The core of the fossil record of Teleosauridae, a family of thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs, is well known from western Tethyan marine deposits of the Jurassic. Outside this province, their fossil record is patchy and in need of revision with specimens from Russia, Madagascar and Asia. Peipehsuchus teleorhinus is known from the Early or Middle Jurassic of China and teleosaurid specimens were mentioned or preliminarily described from two Jurassic localities in Thailand, yet they were not assigned to a given taxon. Thanks to recent fieldwork, at least 10 individuals represented by cranial material were excavated and prepared from a single Jurassic locality known as Phu Noi in the lower Phu Kradung Formation of northeastern Thailand. Here, we describe these specimens together with disarticulated postcranial elements and erect a new taxon, Indosinosuchus potamosiamensis gen. et sp. nov.. Phylogenetic analyses confirm the teleosaurid affinities of the new species, which does not form an exclusive clade with the Chinese teleosaurid Peipehsuchus teleorhinus. The presence of teleosaurids at Phu Noi and a preliminary account of its faunal content favor a Middle to Late Jurassic age for the fossil-bearing horizon. In contrast, Cretaceous deposits in Thailand are characterized by goniopholidids and pholidosaurids indicating a faunal turnover in SE Asia across the Jurassic-Cretaceous. As previously shown by isotope data, the new teleosaurid species was a resident of the freshwater environment and co-occurs with remains of exclusively terrestrial taxa such as sauropod, ornithopod and theropod dinosaurs and other freshwater reptiles such as turtles and temnospondyls.
The osteology of Thaiichthys buddhabutrensis, nov. gen., from the Late Jurassic -Early Cretaceous of Thailand is described on the basis of a collection of well-preserved specimens. The mode of preservation of the material allows describing the external anatomy, as well as some elements of the internal anatomy (braincase, elements of the vertebral column). Most of the cranial and postcranial skeleton shows a rather conservative anatomy for 'semionotiformes', but the jaw apparatus displays specializations. Variations observed in the ossification pattern of the skull roof and of the cheek, in the morphology of the median dorsal scales and in fin rays' count indicate that caution should be applied when these characters are used in diagnoses and in phylogenetic analyses. A phylogenetic analysis including a set of gars, of 'semionotiformes', of Macrosemiiformes and of Halecomorphi shows the following features: (1) the monophyly of Holostei; (2) sister-pair relationships between Tlayuamichin ⁄ Semiolepis, Isanichthys ⁄ 'Lepidotes' latifrons and Araripelepidotes ⁄ Pliodetes; (3) the latter pair, together with Thaiichthys and possibly 'Lepidotes' mantelli, are resolved as stem Lepisosteiformes; and (4) the 'semionotiformes' (a group gathering species of Semionotus and Lepidotes) do not form a clade.
A revision of the freshwater shark fauna from the Phu Kradung Formation in NE Thailand allows the recognition of a new species of Acrodus, which represents the youngest occurrence of the genus and confirms its displacement in freshwater environments after the Toarcian. The rest of the shark fauna includes teeth of Hybodus sp., aff. Hybodus sp., hybodontid dermal denticles, Jiaodontus sp., Lonchidion sp. A, Lonchidion sp. B, Heteroptychodus cf. H. kokutensis and dorsal fin spines. The presence of Jaiodontus and of unusual hybodontid dermal denticles suggests a Jurassic age for most of the Phu Kradung Formation, whereas the presence of Heteroptychodus suggests an Early Cretaceous age for the top of the Formation. However, the age of the Phu Kradung Formation is still uncertain, with contradictory signals coming from palynology, detrital zircon thermochronology and vertebrate palaeontology. In any case, it appears that this is the oldest occurrence of the genus Heteroptychodus, and suggests a Thai origin for this genus, which may have replaced Acrodus in the Thai freshwater palaeoecosystems. Together with Acrodus, the presence of Lonchidion sp. A suggests some European affinities for the shark fauna from the Phu Kradung Formation.
A new ginglymodian fish, Isanichthys lertboosi, is described from the Phu Kradung
Thalattosuchians are crocodylomorphs mainly known from marine strata of Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. They represent the earliest crocodylomorph radiation to an aquatic habitat and their evolutionary history offers very few records from freshwater settings. Here, we report several exquisitely preserved thalattosuchian skulls attributed to a derived teleosaurid from a pedogenic horizon located at the base of a fluvial series of alternating silts and sandstones of the Phu Kradung Formation (Upper Jurassic) of northeastern Thailand. Using laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) on tooth enamel and dentine, we measured isotopic ratios of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) to test the habitat of these teleosaurids. In addition, Sr concentrations of the dental tissues were estimated from the calibrated signal intensities of the Sr isotope measurements. The dataset includes bioapatite (teeth or scales) of eight terrestrial and five aquatic vertebrates. Theropods exhibit lower Sr concentrations both in enamel and dentine compared to others groups, a pattern in accordance with the calcium biopurification process, which predicts that Sr concentrations in the body of vertebrates decrease up the trophic chain. It also excludes the possibility that diagenesis has completely overprinted the Sr isotope compositions of the fossil assemblage, which exhibits a homogeneous87Sr/86Sr signature above the Late Jurassic seawater value. Values for teleosaurid teeth are in the range of other values for vertebrates in the continental assemblage and imply that these crocodylomorphs did not migrate between freshwater and marine habitats at least in the time constraint of the mineralizing tooth. This result represents the first demonstration that a population of teleosaurids was established for a prolonged time in a freshwater environment. Whether the ability of teleosaurids to inhabit freshwater habitats is a secondary adaptation or whether it is plesiomorphic and inherited from freshwater ancestors is discussed.
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