A case study of developmental palaeontology in <i>Stereosternum tumidum</i> (Mesosauridae, Parareptilia)

Ontogenetic series of extinct taxa are rare. However, if preserved, fossil embryos and juveniles can provide evidence of developmental plasticity as related to ecological specialization. Here, we describe articulated and isolated juvenile material found in close association with an adult mesosaurid Stereosternum tumidum (MB.R.2089) from Lower Permian sediments in Brazil, housed in the collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Stylopodial, zeugopodial, and autopodial elements are not yet completely ossified in the juveniles, as indicated by compression artifacts on the surface of the bone. These correspond to internal ossification processes, which have been demonstrated in other aquatic taxa. Quantitative analysis of measurements in juvenile and adult material reveals differing growth rates between limb elements: hind limb zeugopodia, which are massive and elongate in the adult as needed for propulsion, are already comparatively larger in the juvenile than the humeri, femora, and also the zeugopodia of the forelimb. This pattern differs from that seen in another extinct aquatic reptile, Hovasaurus boulei. Nevertheless, we attribute the accelerated growth rate or earlier onset of ossification to be a potential developmental pathway generating limb element variation in the adult present in 280 million year old mesosaurs, which are known for their fully aquatic lifestyle, in which the hind limbs play a more prominent role than the forelimbs.

New material of three-dimensionally phosphatized and microscopic cycloneuralians from the Cambrian Paibian Stage of South China

Some rare microscopic cycloneuralians are present in the Cambrian of South China, represented by Eopriapulites and Eokinorhynchus (both early Cambrian), fossil embryos of Markuelia (middle to late Cambrian), and palaeoscolecids (early to late Cambrian). Among them, palaeoscolecids are relatively diverse and abundant. Here, we describe new material of three-dimensionally phosphatized and microscopic cycloneuralians from the Paibian Stage of Wangcun Lagerstätte, western Hunan, South China. New material includes fossil embryos assignable to Markuelia sp., two other types of fossil embryos, and three species of palaeoscolecids, including Dispinoscolex decorus Duan, Dong, and Donoghue, 2012, Schistoscolex hunanensis Duan, Dong, and Donoghue, 2012, and Austroscolex sinensis new species. The palaeoscolecid fragments differ mainly in size and armor of the trunk annuli. Since Eokinorhynchus and Eopriapulites occurred the earliest among the Cambrian cycloneuralians, it is proposed here that: (1) cycloneuralians originated in the Cambrian Fortunian small shelly faunas rather than in the early Cambrian macrobenthos, (2) ancestral cycloneuralians may have simple trunk armor, and (3) Eopriapulites represents an ancestral cycloneuralian.

Phase Contrast Synchrotron Microtomography: Improving Noninvasive Investigations of Fossil Embryos In Ovo

Fossil embryos are paramount for our understanding of the development of extinct species. However, although thousands of fossil amniote eggs are known, very few embryos in ovo have been described. First reports of fossil embryos were based on broken eggs, where the embryonic remains were already exposed, because destructive methods on complete eggs were avoided. Investigations of complete eggs therefore required nondestructive approaches, such as X-ray microtomography (μCT). However, due to the general low density contrast between fossilized bones and infilling matrix, only a few specimens have been reported using these techniques. Using propagation phase contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography (PPC-SR-μCT), we report here the discovery of three well-preserved embryos in Early Cretaceous eggs from Thailand. By scanning these eggs using different imaging techniques, we show that vastly different interpretations can be made regarding the preservation state and/or the developmental stage of these embryos. PPC-SR-μCT also revealed differential contrast between bone categories, presumably reflecting the ossification pattern of these embryos. Applying such an approach to large-scale studies of fossil eggs could lead to more discoveries and detailed studies of fossil embryos, providing important developmental and phylogenetic information on extinct and extant amniotes.