Nuevos elasmosáuridos (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) del Cretácico Superior de la Cuenca de Magallanes, Patagonia Chilena: Evidencia de recambio faunístico durante el Maastrichtiano a lo largo de la Provincia Biogeográfica Weddelliana.

Abstract

Several Upper Cretaceous plesiosaur specimens recovered from southernmost Chile are described here. These were collected from upper levels of the Dorotea Formation exposed on three different localities (Sierra Baguales, Cerro Castillo, and Dumestre). The new material includes the first record of Aristonectes (Plesiosauria, Elasmosauridae), previously recorded from Argentina, central Chile, and Antarctica. Additional specimens include associated postcranial skeletons as well as isolated elements. Among these, we recognize the presence of aristonectines in the three studied localities, while non-aristonectine elasmosaurids were only collected from Cerro Castillo. The specimen from Dumestre is remarkable by being a small-sized adult, indeterminate aristonectine, and could be related to known representatives from Antarctica. These new finds prove the abundance of aristonectines as well as intermediate elasmosaurids along the Magallanes Basin during the uppermost Cretaceous, while extreme long-necked elasmosaurids as well as polycotylids seems to be completely absent during this time span. This key record from southernmost Chile and its strategic placement in the middle part of the Weddellian Province gives the chance for complementing the paleobiogeography of Upper Cretaceous plesiosaurs from the Southern Hemisphere. As a first result, a faunal turnover is observed during the early Maastrichtian, when extreme (very-long necked) elasmosaurids and polycotylids disappeared from the austral record. Since the early Maastrichtian and towards the late Maastrichtian, aristonectines became differentially abundant along the southeastern Pacific and Antarctica, but moderately represented in the southwestern Atlantic. On contrary, intermediate elasmosaurids were scarce in the Antarctic-Pacific realm, but abundant in the Atlantic. The updated record of austral plesiosaurs suggest a first stage of interchange from the Northern into the Southern Hemisphere, and through the Atlantic seaway, at least since the Coniacian to the late Campanian-early Maastrichtian. During the early Maastrichtian, aristonectines were relatively frequent in the New Zealand-Antarctica archipelago, becoming abundant along southern South America during the late Maastrichtian.

How Elongated? The Pattern of Elongation of Cervical Centra of Elasmosaurus platyurus with Comments on Cervical Elongation Patterns among Plesiosauromorphs

“…Later, the recognition of the elasmosaurid affinities of aristonectines and the description of Nakonanectes bradti increased the known range of variation in cervical elongation patterns among elasmosaurids by adding elasmosaurids with relatively shorter cervical centra [6,10,11]. Otero et al [12] proposed a modification in neck elongation terminology, using the term "extremely elongated form" to nominate the member of the "elongate" group of O'Keefe and Hiller [4] and adding the category "plesiomorphic elasmosaurids" (Otero et al [12] (p. 254), also called "intermediate elasmosaurids" in the same contribution (Otero et al [12] (p. 256), for the more typical elasmosaurid neck. They also used the term "aristonectine" to group the neck elongation pattern observed among elasmosaurids that are members of the Aristonectine subfamily (Aristonectes parvidens, Aristonectes quiriquinensis, Kaiwhekea katiki, and Wunyelfia maulensis) for the first time.…”

A new elasmosaurid from the upper Maastrichtian López de Bertodano Formation: new data on weddellonectian diversity

“…The Weddellia elasmosaurids include not only the distinctive aristonectine elasmosaurids but also nonaristonectine elasmosaurids. Aristonectines (Aristonectes spp., 'Morturneria seymourensis', Kaiwhekea katiki and Alexandronectes zealandiensis) have an increased number of premaxillary, maxillary and dentary teeth, a squared posterior extension of the pterygoid, extremely short mandibular symphysis, and short and broad cervical centrum (Cruickshank & Fordyce 2002, Gasparini et al 2003, Otero et al 2014, Otero et al 2015b, O'Gorman 2016b. The non-aristonectine elasmosaurids show the typical small skull and anterior and middle cervical centra longer than high.…”