The enigmatic arthropod Duraznovis gallegoi from the Late Triassic of Argentina is a cicadomorphan head (Insecta: Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha)

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
YANZHE FU ◽  
DIYING HUANG

Recently, Lara et al. (2020a, b) described a new fossil taxon, Duraznovis gallegoi, based on two specimens from the Upper Triassic Potrerillos Formation at Quebrada del Durazno, Cuyana Basin of Argentina. This fossil is considered to be an enigmatic arthropod closely resembling the living and fossil representatives of xiphosurans (Chelicerata) and notostracans (Branchiopoda), two completely different arthropod groups with convergent body plans. Some distinctive combination of features, however, makes the systematic position of these specimens indeterminate (Lara et al., 2020a, b).

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


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Arymathéia Santos Franco ◽  
Rodrigo Temp Müller ◽  
Agustín G. Martinelli ◽  
Carolina A. Hoffmann ◽  
Leonardo Kerber

Abstract Traversodontidae is a group of Triassic herbivorous/omnivorous cynodonts that represents the most diversified lineage within Cynognathia. In southern Brazil, a rich fossil record of late Middle/mid-Late Triassic cynodonts has been documented, with Exaeretodon riograndensis Abdala, Barberena, and Dornelles, 2002 and Siriusgnathus niemeyerorum Pavanatto et al., 2018 representing two abundant and well-documented traversodontids. The present study provides a comparative analysis of the morphology of the nasal cavity, nasal recesses, nasolacrimal duct, and maxillary canals of both species using computed tomography, highlighting the changes that occurred in parallel to the origin of mammaliaforms. Our results show that there were no ossified turbinals or a cribriform plate delimiting the posterior end of the nasal cavity, suggesting these structures were probably cartilaginous as in nonmammaliaform cynodonts. Both species show lateral ridges on the internal surface of the roof of the nasal cavity, but the median ridge for the attachment of a nasal septum is absent. Exaeretodon riograndensis and S. niemeyerorum show recesses on the dorsal region of the nasal cavity, which increase the volume of the nasal cavity, potentially enhancing the olfactory chamber and contributing to the sense of smell. On the lateral sides of the nasal cavity, the analyzed taxa show a well-developed maxillary recess. Although E. riograndensis and S. niemeyerorum have roughly similar nasal cavities, in the former taxon, the space between the left and right dorsal recesses of the nasal cavity is uniform along its entire extension, whereas this space narrows posteriorly in S. niemeyerorum. Finally, the nasolacrimal duct of S. niemeyerorum is more inclined anteroposteriorly than in E. riograndensis.


2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Senowbari-Daryan ◽  
G. D. Stanley

Stromatomorpha californica Smith is a massive, calcified, tropical to subtropical organism of the Late Triassic that produced small biostromes and contributed in building some reefs. It comes from the displaced terranes of Cordilleran North America (Eastern Klamath terrane, Alexander terrane, and Wrangellia). This shallow-water organism formed small laminar masses and sometimes patch reefs. It was first referred to the order Spongiomorphidae but was considered to be a coral. Other affinities that have been proposed include hydrozoan, stomatoporoid, sclerosponge, and chambered sponge. Part of the problem was diagenesis that resulted in dissolution of the siliceous spicules and/or replaced them with calcite. Well-preserved dendroclone spicules found during study of newly discovered specimens necessitate an assignment of Stromatomorpha californica to the demosponge order Orchocladina Rauff. Restudy of examples from the Northern Calcareous Alps extends the distribution of this species to the Tethys, where it was an important secondary framework builder in Upper Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) reef complexes. Revisions of Stromatomorpha californica produce much wider pantropical distribution, mirroring paleogeographic patterns revealed for other tropical Triassic taxa. Review of Liassic material from the Jurassic of Morocco, previously assigned to Stromatomorpha californica Smith var. columnaris Le Maitre, cannot be sustained. Species previously included in Stromatomorpha are: S. stylifera Frech (type species, Rhaetian), S. actinostromoides Boiko (Norian), S. californica Smith (Norian), S. concescui Balters (Ladinian-Carnian), S. pamirica Boiko (Norian), S. rhaetica Kühn (Rhaetian), S. stromatoporoides Frech, and S. tenuiramosa Boiko (Norian). Stromatomorpha rhaetica Kühn described from the Rhaetian of Vorarlberg, Austria shows no major difference from S. californica. An example described as S. oncescui Balters from the Ladinian-Carnian of the Rarau Mountains, Romania, is very similar to S. californica in exhibiting similar spicule types. However, because of the greater distance between individual pillars, horizontal layers, and the older age, S. oncescui is retained as a separate species. The net-like and regular skeleton of Spongiomorpha sanpozanensis Yabe and Sugiyama, from the Upper Triassic of Sambosan (Tosa, Japan), suggests a closer alliance with Stromatomorpha, and this taxon possibly could be the same as S. californica.


Author(s):  
Nikolay G. ZVERKOV ◽  
Dmitry V. GRIGORIEV ◽  
Andrzej S. WOLNIEWICZ ◽  
Alexey G. KONSTANTINOV ◽  
Evgeny S. SOBOLEV

ABSTRACT The first ichthyosaurian specimens discovered from the Upper Triassic of the Russian Arctic (Kotelny Island, New Siberian Islands) are described herein. They include the remains of large- to small-bodied ichthyosaurians originating from six stratigraphic levels spanning the lower Carnian to middle Norian. The material is mostly represented by isolated vertebrae and ribs, which are not possible to accurately diagnose, but also includes specimens comprising associated vertebrae and a fragmentary skeleton that preserves cranial remains (parabasisphenoid, fragmentary quadrate, partial mandible and hyoids). Based on vertebral and rib morphology, we identify the specimens as representatives of the following taxonomic groups: large-bodied shastasaurids, medium-sized indeterminate ichthyosaurians with a single rib facet in the presacral centra, and small euichthyosaurians with double rib facets present throughout the presacral vertebrae that likely represent toretocnemids and/or basal parvipelvians. In addition, the cranial and mandibular remains preserved in one of the specimens, ZIN PH 5/250, were studied using micro-computed tomography. Its mandible is highly similar to that of toretocnemids, whereas the parabasisphenoid demonstrates a peculiar combination of both plesiomorphic and derived character states, providing the first detailed data on this cranial element in a Late Triassic ichthyosaurian. Furthermore, the specimen also demonstrates a distinctive condition of rib articulation in the anteriormost presacral (cervical) vertebrae, which together with other features allows for the erection of a new taxon – Auroroborealia incognita gen. et sp. nov. Although the phylogenetic position of this taxon is uncertain due to its fragmentary nature, its anatomy, indicating toretocnemid or parvipelvian affinities, further supports the previously hypothesised sister-group relationships between these two clades. The morphology of the parabasisphenoid and vertebral column of the new taxon is discussed in broader contexts of the patterns of evolution of these skeletal regions in ichthyosaurs.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Mohd Shafi Bhat ◽  
Sanghamitra Ray ◽  
P. M. Datta

Abstract The Upper Triassic Tiki Formation of India has yielded several new cynodont taxa, which are described on the basis of multiple isolated teeth and a jaw fragment. A new species of dromatheriid, Rewaconodon indicus, is defined by a tri- and tetracuspid asymmetric crown, long anterior edge of the major cusp a, cingular cusps d and f, and marked constriction at the crown-root junction. Another new dromatheriid, Inditherium floris n. gen. n. sp., is characterized by a broad, flower-shaped pentacuspid crown, multiple cingular cusps, and a weak lingual cingulum is also described from the same horizon. In addition, a new mammaliamorph taxon, Tikiodon cromptoni n. gen. n. sp., is established on a tooth specimen, which has a shovel-shaped crown, three closely spaced main cusps, a pronounced lingual cingulum with multiple cingular cusps, and a root of incomplete root bifurcation. Such a tooth morphology occupies an intermediate position between the non-mammalian cynodonts and the early mammals, as is evident from the co-occurrence of various cynodont dental morphotypes in the Tiki Formation. Moreover, Late Triassic cynodonts occurred along narrow belts demarcated by paleolatitudes, though the Indian fauna shows both Laurasian and Gondwanan affinities. UUID: http://zoobank.org/c2c575ad-ee23-4f33-8a30-661c548a5b17


2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula B Göhlich ◽  
Luis M Chiappe ◽  
James M Clark ◽  
Hans-Dieter Sues

Macelognathus vagans was described by O.C. Marsh in 1884, based on a mandibular symphysis from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Wyoming. Often considered a dinosaur but later tentatively referred to the Crocodylia, its phylogenetic identity has until now been enigmatic. New material of this species from the Morrison Formation of western Colorado demonstrates its affinities with basal crocodylomorphs commonly grouped together as the Sphenosuchia, which are characterized by a gracile postcranial skeleton with erect limb posture. Macelognathus shares features with Kayentasuchus from the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona and Hallopus, which may be from the Morrison Formation of eastern Colorado. The new material constitutes the youngest definitive occurrence of a sphenosuchian, previously known from the Late Triassic to the Middle or Late? Jurassic.


2011 ◽  
Vol 302 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 203-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silja K. Hüsing ◽  
Martijn H.L. Deenen ◽  
Jort G. Koopmans ◽  
Wout Krijgsman

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 202-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo N. Martínez ◽  
Catherine A. Forster ◽  
Cathleen L. May

Two skulls representing new forms of carnivorous cynodonts were discovered recently in the Upper Triassic (Carnian) Ischigualasto Formation of northwestern Argentina. These specimens are the first complete carnivorous cynodonts described from the Late Triassic of Argentina, and provide critical evidence for the evolution of cranial form between well known Middle Triassic cynodonts, such as Probainognathus, and the first mammals in the latest Triassic.The first skull (PVSJ 422) is proportionately long, with a posterior skull width only 35 per cent of basal skull length (9.5 cm.). Other distinctive features of the skull include the form of the postcanine crowns, which have two cusps posterior to the principal cusp and fine serations on their leading edges, and which overlap each other in an imbricate pattern. Postcanines 5-7 are subequal in size, overlap the dentary laterally, and are substantially larger than postcanines 2-4. The dental formula in the upper jaw is I4-C1-PC7, with the small first postcanine separated fore and aft by small diastemas. As in other advanced eucynodonts, no pineal foramen is present. Some postcranial elements, as yet unstudied, were also found with this specimen.The second skull (PVSJ 411) has broader proportions, the width between quadrates almost half that of basal skull length (7.5 cm.). These proportions, in combination with deep, curved zygomatic arches, resemble other Middle Triassic cynodonts such as Probelesodon. Distinctive features of this skull include bicusped postcanines in the upper jaw similar to those of Probelesodon, and a mandibular symphysis that extends back to the level of the fourth postcanine. The dental formula in the upper jaw is I4-C1-PC6. As in the first skull, a pineal foramen is absent.Several advanced cranial features, such as a fused mandibular symphysis, occur in both skulls and strongly suggest that these new forms belong within the Eucynodontia (Hopson, 1991). Other advanced features, such as the absence of a pineal foramen, further suggest that these new forms are closer to mammals than are traversodontid cynodonts. In contrast, other characters appear to be curiosly primitive, such as a short hard palate in the first skull. These new cynodonts thus may introduce previously unseen features and character combinations to the study of cynodont cranial evolution.


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