An unusual archosaurian from the marine Triassic of China

Die Naturwissenschaften
Chun LiLi-Ting Wang

Abstract

A new Triassic archosaurian from China shows a number of aquatic specializations, of which the most striking is the extreme lateral compression of the long tail. Others that may also reflect aquatic adaptations include plate like scapula and coracoid, elongate neck with extremely long and slender ribs, and reduction of osteoderms. In contrast, its pelvic girdle and hind limb have no aquatic modifications. Anatomic features, taphonomy, and local geological data suggest that it may have lived in a coastal-island environment. This lifestyle, convergent with some Jurassic marine crocodyli-forms that lived at least 40 million years later and the saltwater species of extant Crocodylus, contradicts with the prevailing view that Triassic archosaurians were restricted to non-marine ecosystems. Its mosaic anatomy represents a previously unknown ecomorph within primitive archosaurians.

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Citations

Mar 30, 2011·Die Naturwissenschaften·Marco Aurélio G FrançaMax C Langer
May 9, 2009·Journal of Anatomy·Matthew K Vickaryous, Jean-Yves Sire
Jan 15, 2014·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·James O FarlowPhilip J Currie
Oct 24, 2013·Integrative Zoology·Andrea TintoriZuoyu Sun
Mar 22, 2014·PloS One·Torsten M ScheyerHugo Bucher
Nov 29, 2014·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Carlo RomanoJürgen Kriwet
Dec 10, 2019·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Emma R SchachnerSterling J Nesbitt
Apr 28, 2021·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Ryosuke Motani, Geerat J Vermeij

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