scholarly journals A revision ofSanpasaurus yaoiYoung, 1944 from the Early Jurassic of China, and its relevance to the early evolution of Sauropoda (Dinosauria)

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blair W. McPhee ◽  
Paul Upchurch ◽  
Philip D. Mannion ◽  
Corwin Sullivan ◽  
Richard J. Butler ◽  
...  

The Early Jurassic of China has long been recognized for its diverse array of sauropodomorph dinosaurs. However, the contribution of this record to our understanding of early sauropod evolution is complicated by a dearth of information on important transitional taxa. We present a revision of the poorly known taxonSanpasaurus yaoiYoung, 1944 from the late Early Jurassic Ziliujing Formation of Sichuan Province, southwest China. Initially described as the remains of an ornithopod ornithischian, we demonstrate that the material catalogued as IVPP V156 is unambiguously referable to Sauropoda. Although represented by multiple individuals of equivocal association,Sanpasaurusis nonetheless diagnosable with respect to an autapomorphic feature of the holotypic dorsal vertebral series. Additional material thought to be collected from the type locality is tentatively referred toSanpasaurus. If correctly attributed, a second autapomorphy is present in a referred humerus. The presence of a dorsoventrally compressed pedal ungual inSanpasaurusis of particular interest, with taxa possessing this typically ‘vulcanodontid’ character exhibiting a much broader geographic distribution than previously thought. Furthermore, the association of this trait with other features ofSanpasaurusthat are broadly characteristic of basal eusauropods underscores the mosaic nature of the early sauropod–eusauropod transition. Our revision ofSanpasaurushas palaeobiogeographic implications for Early Jurassic sauropods, with evidence that the group maintained a cosmopolitan Pangaean distribution.

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-57
Author(s):  
V.M. Loskot ◽  
G.B. Bakhtadze

Geographic distribution and habitat preferences of Saxicola rubicola rubicola (Linnaeus, 1766), S. maurus variegatus (S.G. Gmelin, 1774), and S. m. armenicus (Stegman, 1935) inhabiting the Caucasian Isthmus and adjacent areas are described in detail. We examined the individual, sexual, age, seasonal and geographical variations of seven main diagnostic features of both plumage and morphometrics (exactly, the length of wing and tail) using 381 skin specimens. Substantially improved diagnoses of S. m. variegatus and S. m. armenicus are provided. After a thorough examination of the materials and history of the expedition of Samuel Gmelin in 1768–1774, and his description of Parus variegatus, it was concluded that the type locality of this taxon was the vicinity of Shamakhi in Azerbaijan not Enzeli in North-Western Turkey. It is also shown the fallacy of the recently proposed attribution of the holotype of the northern subspecies S. m. variegatus to the southern taxon S. m. armenicus and synonymisation of these names, as well as the replacement of the name S. m. variegatus by its junior synonym S. m. hemrichii Ehrenberg, 1833 for the northern subspecies.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 498 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-103
Author(s):  
YOU-PAI ZENG ◽  
QIONG YUAN ◽  
QIN-ER YANG

Based on critical observations on herbarium specimens (including type material) and living plants in the wild from its type locality, we demonstrate that Thalictrum kangdingense, recently described from Kangding county in western Sichuan province, China, is readily distinguishable from T. xinningense by an array of morphological characters but is actually conspecific with T. megalostigma, a species with its type locality also in Kangding. We therefore reduce T. kangdingense to the synonymy of T. megalostigma herein. The morphological distinction between T. baicalense and T. megalostigma is also clarified.


Author(s):  
Jon Martin

Although Spies et al.’s (2002) thorough analysis of a small sample of the then available specimens of Chironomus calligraphus Goeldi,1905 suggested two distinctly different haplotypes in the mitochondrial COII gene, the corresponding morphological and cytological evidence kept the authors from concluding that there were two species involved. Further obstacles were unusual aspects of the molecular data and the occurrence of both these haplotypes in samples from the Brazilian type locality by Fittkau (1965) from which he had fixed a neotype. This neotype is slide mounted and can no longer yield molecular data. The present author’s analysis of additional material, including the available BARCODE sequences, has confirmed the existence of two forms, perhaps consistent with those found in the COII analysis, and with largely overlapping geographic distributions. One of these forms occurs in Hawaii where it is morphologically indistinguishable from C. hawaiiensis Grimshaw, 1901. It is recommended to apply this name, which takes nomenclatural precedence to the form found in Hawaii, and the name C. calligraphus to the form found to be more common in Fittkau’s type-locality samples.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12074
Author(s):  
Shorouq F. Al-Ashqar ◽  
Erik R. Seiffert ◽  
Dorien de Vries ◽  
Sanaa El-Sayed ◽  
Mohamed S. Antar ◽  
...  

Background The rich rodent assemblages from the Eocene–Oligocene deposits of the Jebel Qatrani Formation (Fayum Depression, Egypt) have important implications for our understanding of the origin and paleobiogeography of Hystricognathi, a diverse clade that is now represented by the Afro-Asiatic Hystricidae, New World Caviomorpha, and African Phiomorpha. Methods Here we present previously undescribed material of the enigmatic hystricognath clade Phiocricetomyinae, from two stratigraphic levels in the lower sequence of the Jebel Qatrani Formation—a new genus and species (Qatranimys safroutus) from the latest Eocene Locality 41 (~34 Ma, the oldest and most productive quarry in the formation) and additional material of Talahphiomys lavocati from that species’ type locality, early Oligocene Quarry E (~31–33.2 Ma). Results The multiple specimens of Qatranimys safroutus from L-41 document almost the entire lower and upper dentition, as well as mandibular fragments and the first cranial remains known for a derived phiocricetomyine. Specimens from Quarry E allow us to expand comparisons with specimens from Libya (late Eocene of Dur at-Talah and early Oligocene of Zallah Oasis) that have been placed in T. lavocati, and we show that the Dur at-Talah and Zallah specimens do not pertain to this species. These observations leave the Fayum Quarry E as the only locality where T. lavocati occurs.


Check List ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Da Silva Santos ◽  
Emanuel Teixeira da Silva ◽  
Bruno Henrique Barbosa Felhberg ◽  
Marcus Thadeu Teixeira Santos ◽  
Paulo Christiano De Anchietta Garcia

In this study we report the first record of the giant torrent frog Megaelosia apuana in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The finding of this species at Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) Mata do Sossego, municipality of Simonésia, east of Minas Gerais extends its geographic distribution by 120 km from the type locality, and 45 km northwest from its westernmost known record. A geographic distribution map is presented. 


Check List ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Peres ◽  
José Eduardo Simon ◽  
Denise S. Nascimento ◽  
Renato Neves Feio

We provide the first record of Leptodactylus cupreus out of its type locality, as well the first record of this species in the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. The record of Leptodactylus cupreus from municipality Santa Teresa extends in approximately 220 km to the northeastern of its geographic distribution and establishes the inferior limit of 800 m in its altitudinal distribution in the Serra da Mantiqueira.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M Barrett ◽  
Tim Broderick ◽  
Kimberley Chapelle ◽  
Jonah Choiniere ◽  
Steve Edwards ◽  
...  

Southern Africa provides critical information on Late Triassic–Early Jurassic terrestrial tetrapod faunas. Most of the localities in this region are in South Africa and Lesotho, but preliminary work in Zimbabwe has revealed significant potential. Early Jurassic Zimbabwean localities have yielded the basal sauropodomorph Massospondylus, the early sauropod Vulcanodon and theropod material. Late Triassic localities are also known, but have yielded only fragmentary specimens thus far. In early 2017, a joint South African-Zimbabwean-UK team conducted fieldwork in the upper Karoo-aged deposits along the shores of Lake Kariba, northern Zimbabwe (Mid-Zambesi Basin). We relocated the Vulcanodon type locality on Island 126/127 and found that, contrary to previous reports suggesting a Toarcian age, the quarry was in a horizon pre-dating the onset of Drakensburg volcanism (= Batoka Basalts). It is situated instead within the earlier Lower Jurassic Forest Sandstone. This indicates that Vulcanodon is 10–15 million years older than thought previously, recalibrating several nodes within Sauropoda and indicating extensive overlap between true sauropods and 'prosauropods'. Other new vertebrate localities show that sauropodomorphs are present in the Forest Sandstone and upper Tashinga (Late Triassic) formations, but a grey mudstone facies within the Pebbly Arkose Member of the latter unit yields a more aquatic fauna, including lungfish and phytosaurs, but lacking sauropodomorphs. The phytosaur occurrence is the first in Africa south of the Sahara. Faunal and sedimentological evidence indicates that the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sites in this region were deposited under more mesic environments than their lateral equivalents in South Africa.


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