Tridentinosaurus

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Tridentinosaurus
Temporal range: Early Permian (Cisuralian), Kungurian
Tridentinosaurus antiquus 78.jpg
Holotype specimen, with forged body outline
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Sauropsida
Class: Reptilia
Genus:† Tridentinosaurus
Species:
†T. antiquus
Binomial name
†Tridentinosaurus antiquus
Leonardi, 1959

Tridentinosaurus (meaning "Trentino lizard") is a dubious genus of extinct fossil reptile from the early Permian Regnana Formation of the Italian Alps. The genus contains a single species, T. antiquus. Tridentinosaurus represents one of the oldest known vertebrate fossils found in Italy. The only parts of the skeleton that are preserved are the long bones of the hind limbs, and the supposed soft tissue body outline is a forgery done with paint, though some genuine scales may also be preserved. Due to the poor preservation of the limb bones, the validity of the taxon is questionable.

Contents

History

The Tridentinosaurus holotype specimen, MGP-PD 26567, was discovered in 1931 in tuffaceous sandstone layers of the Regnana Formation ('Stramaiolo' (Redebus) locality) in Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. The specimen appears to consist of a carbonized outline—missing the tip of the tail and most of the skull—of a lizard-like animal surrounding a fragmentary skeleton. Reports of the full body outline as preserved range from 23.5–26.5 centimetres (9.3–10.4 in). The specimen appears to demonstrate an elongated, slender neck and torso. The outline shows that the first through fourth toes get progressively longer, with the fifth toe being notably smaller. [1] [2]

Shortly after its discovery, Giambattista Dal Piaz reported on this specimen, informally giving it the name "Tridentinosaurus antiquus". [3] In 1959, Piero Leonardi described Tridentinosaurus antiquus as a new genus and species of araeoscelidan reptile based on these remains. The generic name, "'Tridentinosaurus", combines a modified form of the Italian province "Trentino"—a reference to the location of the discovery—with the Greek "σαῦρος" ("sauros"), meaning "reptile". The specific name, "antiquus", means "ancient" in Latin. [4] [2]

Leonardi's taxonomic assignment of Tridentinosaurus to the Araeoscelida was later called into question, with a 1997 review of Paleozoic vertebrate fossils from the Alps considering this classification doubtful. [5] Some later reviews instead considered it more appropriate to assign Tridentinosaurus to the Protorosauria, [6] [2] or, more broadly, the Diapsida. [7]

The specimen was briefly mentioned several times in the following years, with some publications drawing comparisons between the inferred body shape of Tridentinosaurus and other new fossils. [8] [9] [10] In their 2019 description of the mesenosaurine varanopid Cabarzia , Spindler, Werneburg & Schneider noted similarities between the proportions of the apparent Tridentinosaurus body shape and other taxa. For example, the slender neck is similar to the varanopid Mesenosaurus , and the limb proportions—especially the large manus—are similar to the araeoscelidan Petrolacosaurus . [11] [12]

Forgery

In 2024, Rossi and colleagues published the results of several detailed analyses of the holotype specimen of Tridentinosaurus. They found that the purported carbonized soft tissues seen on the specimen were forged, instead being the result of a manufactured pigment like black paint. Using ultraviolet light, 3D surface modeling, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, micro x-ray diffraction, Raman and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, they determined that the body shape had been carved by hand, possibly in an effort to reveal additional skeletal material, and that the coloration was added later. For example, UV light revealed that the body outline fluoresced, something that fossilized organic materials do not typically do, but coatings like glues, varnishes, and some pigments do. It is unknown when the forgery was made or who was involved, but the discovery of carbonized plant fossils with a similar dark outline in a similar locality played a significant role in misleading paleontologists. Thus, previous inferences derived from observations of the body outline are unreliable, and the validity of Tridentinosaurus is questionable. [1]

The only visible bones belong to the hindlimbs, consisting of poorly preserved femora, tibiae, and fibulae. While the body outline is not real, the researchers did observe skin impressions near the shoulder and pelvic girdles, consisting of small rhomboidal scales that may represent osteoderms. It is possible that future analyses, such as using CT scan technology, may reveal more bones. [1] [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cisuralian</span> First series of the Permian

The Cisuralian is the first series/epoch of the Permian. The Cisuralian was preceded by the Pennsylvanian and followed by the Guadalupian. The Cisuralian Epoch is named after the western slopes of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan and dates between 298.9 ± 0.15 – 272.3 ± 0.5 Ma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eupelycosauria</span> Clade of synapsids

Eupelycosauria is a large clade of animals characterized by the unique shape of their skull, encompassing all mammals and their closest extinct relatives. They first appeared 308 million years ago during the Early Pennsylvanian epoch, with the fossils of Echinerpeton and perhaps an even earlier genus, Protoclepsydrops, representing just one of the many stages in the evolution of mammals, in contrast to their earlier amniote ancestors.

Varanopidae is an extinct family of amniotes that resembled monitor lizards and may have filled a similar niche, hence the name. Typically, they are considered synapsids that evolved from an Archaeothyris-like synapsid in the Late Carboniferous. However, some recent studies have recovered them being taxonomically closer to diapsid reptiles. A varanopid from the latest Middle Permian Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone is the youngest known varanopid and the last member of the "pelycosaur" group of synapsids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caseidae</span> Extinct family of synapsids

Caseidae are an extinct family of basal synapsids that lived from the Late Carboniferous to Middle Permian between about 300 and 265 million years ago. Fossils of these animals come from the south-central part of the United States, from various parts of Europe, and possibly from South Africa if the genus Eunotosaurus is indeed a caseid as some authors proposed in 2021. Caseids show great taxonomic and morphological diversity. The most basal taxa were small insectivorous and omnivorous forms that lived mainly in the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian, such as Eocasea, Callibrachion, and Martensius. This type of caseid persists until the middle Permian with Phreatophasma and may be Eunotosaurus. During the early Permian, the clade is mainly represented by many species that adopted a herbivorous diet. Some have evolved into gigantic forms that can reach 6–7 metres (20–23 ft) in length, such as Cotylorhynchus hancocki and Alierasaurus ronchii, making them the largest Permian synapsids. Caseids are considered important components of early terrestrial ecosystems in vertebrate history because the numerous herbivorous species in this family are among the first terrestrial tetrapods to occupy the role of primary consumer. The caseids experienced a significant evolutionary radiation at the end of the early Permian, becoming, with the captorhinid eureptiles, the dominant herbivores of terrestrial ecosystems in place of the edaphosaurids and diadectids.

Caseoides is an extinct genus of large caseid synapsids that lived in the Kungurian Age. It was about 3 metres (9.8 ft) long, and like many other caseids, it was herbivorous and aquatic. It weighed between 150 and 200 kilograms. Its fossils were found in San Angelo Formation, Texas. Caseoides was very similar to Casea, but was slightly larger in size. Caseoides was a heavily built creature, as are most of the Caseids. In the development of its proportionally thick, stout limbs it represents the culmination of the Casea lineage. Its relatives became smaller in size during the Roadian Age. Only poorly preserved postcranial material is known including limbs.

Casea is a genus of herbivorous caseid synapsids that lived during the late Lower Permian (Kungurian) in what is now Texas, United States. The genus is only represented by its type species, Casea broilii, named by Samuel Wendell Williston in 1910. The species is represented by a skull associated with a skeleton, a second skull, a partial skull with a better preserved dentition than that of the preceding skulls, and several incomplete postcranial skeletons. Three other Casea species were later erected, but these are considered today to be invalid or belonging to different genera. Casea was a small animal with a length of about 1.20 m and a weight of around 20 kg.

<i>Cotylorhynchus</i> Extinct genus of synapsids

Cotylorhynchus is an extinct genus of herbivorous caseid synapsids that lived during the late Lower Permian (Kungurian) and possibly the early Middle Permian (Roadian) in what is now Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The large number of specimens found make it the best-known caseid. Like all large herbivorous caseids, Cotylorhynchus had a short snout sloping forward and very large external nares. The head was very small compared to the size of the body. The latter was massive, barrel-shaped, and ended with a long tail. The limbs were short and robust. The hands and feet had short, broad fingers with powerful claws. The barrel-shaped body must have housed large intestines, suggesting that the animal had to feed on a large quantity of plants of low nutritional value. Caseids are generally considered to be terrestrial, though a semi-aquatic lifestyle has been proposed by some authors. The genus Cotylorhynchus is represented by three species, the largest of which could reach more than 6 m in length. However, a study published in 2022 suggests that the genus may be paraphyletic, with two of the three species possibly belonging to separate genera.

<i>Mesenosaurus</i> Extinct genus of synapsids

Mesenosaurus is an extinct genus of amniote. It belongs to the family Varanopidae. This genus includes two species: the type species Mesenosaurus romeri from the middle Permian Mezen River Basin of northern Russia, and Mesenosaurus efremovi from the early Permian (Artinskian) Richards Spur locality. M. romeri’s stratigraphic range is the middle to late Guadalupian while M. efremovi’s stratigraphic range is the Cisuralian.

<i>Heleosaurus</i> Extinct genus of tetrapods

Heleosaurus scholtzi is an extinct species of basal synapsids, known as pelycosaurs, in the family of Varanopidae during the middle Permian. At first H. scholtzi was mistakenly classified as a diapsid. Members of this family were carnivorous and had dermal armor, and somewhat resembled monitor lizards. This family was the most geologically long lived, widespread, and diverse group of early amniotes. To date only two fossils have been found in the rocks of South Africa. One of these fossils is an aggregation of five individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tambach Formation</span> Early Permian-age geologic formation in Germany

The Tambach Formation is an Early Permian-age geologic formation in central Germany. It consists of red to brown-colored sedimentary rocks such as conglomerate, sandstone, and mudstone, and is the oldest portion of the Upper Rotliegend within the Thuringian Forest Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemnitz petrified forest</span>

The Chemnitz petrified forest is a petrified forest in Chemnitz, Germany, that is part of the Early Permian Leukersdorf Formation.

<i>Alierasaurus</i> Extinct genus of synapsids

Alierasaurus is an extinct genus of caseid synapsid that lived during the early Middle Permian (Roadian) in what is now Sardinia. It is represented by a single species, the type species Alierasaurus ronchii. Known from a very large partial skeleton found within the Cala del Vino Formation, Alierasaurus is one of the largest known caseids. It closely resembles Cotylorhynchus, another giant caseid from the San Angelo Formation in Texas. The dimensions of the preserved foot elements and caudal vertebrae suggest an estimated total length of about 6 or 7 m for Alierasaurus. In fact, the only anatomical features that differ between Alierasaurus and Cotylorhynchus are found in the bones of the feet; Alierasaurus has a longer and thinner fourth metatarsal and it has ungual bones at the tips of the toes that are pointed and claw-like rather than flattened as in other caseids. Alierasaurus and Cotylorhynchus both have very wide, barrel-shaped rib cages indicating that they were herbivores that fed primarily on high-fiber plant material.

This timeline of Permian research is a chronological listing of events in the history of geology and paleontology focused on the study of earth during the span of time lasting from 298.9–252.17 million years ago and the legacies of this period in the rock and fossil records.

Ascendonanus is an extinct genus of varanopid amniote from the Early Permian of Germany. It is one of the earliest specialized arboreal (tree-living) tetrapods currently known and outwardly resembled a small lizard. The animal was about 40 cm long, with strongly curved claws, short limbs, a slender, elongated trunk, and a long tail. It would have preyed on insects and other small arthropods.

Microvaranops is a Middle Permian synapsid of the family Varanopidae from the Abrahamskraal Formation of South Africa. It includes one species, Microvaranops parentis, which was probably arboreal. A slab containing five specimens of Microvaranops indicates that it gathered or lived in groups.

Dendromaia is an extinct genus of varanopid from the Carboniferous of Nova Scotia. It contains a single species, Dendromaia unamakiensis. Dendromaia is the oldest known varanopid, likely the oldest known synapsid, and the only member of the family Varanopidae to be discovered in Nova Scotia. Known from a large partial skeleton preserved with its tail wrapped around a much smaller partial skeleton, Dendromaia may also represent the oldest known occurrence of parental care in the fossil record. While the larger skeleton possessed certain mycterosaurine-like features, the smaller skeleton resembled basal varanopids such as Archaeovenator and Pyozia, creating uncertainty over whether characteristics at the base of Varanopidae have legitimate phylogenetic significance or instead reflect the immaturity of basal varanopid specimens.

<i>Cabarzia</i> Extinct genus of lizard-like animals

Cabarzia is an extinct genus of varanopid from the Early Permian of Germany. It contains only a single species, Cabarzia trostheidei, which is based on a well-preserved skeleton found in red beds of the Goldlauter Formation. Cabarzia shared many similarities with Mesenosaurus romeri, although it did retain some differences, such as more curved claws, a wide ulnare, and muscle scars on its sacral ribs. With long, slender hindlimbs, a narrow body, an elongated tail, and short, thick forelimbs, Cabarzia was likely capable of running bipedally to escape from predators, a behavior shared by some modern lizards. It is the oldest animal known to have adaptations for bipedal locomotion, predating Eudibamus, a bipedal bolosaurid parareptile from the slightly younger Tambach Formation.

Lacertulus is an extinct genus of lizard-like reptile, possibly a lepidosauromorph, from the Karoo Supergroup of South Africa. It contains a single species, Lacertulus bipes, which is based on a small articulated skeleton stored in the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria. The origin and locality of the specimen is unknown, though it is embedded in a greenish-gray siltstone similar to some sediments from the Late Permian Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone. The skeleton is mostly complete apart from the distal part of the tail, but erosion and improper preparation has damaged the skull and parts of the torso. Though originally described as a lepidosaur, poor preservation has lent doubt to this conclusion. Lacertulus is notable for its small size and proportionally small forelimbs relative to the large and well-ossified hindlimbs. The short humerus in particular suggests that it was capable of some degree of bipedal locomotion when escaping predators, by comparison to modern facultatively bipedal lizards such as Crotaphytus.

Anningia is an extinct genus in Varanopidae, a family of monitor lizard-like amniotes. It contains a single species, Anningia megalops.

The Regnana Formation is an Early Permian (Kungurian) geologic formation located in the Italian Alps that is part of the Athesian Volcanic Complex. Reptile and plant remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. The formation is mainly made up of andesite and pyroclastic rock.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rossi, Valentina; Bernardi, Massimo; Fornasiero, Mariagabriella; Nestola, Fabrizio; Unitt, Richard; Castelli, Stefano; Kustatscher, Evelyn (2024-02-15). "Forged soft tissues revealed in the oldest fossil reptile from the early Permian of the Alps". Palaeontology . 67 (1). e12690. doi: 10.1111/pala.12690 . ISSN   0031-0239.
  2. 1 2 3 Altichieri, Luca (1980). "Il Tridentinosauro". I vertebrati fossili italiani (PDF) (in Italian). Verona: Catalogo della Mostra. pp. 49–50.
  3. ↑ Dal Piaz Gb. 1932 (1931). Scoperta degli avanzi di un rettile (lacertide) nei tufi compresi entro i porfidi quarziferi permiani del Trentino. Atti Soc. Ital. Progr. Scienze, XX Riunione, v. 2, pp. 280-281. [The discovery of the remains of a reptile (lacertide) in tuffs including within the Permian quartz porphyry of Trentino.]
  4. ↑ Leonardi, Piero (1959). "Tridentinosaurus antiquus Gb. Dal Piaz rettile protorosauro permiano del trentino orientale". Memorie degli Istituti di Geologia e Mineralogia degll'Università di Padova (in Italian). 21: 1–17.
  5. ↑ Blieck, Alain R. M.; Conti, Maria A.; Vecchia, Fabio M. D.; Flügel, Helmut W.; Gand, Georges; Hubmann, Bernhard; Lelièvre, Hervé; Mariotti, Nino; Nicosia, Umberto; Poplin, Cécile; Schneider, Jörg W.; Werneburg, Ralf (1997). "Paleozoic vertebrates of the Alps: a review". Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 168 (3): 343–350.
  6. ↑ Dalla Vecchia, Fabio M. (1997). "Mesozoic Amphibia and Reptilia stored at the Museum of Paleontology of the University of Padua". Natura Nascosta. 15: 34–43 – via Academia.edu.
  7. ↑ Sennikov, A. G. (1997). "An enigmatic reptile from the Upper Permian of the Volga River Basin". Paleontological Journal. 31 (1): 94–101.
  8. ↑ Ronchi, Ausonio; Sacchi, Eva; Romano, Marco; Nicosia, Umberto (2011-12-01). "A Huge Caseid Pelycosaur from North-Western Sardinia and Its Bearing on European Permian Stratigraphy and Palaeobiogeography". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica . 56 (4): 723–738. doi: 10.4202/app.2010.0087 . ISSN   0567-7920.
  9. ↑ Spindler, Frederik; Werneburg, Ralf; Schneider, Joerg W.; Luthardt, Ludwig; Annacker, Volker; Rößler, Ronny (2018-06-01). "First arboreal 'pelycosaurs' (Synapsida: Varanopidae) from the early Permian Chemnitz Fossil Lagerstätte, SE Germany, with a review of varanopid phylogeny". PalZ . 92 (2): 315–364. Bibcode:2018PalZ...92..315S. doi:10.1007/s12542-018-0405-9. ISSN   1867-6812. S2CID   133846070.
  10. ↑ Citton, Paolo; Ronchi, Ausonio; Maganuco, Simone; Caratelli, Martina; Nicosia, Umberto; Sacchi, Eva; Romano, Marco (2018-07-24). Somerville, I. D. (ed.). "First tetrapod footprints from the Permian of Sardinia and their palaeontological and stratigraphical significance". Geological Journal . 54 (4): 2084–2098. doi:10.1002/gj.3285. ISSN   0072-1050. S2CID   135216684.
  11. ↑ Spindler, Frederik; Werneburg, Ralf; Schneider, Jörg W. (2019-06-01). "A new mesenosaurine from the lower Permian of Germany and the postcrania of Mesenosaurus: implications for early amniote comparative osteology". PalZ . 93 (2): 303–344. Bibcode:2019PalZ...93..303S. doi:10.1007/s12542-018-0439-z. ISSN   1867-6812. S2CID   91871872.
  12. ↑ Marchetti, Lorenzo; Forte, Giuseppa; Kustatscher, Evelyn; DiMichele, William A.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Roghi, Guido; Juncal, Manuel A.; Hartkopf-Fröder, Christoph; Krainer, Karl; Morelli, Corrado; Ronchi, Ausonio (2022-03-01). "The Artinskian Warming Event: an Euramerican change in climate and the terrestrial biota during the early Permian". Earth-Science Reviews . 226: 103922. Bibcode:2022ESRv..22603922M. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.103922. ISSN   0012-8252. S2CID   245892961.
  13. ↑ Ashworth, James. "'Skin' of ancient reptile was painted on, new research claims". Natural History Museum. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
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