First Record of Protorosaurid Reptile (Order Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of China

The previously alleged ‘perleidid’ genus Peltoperleidus is a stem-neopterygian fish taxon with two or three horizontal rows of notably deepened flank scales. Until recently, members of this genus were known only from the Ladinian (late Middle Triassic) or near the Anisian/Ladinian boundary (~242 Ma) in southern Switzerland and northern Italy. Here, I report the discovery of a new species of the genus, Peltoperleidus asiaticus sp. nov., based on three well-preserved specimens from the Anisian (early Middle Triassic, ~244 Ma) of Luoping, eastern Yunnan, China. The discovery extends the geological range of Peltoperleidus by approximately two million years and documents the first record of the genus in Asia. Similar to its relatives (represented by P. macrodontus) from Europe, P. asiaticus sp. nov. is likely a small-sized durophagous predator with dentition combining grasping and crushing morphologies. Results of a cladistic analysis unite four species of Peltoperleidus as a monophyletic group within the Louwoichthyiformes, and suggest that the presence of two horizontal rows of notably deepened scales was independently evolved in Peltoperleidus and another stem-neopterygian taxon Altisolepis. P. asiaticus sp. nov. is nested at the base of Peltoperleidus, and a new family Peltoperleididae is proposed for the genus, contrasting the previous placement of Peltoperleidus in the poorly defined, paraphyletic ‘Perleididae’. Comparative studies of the basal peltoperleidid from China with its younger relatives from Europe provide new insights into the evolutionary origin and paleogeographic distribution of this clade.

Download Full-text

A new stem-neopterygian fish from the Middle Triassic of China shows the earliest over-water gliding strategy of the vertebrates

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2012.2261 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 280 (1750) ◽

pp. 20122261 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Guang-Hui Xu ◽

Li-Jun Zhao ◽

Ke-Qin Gao ◽

Fei-Xiang Wu

Keyword(s):

Fossil Record ◽

Middle Triassic ◽

Southern China ◽

First Record ◽

Pectoral Fins ◽

Flying Fish ◽

Aquatic Vertebrates ◽

Flying Fishes ◽

Permian Mass Extinction ◽

New Evidence

Flying fishes are extraordinary aquatic vertebrates capable of gliding great distances over water by exploiting their enlarged pectoral fins and asymmetrical caudal fin. Some 50 species of extant flying fishes are classified in the Exocoetidae (Neopterygii: Teleostei), which have a fossil record no older than the Eocene. The Thoracopteridae is the only pre-Cenozoic group of non-teleosts that shows an array of features associated with the capability of over-water gliding. Until recently, however, the fossil record of the Thoracopteridae has been limited to the Upper Triassic of Austria and Italy. Here, we report the discovery of exceptionally well-preserved fossils of a new thoracopterid flying fish from the Middle Triassic of China, which represents the earliest evidence of an over-water gliding strategy in vertebrates. The results of a phylogenetic analysis resolve the Thoracopteridae as a stem-group of the Neopterygii that is more crown-ward than the Peltopleuriformes, yet more basal than the Luganoiiformes. As the first record of the Thoracopteride in Asia, this new discovery extends the geographical distribution of this group from the western to eastern rim of the Palaeotethys Ocean, providing new evidence to support the Triassic biological exchanges between Europe and southern China. Additionally, the Middle Triassic date of the new thoracopterid supports the hypothesis that the re-establishment of marine ecosystems after end-Permian mass extinction is more rapid than previously thought.

Download Full-text

Lariosaurus xingyiensis (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Triassic of China

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e02-067 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 621-634 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Olivier Rieppel ◽

Li Jinling ◽

Liu Jun

Keyword(s):

Middle Triassic ◽

Southern China ◽

Cladistic Analysis ◽

First Record ◽

Southern Alps ◽

Sister Taxon ◽

Marine Reptiles

The anatomy of a specimen of Lariosaurus xingyiensis (IVPP V 11866) from the Middle Triassic of southern China is described in detail. The specimen ranks among the best preserved of its genus. Specimen IVPP V 11866 is the first unequivocal record of the occurrence of Lariosaurus in the Triassic of southern China, indeed the first record of this genus outside the western Tethyan province. A cladistic analysis using parsimony found IVPP V 11866 to represent the sister taxon of Lariosaurus calcagnii from the Middle Triassic of the southern Alps. This result reinforces the signal for western Tethyan paleobiogeographic relationships of the Triassic marine reptiles from southern China.

Download Full-text

Filamentous cyanobacteria preserved in masses of fungal hyphae from the Triassic of Antarctica

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.8660 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e8660 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carla J. Harper ◽

Edith L. Taylor ◽

Michael Krings

Keyword(s):

Fungal Diversity ◽

Middle Triassic ◽

First Record ◽

Symbiotic Relationship ◽

Filamentous Cyanobacterium ◽

Filamentous Cyanobacteria ◽

Environmental Setting ◽

Fungal Hyphae ◽

Mineral Replacement ◽

Fossil Genus

Permineralized peat from the central Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica has provided a wealth of information on plant and fungal diversity in Middle Triassic high-latitude forest paleoecosystems; however, there are no reports as yet of algae or cyanobacteria. The first record of a fossil filamentous cyanobacterium in this peat consists of wide, uniseriate trichomes composed of discoid cells up to 25 µm wide, and enveloped in a distinct sheath. Filament morphology, structurally preserved by permineralization and mineral replacement, corresponds to the fossil genus Palaeo-lyngbya, a predominantly Precambrian equivalent of the extant Lyngbya sensu lato (Oscillatoriaceae, Oscillatoriales). Specimens occur exclusively in masses of interwoven hyphae produced by the fungus Endochaetophora antarctica, suggesting that a special micro-environmental setting was required to preserve the filaments. Whether some form of symbiotic relationship existed between the fungus and cyanobacterium remains unknown.

Download Full-text

First record of plant fossils from the Upper Muschelkalk (late Anisian, Middle Triassic) at Bruchsal (Baden-Württemberg, Germany)

Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften ◽

10.1127/zdgg/2019/0203 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 170 (3-4) ◽

pp. 321-338

Author(s):

Evelyn Kustatscher ◽

Roland Plesker ◽

Steffen Philipps ◽

Matthias Franz

Keyword(s):

Middle Triassic ◽

First Record ◽

Plant Fossils ◽

Upper Muschelkalk

Download Full-text

Decision letter for "Source and origin of Late Paleozoic dropstones from Peninsular Malaysia: First record of Mississippian glaciogenic deposits of Gondwana in Southeast Asia"

10.1002/gj.3809/v1/decision1 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Southeast Asia ◽

First Record ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Late Paleozoic

Download Full-text

Review for "Middle Triassic tectono‐sedimentary development of Sichuan Basin: Insights into the cratonic differentiation"

10.1002/gj.4033/v1/review2 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Sichuan Basin ◽

Middle Triassic

Download Full-text

First record of the superfamily Proctotrupoidea from French Polynesia (Hymenoptera)

Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France ◽

10.32475/bsef_2162 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 125 (4) ◽

pp. 404-406

Author(s):

Thibault Ramage

Keyword(s):

First Record ◽

French Polynesia ◽

Society Islands ◽

First Time

A Helorid wasp, Helorus ruficornis Förster, 1856, is reported for the first time on Tahiti (Society Islands), which is also the first record of both Proctotrupoidea and family Heloridae in French Polynesia. The potential hosts of Helorus ruficornis in French Polynesia are discussed.

Download Full-text