| Saurosphargis Temporal range: Middle Triassic, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Family: | † Saurosphargidae |
| Genus: | † Saurosphargis Huene, 1936 |
| Type species | |
| †Saurosphargis volzi Huene, 1936 | |
Saurosphargis is an extinct genus of a basal marine reptile, saurosphargid, known from the Middle Triassic (Anisian age) of southwestern Poland and eastern Netherlands. It contains a single species, Saurosphargis volzi. [1] [2]
Saurosphargis is known solely from the unnumbered holotype that was housed at the Breslaw Museum, a partial postcranial skeleton that included a section of 12 incomplete back vertebrae with ribs. The specimen collected at Gogolin, Gorny Slask of Upper Silesia, Poland, from the Chorzower Schichten horizon of the Lower Muschelkalk, dating to the early Anisian stage of the early Middle Triassic, about 246 million years ago. Rieppel (1995) described an isolated vertebra MGU Wr. 3873s housed at Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, that is possibly referable to Saurosphargis, collected from the same general location. The holotype was destroyed during World War II, and as a result many authors considered Saurosphargis to be a nomen dubium prior to the discovery of additional saurosphargid species, that enabled better comparisons with the detailed descriptions and figures of Saurosphargis in Huene (1936). [2]
Paul Albers and Li et al. (2011) briefly reported the discovery of well-preserved material referable to Saurosphargis from the Lower Muschelkalk of Winterswijk, Netherlands. The material is currently under preparation. [2]
Saurosphargis was officially named by Friedrich von Huene in 1936 and the type species is Saurosphargis volzi. The generic name is derived from Greek sauros, "lizard", and sphargis, the old genus name for the leatherback turtle, in reference to the dorsal osteoderm "body armor" and broadened ribs forming a closed chest rib basket, traits that are seemingly transitional between turtles and other reptiles. The specific name volzi honors the paleontologist Wilhelm Volz who found and briefly described the holotype of Saurosphargis and the Lower Muschelkalk of Gogolin between 1903 and 1908. [1] [3]
The following cladogram is simplified after Li et al. (2014) phylogenetic analysis, showing interrelationships of all known Saurosphargidae species, and the placement of the clade within Sauria. Saurosphargis was coded solely based on the holotype. The removal / inclusion of Ichthyopterygia was found to affect the topology the most - switching the positions of the Eusaurosphargis+Helveticosaurus and Thalattosauriformes clades, and altering the positions of several taxa within Eosauropterygia, which are not shown. [4]
| Sauria |
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Nothosaurus is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile from the Triassic period, approximately 240–210 million years ago, with fossils being distributed from North Africa and Europe to China. It is the best known member of the nothosaur order.
Cymbospondylus is an extinct genus of large ichthyosaurs, of which he is among the oldest representatives, that lived during the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic in what are now North America and Europe. The first known fossils of this taxon are a set of more or less complete vertebrae which were discovered in the 19th century in various mountain ranges of Nevada, in the United States, before being named and described by Joseph Leidy in 1868. It is in the beginning of the 20th century that more complete fossils were discovered through several expeditions launched by the University of California, and described in more detail by John Campbell Merriam in 1908, thus visualizing the overall anatomy of the animal. While many species have been assigned to the genus, only five are recognized as valid, the others being considered synonymous, doubtful or belonging to other genera. Cymbospondylus was formerly classified as a representative of the Shastasauridae, but more recent studies consider it to be more basal, view as the type genus of the Cymbospondylidae.
Thalattosauria is an extinct order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the Middle to Late Triassic. Thalattosaurs were diverse in size and shape, and are divided into two superfamilies: Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea. Askeptosauroids were endemic to the Tethys Ocean, their fossils have been found in Europe and China, and they were likely semiaquatic fish eaters with straight snouts and decent terrestrial abilities. Thalattosauroids were more specialized for aquatic life and most had unusual downturned snouts and crushing dentition. Thalattosauroids lived along the coasts of both Panthalassa and the Tethys Ocean, and were most diverse in China and western North America. The largest species of thalattosaurs grew to over 4 meters (13 feet) in length, including a long, flattened tail utilized in underwater propulsion. Although thalattosaurs bore a superficial resemblance to lizards, their exact relationships are unresolved. They are widely accepted as diapsids, but experts have variously placed them on the reptile family tree among Lepidosauromorpha, Archosauromorpha, ichthyosaurs, and/or other marine reptiles.
Macrocnemus is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile known from the Middle Triassic of Europe and China. Macrocnemus is a member of the Tanystropheidae family and includes three species. Macrocnemus bassanii, the first species to be named and described, is known from the Besano Formation and adjacent paleontological sites in the Italian and Swiss Alps. Macrocnemus fuyuanensis, on the other hand, is known from the Zhuganpo Formation in southern China. A third species, Macrocnemus obristi, is known from the Prosanto Formation of Switzerland and is characterized by gracile limbs. The name Macrocnemus is Greek for "long tibia".
Dactylosaurus is a genus of nothosaur in the family Pachypleurosauridae. Along with Anarosaurus, Dactylosaurus was one of the earliest known pachypleurosaurs to come from Europe.
Helveticosaurus is an extinct genus of diapsid marine reptile known from the Middle Triassic of southern Switzerland. It contains a single species, Helveticosaurus zollingeri, known from the nearly complete holotype T 4352 collected at Cava Tre Fontane of Monte San Giorgio, an area well known for its rich record of marine life during the Middle Triassic.
Sinosaurosphargis is an extinct genus of basal marine saurosphargid reptile known from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation of Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, southwestern China. It contains a single species, Sinosaurosphargis yunguiensis.
Diandongosaurus is an extinct genus of eosauropterygian known from the lower Middle Triassic of Yunnan Province, southwestern China. It is known from the holotype IVPP V 17761, a complete and articulated skeleton with skull, which was found in the middle Triassic Lagerstätte of the Guanling Formation. It was first named by Qing-Hua Shang, Xiao-Chun Wu, Chun Li in 2011 and the type species is Diandongosaurus acutidentatus. A referred specimen suggests a total body length of 34 cm (13 in).
Largocephalosaurus is an extinct genus of basal saurosphargid, a marine reptile known from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation of Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, southwestern China. It contains a type species, Largocephalosaurus polycarpon, and a second species L. qianensis.
Hanosaurus is an extinct genus of marine reptiles that existed during the Triassic period in what is now China. The type species is Hanosaurus hupehensis. It was a small animal, with specimens measuring 79.4 cm (31.3 in) long in total body length, which likely fed on soft-bodied prey.
Tholodus is an extinct genus of basal ichthyopterygian known from the Middle Triassic of Germany, northeastern Italy and possibly China. It was first named by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1851 and the type species is Tholodus schmidi. It is known from many disarticulated and fragmentary remains, mainly teeth and jaw fragments. Most specimens were collected from various localities across the Ladinian-aged Muschelkalk, Germany, mainly from the Jena Formation of the upper Lower Muschelkalk, where the holotype was found. Dalla Vecchia (2004) recently described two additional specimens, a mandibular ramus and a maxilla, both bearing teeth and nearly uncrushed, and some postcranial remains, from a single late Anisian outcrop, from the southern Alps of Italy. The humerus resembled that of immature individuals of the Asian genus Chaohusaurus, suggesting possible affinities to Grippidia.
Sanchiaosaurus is an extinct genus of a basal nothosauroid known from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou Province, southwestern China. It contains a single species, Sanchiaosaurus dengi.
Germanosaurus, meaning "German lizard", is an extinct aquatic genus of nothosaurid sauropterygian known from the early Middle Triassic Lower Muschelkalk of what was known as Upper Silesia, now a part of Poland. The type species of Germanosaurus is G. latissimus, originally named as a species of Nothosaurus. After a new generic name was erected for it, the holotype fragmentary skull was lost, possibly during World War II. Rieppel (1997) thus considered the species to be a nomen dubium in the species. However, from surviving illustrations and descriptions of the material, he concluded that another taxon known as Cymatosaurus schafferi, is referable to Germanosaurus and possibly even represents the same species as G. latissimus. Rieppel removed the species from Cymatosaurus and created the new combination G. schafferi, making it the only valid species of Germanosaurus diagnosable to the species level.
Saurosphargidae is an extinct family of marine reptiles known from the Early Triassic and early Middle Triassic of Europe and China.
Eusaurosphargis is an extinct genus of a diapsid reptile, known from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of northern Italy and Prosanto Formation of south-eastern Switzerland. It contains a single species, Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi. It was a small reptile, measuring 20 cm (7.9 in) long.
Helveticosauridae is an extinct family of basal marine reptiles known from the Middle Triassic of southern Switzerland and northern Italy.
Eorhynchochelys is an extinct genus of stem-turtle from the Late Triassic Xiaowa Formation of southwestern China.
The Zhuganpo Formation is a Triassic geologic unit found in southern China. It has historically been known as the Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation. A diverse fossil assemblage known as the Xingyi biota or Xingyi Fauna can be found in the upper part of the Zhuganpo Formation. Fossils of the Xingyi biota include articulated skeletons of marine reptiles, abundant fish, and a plentiful assortment of invertebrates indicating a Ladinian to Carnian age for the sediments of the formation.
This list of fossil reptiles described in 2014 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were described during the year 2014, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2014.
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