First procolophonid (Reptilia, Parareptilia) from the Lower Triassic of Madagascar

Falconnet, Jocelyn; Andriamihaja, Misalalanirina; Läng, Émilie; Steyer, Jean‐Sébastien

doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2012.04.001

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(123 reference statements)

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“…Falconnet et al . () even suggested that ‘pectoral girdle elements did not co‐ossify during ontogeny’ in procolophonids. However, of all the specimens they mentioned as being mature and having nonossified pectoral elements, only one is potentially valid: a Sclerosaurus which is the largest procolophonid found to date, but the authors did not address the question of its ontogeny (Sues & Reisz ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As procolophonids are known to possess from 25 to 27 presacral vertebrae (Falconnet et al . ), this means that BRSUG 29950‐13, with 16 vertebrae present, is preserved with 59–64% of the presacral vertebral column. The first six vertebrae (not counting the two dubious elements) are very fragmentary, with most of the neural arches and spines lost, but the neural arches with neural spines of the following vertebrae are almost perfectly preserved.…”

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…A similar trait has been observed in most other procolophonids with preserved postcrania (Colbert & Kitching ; Sues & Reisz ; Säilä ; Falconnet et al . ). In his Procolophonidae incertae sedis , deBraga () found that only cervical ribs were dichocephalous and all dorsal ribs were holocephalous.…”

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The present bones are also very slim and transversely elongated, instead of being circular, as is usual in procolophonids (Meckert ; deBraga ; Cisneros ; Sues & Reisz ; Falconnet et al . ; MacDougall et al . ), which would confirm their incompleteness.…”

Section: Pectoral Girdlementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Middle Triassic procolophonid Kapes bentoni: computed tomography of the skull and skeleton

Zaher

Coram

Benton

2018

Papers in Palaeontology

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Procolophonids were diverse small reptiles through the late Permian and Triassic. Relatively complete specimens of various taxa are known from the Early and Late Triassic, but the 10 or so Middle Triassic taxa, from South Africa, Russia, China and the UK, are mostly incomplete, being known only from skulls or partial and poorly preserved isolated elements. Because of their small size, it has often been difficult to establish details of anatomy using physical preparation methods, so application of scanning technology can massively improve knowledge. Here, we describe the first substantial portion of a skull and anterior postcranial skeleton of the genus Kapes, known from Russia and the UK. CT scanning and 3D digital restoration of the new specimen from the Anisian Otter Sandstone of Devon, UK, reveal anatomical details previously unknown for this taxon, most notably the enlarged quadratojugal processes. This is also one of the few mature procolophonid specimens with a preserved postcranium, and it gives valuable insight into ossification patterns. Fused sutures of the skull, fused scapulocoracoid, and heavily worn teeth show evidence of the common reptilian ossification pattern with a possible limitation in tooth replacement. There is sufficient anatomical information to include Kapes bentoni for the first time in a cladistic analysis, which shows that it is sister to the Russian Kapes majmesculae and part of a clade of Anisian taxa phylogenetically more basal than Procolophon. Inferences on the function of the quadratojugal spines and fossorial mode of life are also considered.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Pectoral Girdlementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Middle Triassic procolophonid Kapes bentoni: computed tomography of the skull and skeleton

Zaher

Coram

Benton

2018

Papers in Palaeontology

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“…fishes, reptiles) often represent the higher trophic guilds in food chains, and their presence in the Early Triassic therefore is crucial in reconstructing the ecosystem recovery process (Benton et al, 2013). Lower Triassic marine successions yield a few fish faunas worldwide, such as Chaohu (Tong et al, 2006) and Jurong (Qian et al, 1997;Liu et al, 2002) in South China, India (Romano et al, 2016b), Madagascar (Beltan, 1996;Falconnet and Andriamihajia, 2012), Spitsbergen (Weitschat, 2008;Romano and Brinkmann, 2010), Greenland (Mutter, 2005;Kogan, 2011), British…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Early Triassic Jurong fish fauna, South China: Age, anatomy, taphonomy, and global correlation

Qiu

Chen

et al. 2019

Global and Planetary Change

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As the higher trophic guilds in marine food chains, top predators such as larger fishes and reptiles are important indicators that a marine ecosystem has recovered following a crisis. Early Triassic marine fishes and reptiles therefore are key proxies in reconstructing the ecosystem recovery process after the end-Permian mass extinction. In South China, the Early Triassic Jurong fish fauna is the earliest marine vertebrate assemblage in the recovery period. It is constrained as mid-late Smithian in age based on both conodont biostratigraphy and carbon isotopic correlations. The Jurong fishes are all preserved in calcareous nodules embedded in black shale of the Lower Triassic Lower Qinglong Formation, and the fauna comprises at least three genera of Paraseminotidae and Perleididae. The phosphatic fish bodies often show exceptionally preserved interior structures, including network structures of possible organ walls and cartilages. Microanalysis reveals the well-preserved micro-structures (i.e. collagen layers) of teleost scales and fish fins. Abundant small pyrite framboids, 2−5 μm in diameter, are detected from the nodules and fish body surfaces, indicating a calm, euxinic burial environment. Coccoid-like microspheroids are also very abundant in the host rocks and near the fish fossil surfaces, implying that microbes may have participated in the burial process of the fishes. Taphonomic analysis uncovers the four-step formation process of the fish nodules. (1) Fishes lived in the oxic seawater in the upper ocean, and (2) their bodies sank to the anoxic seabed after death, with the body surface being wrapped by bacteria. (3) Microbial biofilms sealed body surfaces to prevent or delay the decay of the fleshy body. The decomposition of the body cavity and interior organs produced some CO 2 and H 2 S gases. The former formed bicarbonate ions in seawater and attracted calcium ions to facilitate the precipitation of calcium carbonate, while the H 2 S combined with iron ions in seawater to form pyrite framboids. (4) The fish nodule gradually grew by precipitation of calcium carbonate in layers and embedding with pyrite framboids, and later the fish fossil nodule was compacted during diagenesis. Global faunal correlations indicate that the Jurong fishes are closely related to the Early Triassic fish faunas from Chaohu, Anhui Province and Madagascar.

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Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England

Butler,

Meade,

Cleary

et al. 2023

The Anatomical Record

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The fissure fill localities of southwest England and South Wales are well‐known for preserving rich assemblages of predominantly small‐bodied Late Triassic to Early Jurassic tetrapods, but many aspects of these assemblages remain contentious. The age of the Late Triassic fissures is disputed, with some lines of argument suggesting a latest Triassic (Rhaetian) age, whereas other evidence suggests they may be as old as Carnian. The fissures have been hypothesized by some workers to have formed on an archipelago, with island effects invoked to explain aspects of the assemblages such as the abundance of small‐bodied species. Procolophonids were a successful group of Triassic parareptiles, best known from Early to early Late Triassic assemblages, but have only recently been described from one of the fissure fill sites (Ruthin) based upon fragmentary remains. Here, we describe new procolophonid specimens from another fissure (Cromhall) that represent at least six individuals of different sizes, with much of the skeleton represented including well‐preserved skull material. The Cromhall procolophonid shows strong similarities to Late Triassic procolophonids from Scotland, Brazil and North America, but both autapomorphies and a unique character combination demonstrate that it represents a new species, which we name as Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis places Hwiccewyrm in a derived clade within Leptopleuroninae, together with Leptopleuron, Hypsognathus, and Soturnia. The largest specimens of Hwiccewyrm demonstrate a body size that is similar to Leptopleuron and Hypsognathus, supporting other recent work that has questioned the insular dwarfism hypothesis for the fissure fill assemblages.

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First procolophonid (Reptilia, Parareptilia) from the Lower Triassic of Madagascar

Cited by 12 publications

References 50 publications

The Middle Triassic procolophonid Kapes bentoni: computed tomography of the skull and skeleton

The Middle Triassic procolophonid Kapes bentoni: computed tomography of the skull and skeleton

The Early Triassic Jurong fish fauna, South China: Age, anatomy, taphonomy, and global correlation

Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England

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