Bridging the gap: Sphenodont remains from the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia. Palaeobiological inferences

Gentil, Adriel Roberto; Agnolín, Federico; Marsà, Jordi Alexis Garcia; Motta, Matías J.; Novas, Fernando E.

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.01.016

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Discovery of the Naskal rhynchocephalian reinforces the emerging pattern that the group was confined to the southern landmasses of Gondwana after the Early Cretaceous (Evans et al, 2001;Apesteguía and Novas, 2003;Martinelli and Forasiepi, 2004;Apesteguía, 2005;Apesteguía and Rougier, 2007;Apesteguía and Jones, 2012;Apesteguía et al, , 2021Apesteguía and Carballido, 2014;Gentil et al, 2019;Fig. 4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…4). All but the Naskal taxon are from South America and considered members of the deeply nested clades Sphenodontinae and Opisthodontia or Eilenodontinae (e.g., Apesteguía et al, 2014, 2021; Gentil et al, 2019; Chambi-Trowell et al, 2021). The possible relationship between the Naskal taxon and Godavarisaurus would suggest that the Naskal taxon is phylogenetically near the base of Acrosphenodontia, well outside the clades that contain the Late Cretaceous South American forms (e.g., Romo de Vivar et al, 2020; Chambi-Trowell et al, 2021; DeMar et al, in press).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

First rhynchocephalian (Reptilia, Lepidosauria) from the Cretaceous–Paleogene of India

Anantharaman

DeMar

Sivakumar³

et al. 2022

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rhynchocephalia, a once diverse clade of lizard-like reptiles, had a nearly global distribution during much of the Mesozoic. By the Late Cretaceous rhynchocephalians underwent a marked reduction in their diversity and biogeographic range, with sparse records of only deeply nested taxa (e.g., Sphenodontinae) found in the Upper Cretaceous–Paleocene of Patagonia and the Miocene–Recent of New Zealand. Here we describe a partial dentary with teeth of a rhynchocephalian from the Naskal locality, an intertrappean deposit within the Deccan Traps Volcanic Province in peninsular India. This discovery represents the first Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) record of a rhynchocephalian outside of Patagonia and: (i) demonstrates the clade had a broader Gondwanan distribution during the Cretaceous than previously appreciated and (ii) reinforces the emerging pattern that Rhynchocephalia were confined to Gondwana after the Early Cretaceous. This further extends the rhynchocephalian record in India, which now spans most of the Mesozoic (Late Triassic to ca. K–Pg boundary). The Naskal rhynchocephalian is a member of Acrosphenodontia based on its regionalized, acrodont marginal dentition. Its hatchling teeth appear to be unique (e.g., crowns mesially tipped, distinct break in slope along distal margin) and most similar in morphology to those of Godavarisaurus lateefi from the Lower–Middle Jurassic of India. Although the Naskal intertrappean most likely was deposited during the latest Maastrichtian, additional fossil sampling across the K–Pg boundary in India is needed to determine whether the Naskal rhynchocephalian was a victim or survivor of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

show abstract