Reassessment of the Early Triassic trematosaurid temnospondyl <i>Tertrema acuta</i> from the Arctic island of Spitsbergen

Slodownik, Miriam; Mörs, Thomas; Kear, Benjamin P.

doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1900209

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The trematosaurian lineage demonstrates both conditions. Early‐diverging trematosaurines from the Olenekian of Russia and Germany, such as Thoosuchus yakovlevi , Angusaurus dentatus , and Trematosaurus brauni already exhibit the derived condition (Damiani & Yates, 2003; Fernández‐Coll et al, 2019; Schoch, 2019), but a preserved lonchorhynchine from Olenekian of the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, Tetrema acuta , bears a plesiomorphic condition (Slodownik et al, 2021). Interestingly, in UNIPAMPA 0765, the posteriormost preserved portion of the supraorbital sensory canal runs over the suture with the lacrimal and the prefrontals (Figure 3).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrelationships among Early Triassic faunas of Western Gondwana and Laurasia as illuminated by a new South American benthosuchid temnospondyl

Pinheiro,

Eltink,

Paes‐Neto

et al. 2024

The Anatomical Record

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The End‐Permian Mass Extinction marked a critical turning point in Earth's history, and the biological recovery that followed the crisis led to the emergence of several modern vertebrate and invertebrate taxa. Even considering the importance of the Early Triassic biotic recovery for the evolution of modern faunas and floras, our knowledge of this event is still hindered by the sparse sampling of crucial geological formations. This leaves our understanding of Early Triassic ecosystems fundamentally biased toward productive and historically well‐explored geological units. Recent surveys in poorly known Gondwanan localities, such as those within the Sanga do Cabral Formation in southern Brazil, have unveiled insights into Early Triassic terrestrial ecosystems, shedding light on a diverse and previously unknown tetrapod fauna. Here, we report the discovery of a new temnospondyl genus and species in the Lower Triassic Sanga do Cabral Formation. The new taxon can be confidently assigned to the Benthosuchidae, a stereospondyl clade with a distribution previously restricted to the East European Platform. Phylogenetic analysis confirms the relationship of the new genus to the trematosaurian lineage, being closely related to the genus Benthosuchus. Our results raise questions about the biogeographical history of stereospondyls after the End‐Permian Mass Extinction and suggest a potential connection between Russian and South American Early Triassic faunas. Further investigations are needed to thoroughly explore the potential dispersal routes that may explain this seemingly unusual biogeographical pattern.

show abstract