A sail-backed suchian from the Heshanggou Formation (Early Triassic: Olenekian) of China

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Volumn 101, Issue 3-4, 2010, Pages 271-284

  Nesbitt, Sterling J ^a,b,d   Liu, Jun ^c   Li, Chun ^c  

^a Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences   (United States)

^b DIVISION OF INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY   (United States)

^c INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY   (China)

^d UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON   (United States)

Author keywords

anatomy; Archosauria; Archosauriformes; Ctenosauriscidae; Mesozoic; Poposauroid

Indexed keywords

AGE DETERMINATION; ANATOMY; MESOZOIC; PHYLOGENETICS; TRIASSIC;

CHINA;

ARCHOSAURIA; ARCHOSAURIFORMES; AVES; CROCODYLIDAE (ALL CROCODILES); PROTEROSUCHIDAE;

EID: 79959482479     PISSN: 17556910     EISSN: 17556929     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S1755691011020044     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. Benton, M. J. 1999. Scleromochlus taylori and the origin of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 354, 1423-46. (Pubitemid 29423085)
2. Benton, M. J., Tverdokhlebov, V. P. & Surkov, M. V. 2004. Ecosystem remodelling among vertebrates at the Permian-Triassic boundary in Russia. Nature 432, 97-100. (Pubitemid 39490833)
3. Benton, M. J. & Clark, J. M. 1988. Archosaur phylogeny and the relationships of the Crocodylia. In Benton, M. J (ed.) The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods, Vol. 1: Amphibians and Reptiles, 295-338. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
4. Bonaparte, J. F. 1981. Descripcion de Fasolasuchus tenax y su signifi-cado en la sistematica y evolucion de los Thecodontia. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' 3, 55-101.
5. Brochu, C. A. 1996. Closure of neurocentral sutures during crocodilian ontogeny: implications for maturity assessment in fossil archosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16, 49-62.
6. Brusatte, S. L., Benton, M. J., Desojo, J. B. & Langer, M. C. 2010. The higher-level phylogeny of Archosauria (Tetrapoda: Diapsida). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8, 3-47.
7. Butler, R. J., Barrett, P. M., Abel, R. L. & Gower, D. J. 2009. A possible ctenosauriscid archosaur from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29, 1022-31.
8. Charig, A. J. 1976. Order Thecodontia Owen 1859. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie 13, 7-10.
9. Chatterjee, S. 1985. Postosuchus, a new thecodontian reptile from the Triassic of Texas and the origin of tyrannosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 309, 395-460.
10. Cheng, Z.-W. 1980. Chapter 7. Vertebrate Fossils. In Mesozoic stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ninxia Basin, Volume II, 115-71. Beijing: Geological Publishing House.
11. Cisneros, J. C. 2008. Phylogenetic relationships of procolophonid parareptiles with remarks on their geological record. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6, 345-66.
12. Clark, J. M., Sues, H.-D. & Berman, D.S. 2000. A new specimen of Hesperosuchus agilis from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico and the interrelationships of basal crocodylomorph archosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20, 683-704. (Pubitemid 33228302)
13. Cope, E. D. 1869. Synopsis of the extinct Batrachia, Reptilia and Aves of North America. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series 14, 1-252.
14. Dzik, J. 2003. A beaked herbivorous archosaur with dinosaur affinities from the early Late Triassic of Poland. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23, 556-74. (Pubitemid 37379367)
15. Evans, S. E. 1986. The braincase of Prolacerta broomi (Reptilia, Triassic). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhan-dlungen 173, 181-200.
16. Furin, S., Preto, N., Rigo, M., Roghi, G., Gianolla, P., Crowley, J. L. & Bowring, S. A. 2006. High-precision U-Pb zircon age from the Triassic of Italy: implications for the Triassic time scale and the Carnian origin of calcareous nannoplankton and dinosaurs. Geology 34, 1009-12. (Pubitemid 44932745)
17. Galton, P. M. 1985. The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus vs. Meyer plus referred specimens, mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs from the Middle Stubensandstein Upper Triassic of Nordwürttemberg. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie) 116, 1-29.
18. Gauthier, J. A., Kluge, A. G. & Rowe, T. 1988. Amniote phylogeny and the importance of fossils. Cladistics 4, 105-209. (Pubitemid 19310711)
19. Gauthier, J. & Padian, K. 1985. Phylogenetic, functional, and aerodynamic analyses of the origin of birds and their flight. In Hecht, M. K., Ostrom, J. H., Viohl, G. & Wellnhofer, P. (eds) The Beginning of Birds, 185-97. Eichstatt: Freunde des Jura Museums.
20. Gebauer, E. V. I. 2004. Neubeschreibung von Stagonosuchus nyassicus v. Huene, 1938 (Thecodontia, Rauisuchia) from the Manda Formation (Middle Triassic) of southwest Tanzania. Neues Jahr-buch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 231, 1-35. (Pubitemid 38407911)
21. Goloboff, P. A., Farris, J. S. & Nixon, K. 2003. TNT: Tree analysis using new technologies. Program and documentation available from the authors and http://www.zmuc.dk/public/phylogeny
22. Goloboff, P., Farris, J. & Nixon, K. 2008. TNT: a free program for phylogenetic analysis. Cladistics 24, 774-86.
23. Gow, C. E. 1975. The morphology and relationships of Youngina capensis Broom and Prolacerta broomi Parrington. Palaeontologia Africana 18, 89-131.
24. Gower, D. J. 1999. The cranial and mandibular osteology of a new rauisuchian archosaur from the Middle Triassic of southern Germany. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie) 280, 1-49.
25. Gower, D. J. 2000. Rauisuchian archosaurs (Reptilia, Diapsida): An overview. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Abhan-dlungen 218, 447-88.
26. Gower, D. J. 2002. Braincase evolution in suchian archosaurs (Rep-tilia: Diapsida): evidence from the rauisuchian Batrachotomus kupferzellensis. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 136, 49-76.
27. Gower, D. J. 2003. Osteology of the early archosaurian reptile Erythrosuchus africanus Broom. Annals of the South African Museum 110, 1-84.
28. Gower, D. J. & Nesbitt, S. J. 2006. The braincase of Arizonasaurus babbitti-further evidence for the non-monophyly of Rauisuchia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26, 79-87. (Pubitemid 43676134)
29. Gower, D. J. & Schoch, R. R. 2009. Postcranial anatomy of the rauisuchian archosaur Batrachotomus kupferzellensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29, 103-22.
30. Gower, D. J. & Sennikov, A. G. 1996. Braincase morphology in early archosaurian reptiles. Palaeontology 39, 883-906. (Pubitemid 126593757)
31. Gower, D. J. & Sennikov, A. G. 1997. Sarmatosuchus and the early history of the Archosauria. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17, 60-73.
32. Gower, D. J. & Sennikov, A. G. 2000. Early archosaurs from Russia. In Benton, M. J., Shishkin, M. A. & Unwin, D. M. (eds) The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia, 140-59. New York: Cambridge University Press.
33. Gower, D. J. & Weber, E. 1998 The braincase of Euparkeria, and the evolutionary relationships of birds and crocodilians. Biological Reviews 73, 367-411. (Pubitemid 29004895)
34. Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G. & Smith, A. G. (eds). 2004. A Geologic Time Scale 2004. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 610 pp.
35. Grauvogel-Stamm, L. 1993. Pleuromeia sternbergii (Münster) Corda from the Lower Triassic of Germany, further observations and comparative morphology of its rooting organ. Review of Palaeo-botany and Palynology 77, 185-212. (Pubitemid 23393840)
36. Huene, F. V. 1902. Übersicht über die Reptilien der Trias. Geologische und Palaeontologische, Abhandlungen (Neue Folge) 6, 1-84.
37. Huene, F. V. 1938. Ein grosser Stagonolepide aus der jüngeren Trias Ostafrikas. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Beilage-Bände Abteilung B 80, 264-78.
38. Irmis, R. B. 2007. Axial skeleton ontogeny in the Parasuchia (Archo-sauria: Pseudosuchia) and its implications for ontogenetic determination in archosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27, 350-61. (Pubitemid 47029418)
39. Irmis, R. B., Martz, J. W., Parker, W. G. & Nesbitt, S. J. 2010. Re-evaluating the correlation between Late Triassic terrestrial vertebrate biostratigraphy and the GSSP-defined marine stages. Albertiana 38, 40-52.
40. King, G. M. 1988. Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology 17C: Anomodon-tia. Stuttgart: Fischer. 174 pp.
41. Krebs, B. 1974. Die Archosaurier. Naturwissenschaften 61, 17-24.
42. Kuhn, O. 1964. Ungelöste Probleme der Stammesgeschichte der Amphibien und Reptilien. Jahreshefte des Vereins für Vater-l ändische Naturkunde in Württemberg 118/119, 293-325.
43. Langer, M. C. & Benton, M. J. 2006. Early dinosaurs: a phylogenetic study. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 4, 309-58. (Pubitemid 44639293)
44. Li, J. 1983. Tooth replacement in a new genus of procolophonid from the Early Triassic of China. Palaeontology 26, 567-83. (Pubitemid 16298958)
45. Li, J.-L. 1989. A new genus of Procolophonidae from the Lower Triassic of Shaanxi, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 27, 248-67.
46. Li, C., Wu, X.-C., Cheng, Y.-N., Sato, T. & Wang, L. 2006. An unusual archosaurian from the marine Triassic of China. Natur-wissenschaften 93, 200-06.
47. Lucas, S. G. 1998. Global Triassic tetrapod biostratigraphy and biochronology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoeo-cology 143, 347-84. (Pubitemid 28523712)
48. Modesto, S. P. & Botha-Brink, J. 2008. Evidence of a second, large archosauriform reptile in the Lower Triassic Katberg Formation of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28, 914-17.
49. Mundil, R., Ludwig, K. R., Metcalfe, I. & Renne, P. R. 2004. Age and timing of the Permian mass extinctions: U/Pb dating of closed-system zircons. Science 305, 1760-63. (Pubitemid 39249640)
50. Muttoni, G., Kent, D. V., Olsen, P. E., Distefano, P., Lowrie, W., Bernasconi, S. & Hernandez, F. M. 2004. Tethyan magneto-stratigraphy from Pizzi Mondello (Sicily) and correlation to the Late Triassic Newark astrochronological polarity time scale. Geological Society of America Bulletin 116, 1043-58. (Pubitemid 39306381)
51. Muttoni, G., Kent, D. V., Jadoul, F., Olsen, P. E., Rigo, M., Galli, M. T. & Nicora, A. 2010. Rhaetian magneto-biostratigraphy from the Southern Alps (Italy): constraints on Triassic chronology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoeocology 285, 1-16.
52. Nesbitt, S. J. 2003. Arizonasaurus and its implications for archosaur divergence. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 270 (Supplement 2), S234-37. (Pubitemid 37430865)
53. Nesbitt, S. J. 2005a. A new archosaur from the upper Moenkopi Formation (Middle Triassic) of Arizona and its implications for rauisuchian phylogeny and diversification. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte 2005, 332-46. (Pubitemid 40974674)
54. Nesbitt, S. J. 2005b. The osteology of the Middle Triassic pseudo-suchian archosaur Arizonasaurus babbitti. Historical Biology 17, 19-47. (Pubitemid 43090369)
55. Nesbitt, S. J. 2005c. Stratigraphy and tetrapod fauna of major quarries in the Moenkopi Formation (Early-Middle Triassic) along the Little Colorado River of northern Arizona. In McCord, R. D. (ed.) Vertebrate Paleontology of Arizona. Mesa Southwest Museum Bulletin 11, 18-33. Mesa, Arizona: Mesa Southwest Museum.
56. Nesbitt, S. J. 2009. The early evolution of archosaurs: relationships and the origin of major clades. PhD Thesis, Columbia University, New York. 665 pp.
57. Nesbitt, S. J. in press. The early evolution of archosaurs: relationships and the origin of major clades. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: American Museum of Natural History.
58. Nesbitt, S. J., Sidor, C. A., Irmis, R. B., Angielczyk, K. D., Smith, R. M. H. & Tsuji, L. A. 2010. Ecologically distinct dinosaurian sister-group shows early diversification of Ornithodira. Nature 464, 95-98.
59. O'Leary, M. A. & Kuaufman, S. G. 2007. MorphoBank 2.5: Web application for morphological phylogenetics and taxonomy. http://www.morphobank. org
60. Ochev, V. G. 1982. Pseudosuchia from the Middle Triassic of the southern Ural Forelands. Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal 1982, 96-102. [In Russian.]
61. Parrish, J. M. 1992. Phylogeny of the Erythrosuchidae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 12, 93-102.
62. Parrish, J. M. 1993. Phylogeny of the Crocodylotarsi, with reference to archosaurian and crurotarsan monophyly. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 13, 287-308.
63. Peyer, K., Carter, J. G., Sues, H.-D., Novak, S. E. & Olsen, P. E. 2008. A new suchian archosaur from the Upper Triassic of North Carolina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28, 363-81. (Pubitemid 351983300)
64. Renaut, A. J. 2001. A re-evaluation of the cranial morphology and taxonomy of the Triassic dicynodont genus Kannemeyeria. Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand. 191 pp.
65. Romer, A. S. 1971a. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. X. Two new but incompletely known long-limbed pseudosuchians. Breviora 378, 1-10.
66. Romer, A. S. 1971b. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. XI. Two new long-snouted thecodonts, Chanaresuchus and Gualosuchus. Breviora 379, 1-22.
67. Romer, A. S. 1972a. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. XV. Further remains of the thecodonts Lagerpeton and Lago-suchus. Breviora 394, 1-7.
68. Romer, A. S. 1972b. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. VIII. A fragmentary skull of a large thecodont, Luperosuchus fractus. Breviora 373, 1-8.
69. Romer, A. S. 1972c. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. XII. The postcranial skeleton of the thecodont Chanaresuchus. Breviora 385, 1-21.
70. Romer, A. S. 1972d. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. XIII. An early ornithosuchid pseudosuchian, Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum, gen. et sp. nov. Breviora 389, 1-24.
71. Romer, A. S. 1972e. The Chañares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. XIV. Lewisuchus admixtus gen. et sp. nov. A further thecodont rom the Chañares beds. Breviora 390, 1-13.
72. Rubidge, B. S. 2005. Re-uniting lost continents-fossil reptiles from the ancient Karoo and their wanderlust. South African Journal of Geology 108, 135-72. (Pubitemid 41102293)
73. Schaltegger, U., Guex, J., Bartolini, A., Schoene, B. & Ovtcharova, M. 2008. Precise U-Pb age constraints for end-Triassic mass extinction, its correlation to volcanism and Hettangian post-extinction recovery. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 267, 266-75.
74. Schoch, R. R. 2007. Osteology of the small archosaur Aetosaurus from the Upper Triassic of Germany. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 246, 1-35. (Pubitemid 351152559)
75. Sennikov, A. G. 1988. New Rauisuchidae from the Triassic of the European USSR. Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal 2, 124-28. [In Russian.]
76. Sennikov, A. G. 1990. New data on the rauisuchids of eastern Europe. Palaeontological Journal 24, 1-12.
77. Sereno, P. C. 1991. Basal archosaurs: phylogenetic relationships and functional implications. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 2, 1-53. (Supplement to Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 11 (4)).
78. Shu, O. & Norris, G. 1988. Spores and pollen from the Lower Triassic Heshanggou Formation, Shaanxi Province, north China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 54, 187-231.
79. Sun, A. & Hou, L.-H. 1981. Hazhenia a new genus of Scaloposauria. Acta Palaeontologica Sinca 20, 297-310.
80. Tatarinov, L. P. 1960. Discovery of pseudosuchians in the Upper Permian of the USSR. Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal 1960, 74-80. [In Russian.]
81. Wang, Z. 1996. Recovery of vegetation from the terminal Permian mass extinction in North China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 91, 121-42.
82. Welles, S. P. 1947. Vertebrates from the Upper Moenkopi Formation of the Northern Arizona. University of California Publications in Geological Science 27, 241-94.
83. Welman, J. 1998. The taxonomy of the South African proterosuchids (Reptilia, Archosauromorpha). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18, 340-47.
84. Wu, X.-C. 1981. The discovery of a new thecodont from north east Shanxi. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 19, 122-32.
85. Wu, X.-C. & Russell, A. P. 2001. Redescription of Turfanosuchus dabanensis (Archosauriformes) and new information on its phylo-genetic relationships. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21, 40-50.
86. Young, C. C. 1936. On a new Chasmatosaurus from Sinkiang. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 15, 291-320.
87. Young, C. C. 1964. The pseudosuchians in China. Palaeontologia Sinica 151, 1-205.
88. Young, C. C. 1973a. On a new pseudosuchian from Turfan, Sinkiang. Reports on the Paleontological Expedition from Sinkiang I. Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleo-anthropology, Academia Sinica 10, 15-37. [In Chinese.]
89. Young, C. C. 1973b. On the occurrence of Vjushkovia in Sinkiang. Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleo-anthropology 10, 38-53.
90. Zhang, F. K. 1975. A new thecodont Lotosaurus, from the Middle Triassic of Hunan. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 13, 144-47.