields connected by neural and costal bands. A reconstruction of the whole skeleton is attempted and the possible mode of life, that of a heavy terrestrial form, is discussed. A relation between Peltobatrachus and the Triassic plagiosaurs is postulated on both cranial and postcranial characters. The most significant common features are considered to be the pustular ornament, the ossification of the endochondral bones of the occiput, the form of the vertebrae and that of the dermal armour. Establishment of this relationship removes the plagiosaurs from the stereospondylous labyrinthodonts in agreement with Nilsson (1946). The taxonomic position of the plagiosaurs is discussed and a case made against their relationship to the brachyopids. It is also concluded that they are not closely related to Dvinosaurus or to the metoposaurs. The position of the genera Plagiosternum and Taphrognathus is discussed in the light of the diagnostic features of the group. The retention of the plagiosaurs (including Peltobatrachus ) within the Labyrinthodontia as defined by Romer is proposed, but their separation from temnospondyls and anthracosaurs as the order Plagiosauria is endorsed. A new diagnosis of the order is given and diagnostic characters of two constituent suborders, the Peltobatrachi (including only Peltobatrachus ) and the Plagiosauri are listed.

Cassiavellia galtarae, new species, new genus: a new Permian bivalve and its significance for pterioidean systematics

2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 1152-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya Tëmkin ◽  
John Pojeta
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Larval Shell ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Taxonomic Significance ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
Dental Ontogeny

An exceptionally well-preserved silicified bivalve from the Upper Permian of Texas is described and assigned to a new genus and species,Cassiavellia galtarae, placed in the family Bakevelliidae. The species represents one of the earliest and best characterized unequivocal occurrences of the multivincular ligament in the superfamily Pterioidea. The silicified material provides a wealth of information on the morphology of inadequately known Paleozoic pterioideans, including hitherto undescribed aspects of the larval shell, auricular sulcus, muscle scars, and dental ontogeny. The discovery of the condyle-fossa complex on the anteroventral shell margin, a feature previously undescibed in Bivalvia, raises the question of the homology and taxonomic significance of the problematic subumbonal ridge-like structures in Pterioidea. In life,C. galtaraewas probably an epifaunal right-pleurothetic bivalve, byssally attached to hard or raised flexible substrata. In addition toC. galtarae, another new species,C. nadkevnae, is placed inCassiavellia.

A new genus and species of eelpout (Teleostei: Zoarcidae) from Brazil

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1852 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL MAIA MINCARONE ◽  
M. ERIC ANDERSON
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Gill Slit ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Upper Lip ◽  
Caudal Vertebrae ◽  
Fin Rays ◽  
Head Pores ◽  
Janeiro State ◽  
Pelvic Fin

The eelpout Leucogrammolycus brychios gen. et sp. nov., is described from nine specimens, five males (92–198 mm SL) and four females (99–205 mm SL), collected from off Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil, at depths from 536 to 632 m. It is mainly characterized by the following combination of characters: vertebrae 23–26 + 62–66 = 85–92; first anal-fin pterygiophore associated with first or second caudal vertebrae; scales absent; lateral line with mediolateral and ventral branches; upper lip broadly adnate to snout tip; gill slit not reaching ventrally to opposite lower end of pectoral-fin base; pelvic-fin rays 2; head pores relatively few, small, rounded; and whitish mid-body stripe forming a chevron on top of snout.

Hamadiana chapadensis, a new genus and species of diving beetle from Brazil (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Laccophilinae, Laccophilini)

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4615 (1) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
CESAR J. BENETTI ◽  
ANDREW E. Z. SHORT ◽  
MARIANO C. MICHAT
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Male Genitalia ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Single Male ◽  
Male Specimen ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Diving Beetle

Hamadiana chapadensis gen. n. and sp. n. is described based on a single male specimen collected in Central Brazil. The new species belongs to the diving beetle tribe Laccophilini but could not be assigned to any existing genera, therefore a new genus is described to accommodate it. Hamadiana gen. n. is unique among Laccophilini in having the hind margin of the metacoxal process deeply incised and medially slightly protruded backwards. In addition, it differs from other genera of the tribe by having the antennomeres simple, not expanded, the metacoxal lines not straight, and the metatibiae with two simple apical spurs. The habitus, male genitalia, and diagnostic features are illustrated, and a distribution map is provided. A recently published key to Laccophilini is modified to include the new genus.

A new genus and species in the Sporolithales (Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta) from northern New Zealand: Roseapetra farriae sp. nov. 

Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 490 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-46
Author(s):  
WENDY A. NELSON ◽  
KATE F. NEILL ◽  
BRENTON A. TWIST ◽  
JUDY E. SUTHERLAND
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Rocky Reefs ◽  
Anatomical Characters

A new genus in the order Sporolithales (Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta), Roseapetra farriae gen. et sp. nov. is described, based on material from northern New Zealand. Previously placed in the genus Heydrichia on the basis of morpho-anatomical characters, phylogenetic analyses have shown that this northern New Zealand taxon is not resolved with either Heydrichia or Sporolithon, the two genera currently recognized in this order. Roseapetra displays the key diagnostic features of the order, namely the production of cruciately divided tetrasporangia singly within calcified sporangial compartments. In Roseapetra the tetrasporangia are surrounded by an involucre, and mature tetrasporangia are subtended by up to three stalk cells. The tetrasporangial compartments are shed once spores have been released. Gametangial conceptacles are not shed but become buried, with secondary meristem producing lens-like areas of regrowth. While there are several morpho-anatomical characters that separate Roseapetra and Sporolithon, there are none that can be used to distinguish Roseapetra from Heydrichia: recognition of Roseapetra requires sequence data. Roseapetra farriae is found growing in the low intertidal zone on rocky reefs in shaded, understorey habitats.

An unusual new sinuitid mollusc (Bellerophontoidea, Gastropoda) from the Ordovician of Spain

1996 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 602-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Frýda ◽  
Juan Carlos Gutiérrez-Marco
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Outer Shell ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Central Spain ◽  
Shell Surface ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Early Ordovician ◽  
Phylogenetic Relations ◽  
The Family ◽  
Mode Of Life

Hispanosinuites peeli new genus and species from the Lower Oretan shales (Middle Ordovician) of central Spain is described and placed in the new subfamily Hispanosinuitinae of the family Sinuitidae. This new subfamily is considered to represent a highly specialized phylogenetic lineage, which probably separated from the morphological range of the genus Sinuites during the Early Ordovician. The outer shell surface of Hispanosinuites peeli is entirely covered by secondary shell layers, which are interpreted as perinductura, inductura and coinductura. The similarity of these shell deposits in Hispanosinuites peeli and species of Euphemites suggests that these layers were secreted by mantle flaps having the same form in both genera. Hispanosinuites peeli is interpreted as a mobile mollusc with an internal shell adapted to an infaunal mode of life. Discovery of this unusual mollusc reopens the question of the phylogenetic relations of the families Sinuitidae and Euphemitidae, which are often assigned to different molluscan classes.

A new pachypleurosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Middle Triassic of Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland

1989 ◽  
Vol 323 (1212) ◽  
pp. 1-73 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Middle Triassic ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Morphological Description ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Lower Jaw ◽  
Jaw Mechanics ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mode Of Life ◽  
Aquatic Mode

Pachypleurosaur material from the Middle Triassic ‘ Grenzbitumen’-horizon (Anis-Ladin boundary) of Monte San Giorgio, Kanton Tessin, Switzerland, is described as a new genus and species, Serpianosaurus mirigiolensis .A detailed morphological description is followed by a quantitative analysis. The taxon differs from other pachypleurosaurids primarily by its relatively large skull and its straight lower jaw. Rib pachyostosis is absent. In most characters the taxon remains plesiomorphous with respect to other pachypleurosaurs from the Middle Triassic deposits of Monte San Giorgio, which accords well with its early stratigraphic occurrence at that locality. Sexual dimorphism is expressed by the size and shape of the humerus. A cladistic analysis shows the Pachypleurosauridae to constitute the sistergroup of all other Sauropterygia. The Sauropterygia and the Placodontia together form a monophyletic group, the Euryapsida, which is subordinated to the Diapsida and to the Neodiapsida, but which is classifed outside the archosauromorph-lepidosauromorph dichotomy within the Neodiapsida. A concluding paragraph discusses the status of the pachypleurosaurs within the Sauropterygia. Skull structure, and jaw mechanics in particular, suggest a relatively plesiomorph position of pachypleurosaurs within the Sauropterygia. Their adaptation to an aquatic mode of life was not carried to the degree observed in other sauropterygians, and the ability for rapid and deep dives seems to have been limited by middle-ear structure.

A new genus and species of anthracosaur amphibian from the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland and the status of Pholidogaster pisciformis Huxley

1975 ◽  
Vol 269 (900) ◽  
pp. 581-637 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Lower Carboniferous ◽  
Lower Jaw ◽  
The Family ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Status ◽  
Coal Measures ◽  
Composite Restoration

The isolated skull of a Lower Carboniferous anthracosaur labyrinthodont from the Midlothian coalfield was formerly but erroneously attributed to Pholidogaster pisciformis . It is now redescribed after ‘Airbrasive’ development as the holotype of a new genus and species. The anthracosaur agrees in a number of diagnostic cranial characters with the embolomerous forms of the Coal Measures but other characters, particularly those of the braincase and lower jaw, suggest relationship to the Seymouriamorpha. Its cranial anatomy could well be antecedent to that of both these groups and the sparse evidence available suggests close relationship to the American Mississippian anthracosaur Proterogyrinus . A new classification of the Batrachosauria is presented with a major subdivision into Anthracosauria and Seymouriamorpha. The former group comprises the newly proposed infraorder Herpetospondyli to include the Lower Carboniferous forms, together with the infraorders Embolomeri and Gephyrostegoidea. It is concluded that while no batrachosaur with an otic notch could be a reptile ancestor a primitive ‘notchless’ anthracosaur could be. The cranial anatomy of Pholidogaster pisciformis is then redescribed, after complete ‘Airbrasive’ preparation of the holotype skull. The holotype, like the anthracosaur, comes from the Gilmerton Ironstone of the Edinburgh region, but the earlier holotype skull of Otocratia modesta , long considered to be an ichthyostegid, is also attributed to Pholidogaster . After redescription of ‘ Otocratia ' a composite restoration of the Pholidogaster skull is presented. The nature of the dermal ornament, the post-parietal-supratemporal suture, the absence of tabular horns and the nature of the post-cranial skeleton all demonstrate that Pholidogaster is an early temnospondyl labyrinthodont in no way closely related to anthracosaurs. It is closely similar to the American Mississippian form Greererpeton burkemorani Romer, notably in the presence of large premaxillary fangs and the absence of otic notch and intertemporal. Both may be attributed to the family Colosteidae. It is concluded that there is no strong evidence of close relationship between the colosteids and the Devonian ichthyostegids.

scholarly journals Gymnotocinclus anosteos, a new uniquely-plated genus and species of loricariid catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from the upper rio Tocantins basin, central Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Pinto Carvalho ◽  
Pablo Lehmann A. ◽  
Roberto E. Reis
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Headwater Stream ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Caudal Peduncle ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Naked Body

Gymnotocinclus anosteos, a new genus and species, is described from a headwater stream of the upper rio Tocantins basin in central Brazil. The new taxon is distinguished from other loricariids by the extreme reduction of dermal plates, having an almost completely naked body. Three other diagnostic features are: the absence of the lateral connecting bone, absence of bifid hemal spines, and odontode tips in the last dermal plates on the caudal peduncle dorsally or anteriorly curved. These derived features are not shared with any other hypoptopomine genus and the new taxon is hypothesized to be a basal member of the subfamily. Character states proposed by previous phylogenies of the subfamily are examined in the new taxon and its relationships are discussed.

scholarly journals A new cistecephalid (Dicynodontia: Emydopoidea) from the Upper Permian of Malawi

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Araújo ◽  
Zanildo Macungo ◽  
Vincent Fernadez ◽  
Elizabeth G. Chindebvu ◽  
Louis L. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Micro Computed Tomography ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Basal Clade ◽  
Cranial Osteology ◽  
First Time ◽  
Arteries And Veins ◽  
The Brain

Cistecephalidae is a relatively basal clade of dicynodonts, well-nested within emydopoids, and known to have multiple adaptations to a fossorial lifestyle. In recent years cistecephalid taxonomic diversity has been progressively increasing and important insights into the osteology, soft-tissue anatomy, and paleobiology of the clade have improved considerably. Here we describe a new genus and species of a cistecephalid from the Chiweta Beds (Northern Malawi, Wuchiapingian), a yet inadequately sampled area of Karoo sediments. Due to the minute dimensions and delicate nature of specimen PK-16-1, we have utilized, propagation phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography, revealing conspicuous contrast between rock matrix and bone and allowing reconstruction of its cranial osteology in great detail. PK-16-1 is here recognized as a new genus and species based on various autapomorphies, such as the presence of an atrophied preparietal and the presence of convergent crests along the pila antoticae. We performed a phylogenetic analysis in which we recovered PK-16-1 in a clade with Kembawacela and Cistecephalus united, among other characters, by a strongly embayed rostrum notch. Furthermore, the anatomical resolution obtained allowed us to reconstruct the osseous labyrinth, the paths for several nerve branches, arteries and veins for the first time in cistecephalids, and we develop new hypotheses for their paths and nomenclature for dicynodonts. We found remarkable resemblance in the brain endocast of PK-16-1 and another cistecephalid, Kawingasaurus, which is considerably distinct from other dicynodonts.

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