“…Then we used Avizo software (FEI Visualization Sciences Group, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA) to digitally reconstruct the fossil model from raw micro-CT data through the function of 3D volume rendering. Figure 1 Holotype and paratype locality (star) for Gansubatrachus qiliansis ( a ) and stratigraphic details for the Zhonggou Formation ( b ) [ 34 ]. …”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“… Holotype and paratype locality (star) for Gansubatrachus qiliansis ( a ) and stratigraphic details for the Zhonggou Formation ( b ) [ 34 ]. …”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…To explore the nature of the fossilized eggs, elemental maps of specific areas of the fossil were produced using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) at the Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology. We designated JQ-HX-QW-02A,B as the paratype of Gansubatrachus qilianensis, which was previously known only from its holotype (JQ-HX-QW-01), based on the shared presence of several skeletal and one soft-body features [ 34 ]. Data from the new paratype were combined with data of the holotype in the phylogenetic analyses to test the relationships of Gansubatrachus qilianensis.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The analyses used the same approach as Zhang et al . [ 34 ] and character scorings of Gansubatrachus qilianensis are provided in the electronic supplementary material. General osteological terminology follows Maglia et al .…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Here we report on such a rare fossil, a Lower Cretaceous gravid female frog from the Jiuquan Basin of northwest China. It provides complementary data of the skeleton and life history of the recently described Gansubatrachus qilianensis [ 34 ], which inhabited northwestern China more than 100 Myr ago.…”
Mesozoic fossils of frogs are rare in the palaeontological record, particularly those exhibiting soft tissues that offer limited insights into early life-history characteristics. Here we report on a skeletally immature frog from the Lower Cretaceous of northwest China, with egg masses in the body and eggs in the oviduct, indicative of a gravid female. CT reconstruction of the specimen allows referral to
Gansubatrachus qilianensis
and we assign it as a paratype complementing the diagnosis of the type species
.
The new fossil, which might represent a younger individual than the holotype of
Gansubatrachus
, shows that sexual maturation occurred before full adulthood in this frog and provides evidence of death linked to mating behaviour. We also discuss other potential sources of variation and life-history traits of
Gansubatrachus
. The new finding represents the oldest Early Cretaceous frog preserving
in situ
eggs and provides a glimpse into ancient anuran development during Mesozoic times.
“…Then we used Avizo software (FEI Visualization Sciences Group, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA) to digitally reconstruct the fossil model from raw micro-CT data through the function of 3D volume rendering. Figure 1 Holotype and paratype locality (star) for Gansubatrachus qiliansis ( a ) and stratigraphic details for the Zhonggou Formation ( b ) [ 34 ]. …”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“… Holotype and paratype locality (star) for Gansubatrachus qiliansis ( a ) and stratigraphic details for the Zhonggou Formation ( b ) [ 34 ]. …”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…To explore the nature of the fossilized eggs, elemental maps of specific areas of the fossil were produced using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) at the Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology. We designated JQ-HX-QW-02A,B as the paratype of Gansubatrachus qilianensis, which was previously known only from its holotype (JQ-HX-QW-01), based on the shared presence of several skeletal and one soft-body features [ 34 ]. Data from the new paratype were combined with data of the holotype in the phylogenetic analyses to test the relationships of Gansubatrachus qilianensis.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The analyses used the same approach as Zhang et al . [ 34 ] and character scorings of Gansubatrachus qilianensis are provided in the electronic supplementary material. General osteological terminology follows Maglia et al .…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Here we report on such a rare fossil, a Lower Cretaceous gravid female frog from the Jiuquan Basin of northwest China. It provides complementary data of the skeleton and life history of the recently described Gansubatrachus qilianensis [ 34 ], which inhabited northwestern China more than 100 Myr ago.…”
Mesozoic fossils of frogs are rare in the palaeontological record, particularly those exhibiting soft tissues that offer limited insights into early life-history characteristics. Here we report on a skeletally immature frog from the Lower Cretaceous of northwest China, with egg masses in the body and eggs in the oviduct, indicative of a gravid female. CT reconstruction of the specimen allows referral to
Gansubatrachus qilianensis
and we assign it as a paratype complementing the diagnosis of the type species
.
The new fossil, which might represent a younger individual than the holotype of
Gansubatrachus
, shows that sexual maturation occurred before full adulthood in this frog and provides evidence of death linked to mating behaviour. We also discuss other potential sources of variation and life-history traits of
Gansubatrachus
. The new finding represents the oldest Early Cretaceous frog preserving
in situ
eggs and provides a glimpse into ancient anuran development during Mesozoic times.
A new hemeroscopid dragonfly, Parahemeroscopus jiuquanensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cretaceous Zhonggou Formation of the Jiuquan Basin, northwestern China. Parahemeroscopus gen. nov. has the mixed characters of the hemeroscopid genera Hemeroscopus Pritykina, 1977 and Abrohemeroscopus Ren, Liu & Cheng, 2003, and probably represents a transitional dragonfly from Abrohemeroscopus to Hemeroscopus. The new finding not only adds to the diversity of the Hemeroscopidae Pritykina, 1977, but also provides clues for revealing the early evolution of the hemeroscopid dragonflies.
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