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The smallest known Devonian tetrapod shows unexpectedly derived features
A new genus and species of Devonian tetrapod, gen. et sp. nov., is described from a single complete right lower jaw ramus recovered from the mass-death deposit in the upper part of the Britta Dal Formation (upper Famennian) of Stensiö Bjerg, Gauss Peninsula, East Greenland. Visualization by propagat...
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Published in: | Royal Society open science 2020-04, Vol.7 (4), p.192117-192117 |
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Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | A new genus and species of Devonian tetrapod,
gen. et sp. nov., is described from a single complete right lower jaw ramus recovered from the
mass-death deposit in the upper part of the Britta Dal Formation (upper Famennian) of Stensiö Bjerg, Gauss Peninsula, East Greenland. Visualization by propagation phase contrast synchrotron microtomography allows a complete digital dissection of the specimen. With a total jaw ramus length of 44.8 mm,
is by far the smallest Devonian tetrapod described to date. It differs from all previously known Devonian tetrapods in having only a fang pair without a tooth row on the anterior coronoid and a large posterior process on the posterior coronoid. The presence of an incipient surangular crest and a concave prearticular margin to the adductor fossa together cause the fossa to face somewhat mesially, reminiscent of the condition in Carboniferous tetrapods. A phylogenetic analysis places
crownward to other Devonian tetrapods, adjacent to the Tournaisian genus
. Together with other recent discoveries, it suggests that diversification of 'Carboniferous-grade' tetrapods had already begun before the end of the Devonian and that the group was not greatly affected by the end-Devonian mass extinction. |
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ISSN: | 2054-5703 2054-5703 |
DOI: | 10.1098/rsos.192117 |