Open AccessA new archosauromorph from South America provides insights on the early diversification of tanystropheids
Author(s) -
Tiane Macedo de Oliveira,
Felipe L. Pinheiro,
Átila Augusto Stock Da-Rosa,
Sérgio DiasdaSilva,
Leonardo Kerber
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0230890
Subject(s) - taxon , extinction event , clade , biology , vertebrate , paleontology , sister group , diversification (marketing strategy) , genus , extinction (optical mineralogy) , ecology , evolutionary biology , zoology , phylogenetics , population , biological dispersal , biochemistry , demography , marketing , sociology , gene , business
After the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, the archosauromorph fossil record is comparatively abundant and ecologically diverse. Among early archosauromorphs, tanystropheids gained considerable attention due to the presence of extreme skeletal adaptations in response to sometimes overspecialized lifestyles. The origin and early radiation of Tanystropheidae, however, remains elusive. Here, a new Early Triassic archosauromorph is described and phylogenetically recovered as the sister-taxon of Tanystropheidae. The new specimen, considered a new genus and species, comprises a complete posterior limb articulated with pelvic elements. It was recovered from the Sanga do Cabral Formation (Sanga do Cabral Supersequence, Lower Triassic of the Paraná Basin, Southern Brazil), which has already yielded a typical Early Triassic vertebrate assemblage of temnospondyls, procolophonoids, and scarce archosauromorph remains. This new taxon provides insights on the early diversification of tanystropheids and represents further evidence for a premature wide geographical distribution of this clade. The morphology of the new specimen is consistent with a terrestrial lifestyle, suggesting that this condition was plesiomorphic for Tanystropheidae.