A new archosauromorph from South America provides insights on the early diversification of tanystropheids

After the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, the archosauromorph fossil record is comparatively abundant and ecologically diverse. Among early archosauromorphs, tanystropheids gained considerable attention due to the presence of extreme skeletal adaptations in response to sometimes overspecialized life...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2020-04, Vol.15 (4), p.e0230890-e0230890
Main Authors: De-Oliveira, Tiane M, Pinheiro, Felipe L, Stock Da-Rosa, Átila Augusto, Dias-Da-Silva, Sérgio, Kerber, Leonardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Biology and Life Sciences
Computer and Information Sciences
Earth Sciences
Fossils
Geographical distribution
Mass extinction
Mass extinctions
Medicine and Health Sciences
Morphology
Museums
Natural history
New genera
New species
Paleontology
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Radiation
Radiation (Physics)
Taxa
Terrestrial environments
Triassic
Vertebra
Vertebrae
Vertebrates
Zoology
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Summary:After the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, the archosauromorph fossil record is comparatively abundant and ecologically diverse. Among early archosauromorphs, tanystropheids gained considerable attention due to the presence of extreme skeletal adaptations in response to sometimes overspecialized lifestyles. The origin and early radiation of Tanystropheidae, however, remains elusive. Here, a new Early Triassic archosauromorph is described and phylogenetically recovered as the sister-taxon of Tanystropheidae. The new specimen, considered a new genus and species, comprises a complete posterior limb articulated with pelvic elements. It was recovered from the Sanga do Cabral Formation (Sanga do Cabral Supersequence, Lower Triassic of the Paraná Basin, Southern Brazil), which has already yielded a typical Early Triassic vertebrate assemblage of temnospondyls, procolophonoids, and scarce archosauromorph remains. This new taxon provides insights on the early diversification of tanystropheids and represents further evidence for a premature wide geographical distribution of this clade. The morphology of the new specimen is consistent with a terrestrial lifestyle, suggesting that this condition was plesiomorphic for Tanystropheidae.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0230890