[Paleontology • 2026] Austronaga minuta • Highly aquatic marine stem Archosaur with soft tissue preservation

Austronaga minuta Wang, Lei & Li, 2023

 

in Wang, Fraser, Spiekman, Z. Li, et C. Li, 2026. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb7528 

Artwork by Gabriel Ugueto

 

Abstract

Archosauromorpha is a dominant reptile clade that primarily occupied terrestrial ecosystems with limited secondarily aquatic invasions that are poorly known. Here we report on a well-preserved Triassic reptile representing the earliest stem-archosaur to evolve unequivocal aquatic specializations. This taxon exhibits a suite of aquatic adaptations previously unknown in stem-archosaurs, such as hyperphalangy, enhanced paddle-like forelimbs, and a loss of articulation between the sacrum and pelvis, indicating an advanced aquatic lifestyle. The fossil exhibits the oldest known stomach, liver, and intestinal preservations in reptiles. Our findings provide unexpected insights into the early aquatic diversification of Archosauromorpha during the Triassic marine ecosystem recovery and highlight a conservative gastrointestinal system in an early Mesozoic vertebrate. In the absence of clear terrestrial members of the other major Mesozoic marine reptile lineages (e.g., ichthyosaurs and sauropterygians), this discovery provides an unambiguous example of such a lineage including both decidedly terrestrial and extensively marine forms, providing tantalizing evidence for the land-to-sea transition in Triassic reptiles.

Systematic paleontology

Diapsida, Osborn, 1903.

Archosauromorpha, von Huene, 1946.

Tanysauria, Spiekman et al., 2024.

Trachelosauridae, Abel 1919 (sensu Spiekman et al., 2024).

Skeleton of the holotype of Austronaga minuta (IVPP V18579). Abbreviations are in the Supplementary Materials. Scale bars, 2 cm (A) and 1 cm (B to D).

Austronaga minuta, Wang et al., 2023.

Type specimen: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) V18579, a complete articulated skeleton preserved on two slabs (Fig. 1).

Locality and horizon: Waina Village, Luoping County, Yunnan Province, China; Member II of Guanling Formation, middle Anisian (Pelsonian), Middle Triassic.

Emended diagnosis: A tanysaur with the following features: quadrate anteroposteriorly broad and plate-like in lateral view with concave posterior margin; 18 cervical, 24 dorsal vertebrae; tall axe-shaped neural spine on axis; cervical neural spines prominent, with convex dorsal margin and without anterodorsal or posterodorsal projections; chevrons of mid-caudal region hatchet-shaped, with prominent distal expansion and a notch at the midpoint of its ventral margin; forelimb distinctly longer than hindlimb with humerus to femur length ratio over two; hyperphalangy present in both manus and pes.

Reconstruction of the long-necked marine reptile Austronaga minuta.

Artwork by Gabriel Ugueto

Wei Wang, Nicholas C. Fraser, Stephan N. F. Spiekman, Zhiheng Li, Olivier Rieppel, Hong Lei, Torsten M. Scheyer and Chun Li. 2026. Highly aquatic marine stem Archosaur with soft tissue preservation. Science Advances. 12(31); DOI: doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb7528 [29 Jul 2026]

[Paleontology • 2026] Zhengheornis buyu • Jurassic Avialan reveals stepwise Evolution of Bony Tail in Birds

Zhengheornis buyu

Wang, Tang, Deng, Dong, L. Xu, X. Xu, M. Lin,  Du, G. Lin, Chen, Zhang & Zhou, 2026 

 

DOI: doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb5202 

Abstract

The evolutionary assembly of the flight-adapted bird body plan encompasses some of the most profound morphological changes in terrestrial vertebrate history. Beyond feathered wings, the short pygostyle-bearing tail has been pivotal to the clade’s ecological success. However, transition from the long bony tail to the short pygostyle-bearing tail remains a mystery, hindered by the scarcity of early branching avialans with transitional morphologies. Here, we report on a new avialan, Zhengheornis buyu, gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Jurassic of southeastern China, suggesting that the vertebral reduction and shortening preceded pygostyle fusion in early avialan evolution, providing critical evidence for the stepwise evolution of the bird tail. Z. buyu is smaller than all known non-pygostylian paravians, expanding the species and body size diversity of stemward taxa.

Systematics

Theropoda Marsh, 1881  

Maniraptora Gauthier, 1986  

Avialae Gauthier, 1986 

Zhengheornis buyu gen. et sp. nov. 

Etymology: “Zhenghe” (Mandarin), referring to Zhenghe Country, where the holotype specimen was found; “ornis,” bird (Greek); “buyu,” unexpected (Mandarin), from the ancient Chinese book Guoyu, referring to the unique tail and pelvic morphologies preserved in this species. 

Holotype: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) V34168, an articulated and partially complete skeleton (most limb bones are preserved as molds) with feathers preserved on a slab and counter slab (Fig. 1, figs. S1 and S2, and table S1). 

Locality and horizon: Near Yangyuan Village, Zhenghe Country, Nanping City, Fujian Province; Upper Jurassic, Nanyuan Formation [Tithonian stage]. 

Diagnosis: IVPP V34168 is distinguishable from all other paravians in the following combination of characters (*denotes probable autapomorphy): short tail comprising 15 vertebrae that is shorter than the hindlimb (combined length of femur, tibia, and metatarsal III)*; middle and posterior caudal vertebrae less elongate (opposite to the condition in other long tailed avialans); final two caudal vertebrae box-like*; manual phalanx III-1 shorter than III-2, opposite to the condition in Archaeopteryx and Fujianvenator [the three manual digits of maniraptorans are here identified as I, II, and III, as in (Tamura, et al. 2011)]; manual phalanx III-3 50% longer than III-2 (the length ratio greater than 2 in Anchiornis and Archaeopteryx); slender ischium that has a knob-like, distally located obturator process and lacks the posterior process*; short fibula that terminates far proximal to the ankle; metatarsal I that articulates at the distal third of metatarsal II; metatarsal II that ends far proximal to metatarsal III trochlea; short hallux with an ungual that is smaller than that of other pedal digits; and robust digit II that has the longest non-ungual (II-2) and ungual pedal phalanges.

 

Min Wang, Jianrong Tang, Ke Deng, Liping Dong, Liming Xu, Xing Xu, Min Lin, Honggang Du, Ganmin Lin, Runsheng Chen, Chi Zhang and Zhonghe Zhou. 2026. Jurassic Avialan reveals stepwise Evolution of Bony Tail in Birds. Science Advances. 12(27); DOI: doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb5202 [1 Jul 2026]

[PaleoIchthyology • 2026] Eosteus chongqingensis • The Oldest articulated Bony Fish from the early Silurian period

 

 Eosteus chongqingensis

Y.-A. Zhu, Chen, Li, Zhao, Zhou, Jia, Y.-L. Yu, H.-X. Yu, Wei, Ahlberg, Lu & M. Zhu, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10125-2

Life reconstruction by NICE PaleoVislab, IVPP

Abstract

Osteichthyans, comprising sarcopterygians and actinopterygians, dominate modern vertebrate biodiversity, yet their pre-Devonian fossil record remains scarce and fragmentary. The oldest articulated sarcopterygian and stem osteichthyan date to the late Silurian, whereas undisputed actinopterygian fossils in articulation appear only in the Middle Devonian. Here we report an articulated, near-complete osteichthyan from the early Silurian Chongqing Lagerstätte (approximately 436 million years ago), representing the oldest osteichthyan occurrence including microfossils. This tiny fish exhibits a fusiform, generalized osteichthyan body outline, with plesiomorphic osteichthyan characters, including the lack of lepidotrichia and the presence of serial median dorsal plates, pectoral and dorsal fin spines and an anal fin spine reported previously exclusively in stem chondrichthyans and one placoderm. It also displays features, such as a single dorsal fin and caudal fulcra, seen commonly in actinopterygians. Bayesian inference and the 50% majority rule consensus of the maximum-parsimony analysis place the new fish on the osteichthyan stem, whereas the strict consensus leaves its position unresolved within osteichthyans. This discovery increases Silurian osteichthyan diversity and further populates the osteichthyan stem group. The morphological disparity among early osteichthyans implies a more extensive Silurian to Early Devonian radiation of bony fishes than previous lines of evidence suggested.

Morphological evolution of early jawed vertebrates, showing the position of Eosteus and Megamastax among stem bony fishes. 

Eosteus chongqingensis

Life reconstruction of the oldest osteichthyan Eosteus chongqingensis.

 Credit: NICE PaleoVislab, IVPP

Life reconstruction of the biggest Silurian vertebrate Megamastax amblyodus.

Credit: Image by NICE PaleoVislab, IVPP

 

You-An Zhu, Yang Chen, Qiang Li, Wen-Jin Zhao, Zheng-Da Zhou, Lian-Tao Jia, Yi-Lun Yu, Han-Xin Yu, Guang-Biao Wei, Per E. Ahlberg, Jing Lu and Min Zhu. 2026. The Oldest articulated Bony Fish from the early Silurian period. Nature. 651; 128–134. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10125-2 [04 March 2026]

[PaleoIchthyology • 2024] Diandongichthys ocellatus • A New basal ginglymodian Fish (Neopterygii: Holostei: Ginglymodi) from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Luoping Biota, Yunnan, China

 Diandongichthys ocellatus 

Xu & Ma, 2024

DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad144

Abstract

Ginglymodians (e.g. gars) are a group of holostean fishes with a rich fossil history in the Mesozoic. The resolution of interrelationships among extinct ginglymodians is central to the problem of understanding the origin of this clade. Here, a new fossil ginglymodian, Diandongichthys ocellatus gen. et sp. nov., is described based on 13 well-preserved specimens from the Early-Middle Triassic (Anisian) marine deposits exposed in Luoping, eastern Yunnan, China. The discovery documents one of the oldest and smallest ginglymodians hitherto known from the Middle Triassic, with a maximum standard length of 41 mm. Diandongichthys, although displaying several synapomorphies of ginglymodians, retains some primitive states with respect to other early ginglymodians (e.g. a short snout without anterior infraorbitals, a maxilla ending below the orbit, and a median gular); consequently, it is nested at the base of the Ginglymodi in this phylogenetic study. Besides body shape, some autapomorphies on the cranial bones and caudal fin easily distinguish Diandongichthys from other members of this clade. The discovery provides new insights into the origin and early diversification of ginglymodian fishes.

China, Middle Triassic, neopterygian, osteology, phylogeny

 Diandongichthys ocellatus gen. et sp. nov., holotype (IVPP V25610).  

Systematic palaeontology

Actinopterygii Cope, 1887,

Neopterygii Regan, 1923,

Holostei Müller, 1844 (sensuGrande, 2010)

Ginglymodi Cope, 1872 (sensuGrande, 2010)

Diandongichthys gen. nov.

 

Etymology: The generic epithet ‘Diandong’, the Chinese Pingyin for the eastern Yunnan, and the Greek suffix ‘ιχθύς’, ichthys, fish.

Geographical distribution and age: Luoping, Yunnan, China; Pelsonian, Anisian, Middle Triassic.

 

Diandongichthys ocellatus sp. nov. 

Etymology: The specific epithet ‘cyclotus’ refers to the nearly rounded profile of the caudal fin.

 

Locality and horizon: Luoping, Yunnan, China; Second (Upper) Member of Guanling Formation, Pelsonian (∼244 Mya), Anisian, Middle Triassic (Zhang et al. 2009).

Diagnosis: A small-sized ginglymodian distinguished from other members of the clade by the following combination of features (autapomorphies, those unique among ginglymodians, identified with an asterisk): frontal about three times as long as parietal; parietal nearly square; large pores for supraorbital sensory canal in frontal situated very close to lateral margin of this bone (*); three supraorbitals; eight infraorbitals; three suborbitals; quadrate exposed in lateral view (uncovered by cheek bones); operclular length nearly equal to ...

 

Guang-Hui Xu and Xin-Ying Ma. 2024. A New basal ginglymodian Fish (Holostei: Neopterygii) from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Luoping Biota, Yunnan, China. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 201(3) zlad144. DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad144 [16 October 2023] 

https://www.ivpp.ac.cn/xwdt/tpxw/202311/t20231114_6932882.html

http://english.ivpp.cas.cn/multimedia

[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Qilin tungurensis • A New Giraffe Ossicone from Wolf Camp, Tunggur Formation, Inner Mongolia suggests A New Genus in Bohlinini (Artiodactyla: Giraffidae)

  

Qilin new genus
Qilin tungurensis Colbert, 1936.

Artist reconstructions of Qilin tungurensis:

An adult male (right) and younger males (middle and left) with less developed ossicones. Note females did not have ossicones in the early-middle Miocene. 

in Wang, Solounias, Hou, Li et Tomida, 2025. 

   DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328405

Art by Ville Sinkkonen.

Abstract

The classic Middle Miocene Wolf Camp locality discovered in 1930 by the Third Asiatic Expeditions of the American Museum of Natural History has been long known to produce an extinct giraffe, Palaeotragus tungurensis Colbert, 1936. Its dental and limb morphology offers tantalizing clues to a close relationship to the living giraffe, Giraffa. Its ossicone, a key part of the giraffe anatomy, is unknown since its initial description. Our discovery, in 2011, of an almost perfectly preserved ossicone from Wolf Camp thus fills this void and is described herein. Novel morphology of the ossicone, unlike any known so far, warrants a new generic name, Qilin, and Q. tungurensis adds important evidence that this Middle Miocene record from Inner Mongolia represents a key taxon in the evolution of the subfamily Giraffinae. Ossicone morphology is fundamentally similar to that of living Giraffa as well as members of Bohlinini. Dentally, Q. tungurensis also strongly supports its membership within Bohlinini with a unique shared derived character of P2-3 para- and metastyles bending inward to mesostyle. Q. tungurensis possesses a slender limb and a modestly deep trough on the posterior surface of the metacarpals that also suggest membership in Bohlinini. Combined with knowledge about its dental and limb morphology, the new Wolf Camp ossicone indicates an important stage of giraffine evolution, and contributes to a better understanding of its chronology and zoogeography.

Systematic paleontology

Order Artiodactyla Owen, 1848  

Suborder Ruminantia Scopoli, 1777  

Infraorder Pecora Linnaeus, 1758 

Superfamily Giraffoidea Gray, 1821

Family Giraffidae Gray, 1821 

Subfamily Giraffinae Gray, 1821  

Included tribes: Giraffini Gray, 1821 (living giraffe and its relatives) and extinct Bohlinini Solounias, 2007.

Qilin tungurensis, IVPP V 33851, right juvenile male ossicone from IVPP locality IM1118, lower part of Wolf Camp section.
 (A) right lateral view; (B) medial view, black arrows indicating natural break before the ossicones were glued back together (see D); (C) ventral (proximal) view; and (D) dorsal view before the upper shaft was glued (black arrows in A and B showing location of the break), showing oval cross-section at mid shaft.

Artist reconstructions of Qilin tungurensis:
An adult male (right) and younger males (middle and left) with less developed ossicones. Note females did not have ossicones in the early-middle Miocene. Art by Ville Sinkkonen.

Qilin new genus

Type species: Palaeotragus tungurensis Colbert, 1936.

Included species: Type species and an undescribed species from the Siwaliks of Pakistan [Solounias & Danowitz, 2025].

Diagnosis: Thin and slender metacarpal with a deep posterior groove; premolar parastyles and metastyles prominent and bending inward; ossicone with an upright shaft, curving inward (medially), expanded tip and a slight constriction below the tip, and a greatly expanded posterior flange with surface bumps.

Etymology: Qilin, Chinese Pinyin spelling for 麒麟, a mythical creature in ancient Chinese texts with a deer body, cow tail, and single (or paired) antler with fleshy tip; Qilin was invoked as an approximate transliteration for Somali word “geri” for giraffe when the Ming dynasty maritime expedition to Africa brought two giraffes to Beijing in 1414 A.D. 麒麟 as giraffe is still used in Korean Hanja and Japanese Kanji writing systems, as well as in early Chinese scientific literatures as a common name for “giraffe deer family” (麒麟鹿科), such as in the Chinese abstract of Bohlin [Bohlin, 1927].

 

Xiaoming Wang, Nikos Solounias, Su-kuan Hou, Lu Li and Yukimitsu Tomida. 2025.  A New Giraffe Ossicone from Wolf Camp, Tunggur Formation, Inner Mongolia suggests A New Genus in Bohlinini (Artiodactyla, Giraffidae). PLoS One. 20(8): e0328405. DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328405

[Paleontology • 2025] Darwinopterus camposi • A New Species of Darwinopterus (Pterosauria: Wukongopteridae) from western Liaoning provides some new information on the Ontogeny of this clade

 

Darwinopterus camposi

Cheng, Jiang, Bantim, Sayão, Saraiva, Meng, Kellner & Wang, 2025

 

DOI: doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202520240707 

Researchgate.net/publication/389307719

Abstract

The Wukongopteridae is an important pterosaur clade from the Yanliao Biota, combining features of basal and derived pterosaurs. So far, the Wukongopteridae consists of five species divided into three genera: Wukongopterus lii, Darwinopterus modularis, Darwinopterus linglongtaensis, Darwinopterus robustodens, and Kunpengopterus sinensis. Here we report a new species, Darwinopterus camposi sp. nov., based on an almost complete skeleton (IVPP V 17957). The new species is referred to Darwinopterus due to the presence of an elongated posterior region of the skull and the bony premaxillary crest that starts about the anterior margin of the nasoantorbital fenestra. It differs from all other wukongopterids by having the dorsal margin of the premaxillary crest straight, without an extensive dorsal projection and presenting a smooth lateral surface. Furthermore, D. camposi sp. nov. has eighteen and fourteen teeth on each side of the upper and lower jaws, respectively, and the fourth phalanx of the wing finger shorter than the first. IVPP V 17957 shows some fused postcranial bones, like the extensor tendon process to the first wing finger phalanx, but also has unfused premaxilla and frontal, which provides further information about wukongopterid ontogeny.

Key words: Pterosauria; Wukongopteridae; ontogeny; Yanliao Biota; Middle-Late Jurassic; China

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Pterosauria Kaup 1834

Wukongopteridae Wang, Kellner, Jiang and Meng 2009

Darwinopterus Lü, Unwin, Jin, Liu and Ji 2010

Darwinopterus camposi sp. nov.

 Holotype: Almost complete skeleton lacking the distal end of the tail and hindlimbs, housed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, under the number IVPP V 17957 (Figs. 1-Fig. 4).

Etymology: In honor to Dr. Diogenes de Almeida Campos, an important geologist and vertebrate paleontologist who has contributed to pterosaur research and the cooperation between Brazilian and Chinese paleontologists.

 

Cheng, X.; Jiang, S.; Bantim, R. A. M.; Sayão, J. M.; Saraiva, A. Á. F.; Meng, X.; Kellner, A. W. A.; Wang, X. 2025. A New Species of Darwinopterus (Wukongopteridae, Pterosauria) from western Liaoning provides some new information on the Ontogeny of this clade. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 97 (Suppl. 1). e20240707. DOI: doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202520240707

 Researchgate.net/publication/389307719_A_new_species_of_Darwinopterus_from_Liaoning_CHINA 

[Paleontology • 2024] Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: A remarkable marine archosauromorph (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China

 

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003

Restoration of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis depicted among a shoal of the large, predatory actinopterygian fish, Saurichthys.

in Spiekman, Wang, Zhao, et al., 2024. 

DOI: 10.1017/S175569102400001X

Artwork by Marlene Donnelly.

 

Abstract

The non-archosauriform archosauromorph Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was first described from the Upper Member of the Guanling Formation (late Anisian, Middle Triassic) of Guizhou Province by Li in 2003 on the basis of a complete articulated skull and the first three cervical vertebrae exposed in dorsal to right lateral view. Since then, additional specimens have been discovered in southwestern China. Here, five newly discovered specimens are described for the first time, and redescriptions of the holotype IVPP V13767 and another referred specimen, IVPP V13898, are provided. Together, these permit the description of the complete skeleton of this remarkable long-necked marine reptile. The postcranial skeleton is as much as 6 metres long, and characterised by its long tail and even longer neck. The appendicular skeleton exhibits a high degree of skeletal paedomorphosis recalling that of many sauropterygians, but the skull and neck are completely inconsistent with sauropterygian affinities. The palate does not extend back over the basisphenoid region and lacks any development of the closed condition typical of sauropterygians. The arrangement of cranial elements, including the presence of narial fossae, is very similar to that seen in another long-necked archosauromorph, Tanystropheus hydroides, which at least in part represents a convergence related to an aquatic piscivorous lifestyle. The long and low cervical vertebrae support exceptionally elongate cervical ribs that extend across multiple intervertebral joints and contribute to a ‘stiffening bundle of ribs’ extending along the entire ventral side of the neck, as in many other non-crocopodan archosauromorphs. The functional significance of the extraordinarily elongate neck is hard to discern but it presumably played a key role in feeding, and it is probably analogous to the elongate necks seen in pelagic, long-necked plesiosaurs. Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was almost certainly a fully marine reptile and even gave birth at sea.

Keywords: late Anisian, marine reptile, non-archosauriform, southern China,   

Diapsida Osborn, 1903

Archosauromorpha von Huene, 1946

Dinocephalosauridae Spiekman et al. , 2021

Dinocephalosaurus Li, 2003

Type species: Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li,2003. 

Distribution: Upper Member of the Guanling Formation (late Anisian, Middle Triassic) near Xinmin in Panxian County, southwestern Guizhou Province, and in Luoping County, eastern Yunnan Province, P.R. China.

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003

Type locality: Xinmin, Panxian County, Guizhou Province, southwestern China.

Horizon: Upper Member of Guanling Formation, Pelsonian, Anisian, Middle Triassic.

 Restoration of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis depicted among a shoal of the large, predatory actinopterygian fish, Saurichthys.

Artwork by Marlene Donnelly.

Summary: 

The Middle Triassic (latest Anisian) marine reptile Dinocephalosaurus orientalis is fully described in detail on the basis of seven beautifully preserved specimens from southwestern Guizhou Province, southern China, five of which are presented for the first time. Characters in the skull and neck are consistent with Dinocephalosaurus orientalis being included within Archosauromorpha. With 32, mostly elongate, cervical vertebrae, it had an extraordinarily long neck that draws comparison with the neck of Tanystropheus hydroides, another aquatic non-crocopodan archosauromorph that has been recorded from the Middle Triassic of both Europe and China. Both taxa share several other cranial features, including a fish-trap type dentition, a distinct antorbital recess and a wide palatal ramus of the pterygoid. The phylogenetic placement of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis is hampered by high levels of homoplasy, but our analysis suggests that the similarities between Dinocephalosaurus orientalis and Tanystropheus hydroides are largely convergent. Instead, the results corroborate the presence of a monophyletic Dinocephalosauridae outside Tanystropheidae. A greater expression of paedomorphosis in the appendicular skeleton and the presence of paddle-shaped autopodia in Dinocephalosaurus orientalis also suggest an adaptation to more open waters than in Tanystropheus hydroides. Dinocephalosaurus orientalis and Tanystropheus sp. were not contemporaries in the eastern Tethys based on current fossil occurrences: all finds of Tanystropheus sp. to date being from latest Ladinian or earliest Carnian sequences. The exact function of the extraordinary long neck of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis is unclear but it almost certainly aided in catching fish, which are preserved in the stomach contents of one of the specimens.

Stephan N.F. SPIEKMAN, Wei WANG, Lijun ZHAO, Olivier RIEPPEL, Nicholas C. FRASER and Chun LI. 2024. Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: A remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh. First View; 1 - 33. DOI: 10.1017/S175569102400001X

[PaleoIchthyology • 2024] Harajicadectes zhumini • A New Stem-Tetrapod Fish (Sarcopterygii: Tetrapodomorpha) from the Middle–Late Devonian of central Australia

 

 Harajicadectes zhumini

Choo, Holland, Clement, King, Challands, Young & Long, 2024

 DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2023.2285000  

Illustration by Brian Choo

ABSTRACT

Remote Devonian exposures in central Australia have produced significant but highly fragmentary remains of fish-grade tetrapodomorphs. We describe a new tetrapodomorph from the Middle–Late Devonian (Givetian–Frasnian) Harajica Sandstone Member of the Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory, which is represented by several nearly complete skulls along with much of the body and postcranial skeleton. The new form has a posteriorly broad postparietal shield, broad, triangular extratemporal bones, and a lanceolate parasphenoid. The spiracular openings are particularly large, a character also recorded in elpistostegalians and Gogonasus, demonstrating that these structures, suggestive of spiracular surface air-breathing, appeared independently in widely differing nodes of the stem-tetrapod radiation. A phylogenetic analysis resolves the new form within a cluster of osteolepidid-grade taxa, either as part of a polytomy or as the most basally-branching representative of a clade containing ‘osteolepidids,’ canowindrids, and megalichthyids.

  Harajicadectes zhumini from the Harajica Sandstone Member (Givetian–Frasnian), Northern Territory, Australia, Holotype NTM P6410.
A, photographed as a natural mold in situ as it was discovered in 2016; B, as a whitened latex peel; and C, interpretative drawing.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

OSTEICHTHYES Huxley, 1880

SARCOPTERYGII Romer, 1955

TETRAPODOMORPHA Ahlberg, 1991

Genus HARAJICADECTES gen. nov.

HARAJICADECTES ZHUMINI, gen. nov. et sp. nov.

Diagnosis—Tetrapodomorph fish with greatly enlarged spiracular openings, comprising over 20% of the total length of the skull-roof, bordered by the tabular, extratemporal, and squamosal. Parietal and postparietals of roughly equal length. Elongate intertemporal that widens anteriorly. Posterior nasals narrower than the anterior and posterior supraorbitals. Median extrascapular tapers anteriorly into a V-shaped recess formed by the large rounded lateral extrascapulars. Elongate lanceolate parasphenoid with denticles larger on the anterior part of the bone. Scales display ridged ornamentation and lack cosmine. Anterior squamation cycloid, abruptly shifting to a rhombic shape on the rear flank.

Etymology—“Harajica Biter.” Named for the Harajica Sandstone Member and the ancient Greek dēktēs (“biter”) in reference to the animal’s large fangs and presumed predatory habits. The species honors Professor Min Zhu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China, for his numerous contributions to early vertebrate paleontology.

Type Locality and Horizon—Harajica Sandstone Member of the Parke Siltstone. Locality 6 of Young (Citation1985), about 2 km southwest of the southern end of Stokes Pass, Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory. Givetian–Frasnian in age (Fig. 1).

Life reconstruction of  Harajicadectes zhumini, a 40 cm long lobe-finned fish that is not too distantly related to the fishes that gave rise to the earliest limbed tetrapods.

(Illustration by Brian Choo, Flinders University)

 

 

Brian Choo, Timothy Holland, Alice M. Clement, Benedict King, Tom Challands, Gavin Young and John A. Long. 2024. A New Stem-Tetrapod Fish from the Middle–Late Devonian of central Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2285000. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2023.2285000  

[Paleontology • 2024] Austronaga minuta • A small-sized dinocephalosaurid archosauromorph (Diapsida: Dinocephalosauridae) from the Middle Triassic of Yunnan, southwestern China

 Austronaga minuta

Wang, Lei & Li, 2024

  Researchgate.net/publication/377413090

Abstract

Among numerous marine reptiles discovered in the Triassic eastern Tethys, today’s Southern China, Dinocephalosaurus is a bizarre animal comparable to European Tanystropheus in developing a prominently long neck. These two taxa are respectively assigned to Dinocephalosauridae and Tanystropheidae, and the two families and other basal members collectively form an early-diverging clade of Archosauromorpha. Here we report a new archosauromorph specimen, IVPP V18579, excavated from the lower Middle Triassic (Anisian), from Luoping, Yunnan in southwestern China. Compared with all the hitherto known dinocephalosaurids and tanystropheids, this skeletally mature individual is exclusively similar to Dinocephalosaurus in a number of characteristics, particularly with the long posterodorsal process of the premaxilla extending posteriorly beyond the level of the external nares, the concave posterior margin of the anteroposteriorly broad quadrate, and the strongly expanded distal end of the chevron in most of the caudal vertebrae. However, this reptile is much smaller than Dinocephalosaurus and different from Dinocephalosaurus and the other dinocephalosaurid, Pectodens, in many aspects, such as an anteriorly tapering long rostrum, the dentition composed of short conical teeth with less heterodonty, relatively but obviously tall neural spines of the axis and the anterior cervical vertebrae. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that the new archosauromorph is a dinocephalosaurid, and then we erect Austronaga minuta gen. et sp. nov. based on this specimen. Detailed comparisons in osteological anatomy and the discussion about its potential aquatic adaptation of this new taxon are also provided.

Key words: Luoping, Yunnan, East Tethys, Triassic, marine reptile, Archosauromorpha, Dinocephalosauridae, osteological anatomy

Diapsida Osborn, 1903

Archosauromorpha Huene, 1946 sensu Dilkes, 1998

Dinocephalosauridae Spiekman et al., 2021

Austronaga minuta gen. et sp. nov.

Etymology: Austronaga, from the Latin “auster” or “austral” meaning south or southern referring to the South China Block where this taxon occurred, combining with “naga”, an Asian mythological figure that is snake-like and associated with water; minuta meaning small refers to the relatively small body size of this animal compared with most of its Triassic marine archosauromorph relatives. 

Wei Wang, Hong Lei and Chun Li. 2024. A small-sized dinocephalosaurid archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of Yunnan, southwestern China. Vertebrata Palasiatica.  DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.231013

https://www.vertpala.ac.cn/CN/10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.231013

Researchgate.net/publication/377413090_A_small-sized_dinocephalosaurid_archosauromorph_from_the_Middle_Triassic_of_Yunnan_China

 

摘要：现在的中国南方地区在三叠纪时期曾位于特提斯洋东部。在该区域产出的众多海生爬行动物中，恐头龙(Dinocephalosaurus)的形态特化，颈部极度增长，可与时代略晚的长颈龙(Tanystropheus)相比拟。这两种爬行动物分别归属于恐头龙科(Dinocephalosauridae)和长颈龙科(Tanystropheidae), 而这两个科的成员加之另外一些基干物种代表了主龙型类(Archosauromorpha)中一系列早期分异出的支系。报道一件产自云南罗平地区中三叠世安尼期地层的主龙型类成年个体新标本IVPP V18579, 与目前已知的早期主龙型类成员相比，该标本显示出与恐头龙属一致但区别于其他属种的特征，主要包括前颌骨发育有超过外鼻孔后缘的较长后背侧突，方骨前后向较宽大且具有后边缘的凹缺，大部分尾椎上的人字骨带有远端前后向的延展。然而，新标本体型明显小于恐头龙，且显示出与恐头龙属和梳齿龙属(另一恐头龙科成员)不同的鉴别特征，例如吻部窄长、牙齿短锥状且异齿性弱、枢椎和前部颈椎的神经棘显著更高等。基于最新的用于早期主龙型类系统发育分析的特征矩阵，系统发育分析结果确定V18579代表一个新的恐头龙科成员，在恐头龙科中与恐头龙属互为姊妹群关系。于是基于V18579建立了一新属新种：玲珑南蛇龙(Austronaga minuta), 同时对其进行了详细的解剖学特征描述，并讨论了它可能具有的水生适应性。

关键词: 云南罗平, 东特提斯, 三叠纪, 海生爬行动物, 主龙型类, 恐头龙科, 骨骼学解剖

[Paleontology • 2023] Meilifeilong youhao • A New toothless Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota with Comments on the Chaoyangopteridae

 Meilifeilong youhao  

Wang, Kellner, Jiang, Chen, Costa, Cheng, Zhang, Vila Nova, de Almeida Campos, Sayão, Rodrigues, Bantim, Saraiva & Zhou, 2023

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48076-7 

twitter.com/paleoTaissa

artwork by Maurilio Oliveira

Abstract

The Chaoyangopteridae is a clade of azhdarchoid pterosaurs that stands out in China, particularly in the Jehol Biota, as a Cretaceous group of medium-sized and high-crested pterosaurs. Herein, we describe a new species, Meilifeilong youhao gen. et sp. nov., based on two specimens, one tentatively referred to this taxon. This new species represents the most complete and well-preserved chaoyangopterid recorded to date. Along with a set of characters (low premaxillary crest above the nasoantorbital fenestra extending posteriorly, posterior premaxillary process arched and curving posteriorly, a slightly convex sternal articulation surface of coracoid, and a fibular shaft close to proximal articulation strongly arched posteriorly), this species also provides new information both on the unknown palatal region of this clade, and on the rarely preserved (in place) ear portion with stapes. Moreover, M. youhao sheds light on paleoecological aspects, while also giving new information about the taxonomic diversity of this peculiar group of Jiufotang pterosaurs.

Systematic Paleontology

Pterosauria Kaup, 1834

Pterodactyloidea Plieninger, 1901

Dsungaripteroidea Young, 1964 sensu Kellner 2001, 2003

Azhdarchoidea Nessov 1984, sensu Kellner 2001, 2003

Chaoyangopteridae Lü et al. 2008

Photo (A) and line drawing (B) of the holotype (IVPP V 16059) of Meilifeilong youhao gen. et sp. nov. Arrows indicate preserved soft tissue.
 Abbreviations: at-ax, atlas-axis; cdv, caudal vertebra; cv, cervical vertebra; dca, distal syncarpal; dv, dorsal vertebrae; fe, femur; fi, fibula; gas, gastralia; hu, humerus; il, ilium; isc, ischium; man, mandible; mcI-IV, metacarpal I-IV; mt, metatarsal; obfo, obturator foramen.; paca, preaxial carpal; ph1-3d4, first to third phalanx of manual digit IV; phd 1–3, phalanx of the manual digit IIII; pphd, phalanx of the pedal digit; ppu, prepubis; prca, proximal syncarpal; ptd, pteroid; pu, pubis; ra, radius; ri, rib; sca-cor; scapulocoracoid; sk, skull; sv sacral vertebra; st, sternum; ta, tarsal; ti, tibia; ul, ulna; l, left; r, right.

 Meilifeilong youhao gen. et sp. nov.
Photo (A) and line drawing (B) of the cranial elements of the holotype (IVPP V 16059) 

Meilifeilong gen. nov.

Type species. Meilifeilong youhao.

Etymology. From the Chinese expressions meili—beautiful, fei—fly, and long—dragon, meaning beautiful flying dragon in allusion to the magnificent preservation of the holotype, IVPP V 16059.

Included species. Meilifeilong sanyainus comb. nov.

Diagnosis. Chaoyangopterid with low premaxillary crest above the nasoantorbital fenestra that extends posteriorly; posterior premaxillary process arched and curving posteriorly; humerus about 20% longer than third phalanx of the wing finger (hu/ph1d4 ~ 1.20).

Meilifeilong youhao sp. nov.

Etymology. Youhao, meaning friendship in mandarin, to celebrate the two-decade continuous collaboration between Chinese and Brazilian paleontologists in pterosaur research since 2003.

Holotype. IVPP V 16059, an almost complete skeleton housed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,

Horizon and locality. Xiaotaizi, Jianchang, Huludao City, western Liaoning China; Jiufotang Formation, Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Aptian).

Diagnosis. Chaoyangopterid pterosaur exhibiting the following autapomorphies: sternal articulation surface of coracoid slightly convex; fibular shaft close to proximal articulation strongly arched posteriorly. The new species can be further distinguished from Meilifeilong sanyainus by the following features: posterior premaxillary process more arched; jugal with lacrimal and postorbital processes at a narrower angle (~ 45° contra ~ 55° in Meilifeilong sanyainus); deeper mandibular symphysis; cervical vertebrae 5 slightly longer than cervical 4; rectangular sternum that is wider than long (square in Meilifeilong sanyainus); scapula comparatively longer relative to the coracoid, metatarsal III and IV proportionally shorter than metatarsals I and II.

 Meilifeilong youhao gen. et sp. nov.

artwork: Maurilio Oliveira

 

Xiaolin Wang, Alexander W. A. Kellner, Shunxing Jiang, He Chen, Fabiana R. Costa, Xin Cheng, Xinjun Zhang, Bruno C. Vila Nova, Diogenes de Almeida Campos, Juliana M. Sayão, Taissa Rodrigues, Renan A. M. Bantim, Antônio A. F. Saraiva and Zhonghe Zhou. 2023. A New toothless Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota with Comments on the Chaoyangopteridae. Scientific Reports. 3, 22642. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48076-7

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