<i>Dinocephalosaurus orientalis</i> Li, 2003: a remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China

doi:10.1017/S175569102400001X

IVPP-IR

	Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: a remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China
	Spiekman, Stephan N. F.1; Wang, Wei 2; Zhao, Lijun 3; Rieppel, Olivier 4; Fraser, Nicholas C.5; Li, Chun2
	2024-02-23
发表期刊	EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH
ISSN	1755-6910
页码	33
通讯作者	Fraser, Nicholas C.(lichun@ivpp.ac.cn) ; Li, Chun(nick.fraser@nms.ac.uk)
摘要	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.
关键词	late Anisian marine reptile non-archosauriform southern China
DOI	10.1017/S175569102400001X
关键词[WOS]	MIXOSAURID ICHTHYOSAUR PHALARODON ; GUIZHOU PROVINCE ; EARLY EVOLUTION ; 1ST RECORD ; PROTOROSAUR ; REPTILIA ; DIAPSIDA ; SAUROPTERYGIA ; ANATOMY ; PANXIAN
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
资助项目	Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences[XDB26000000] ; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)[SCHO 791/7-1]
项目资助者	Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
WOS研究方向	Geology ; Paleontology
WOS类目	Geosciences, Multidisciplinary ; Paleontology
WOS记录号	WOS:001169136400001
出版者	CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.205/handle/311034/23446
专题	中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所
通讯作者	Fraser, Nicholas C.; Li, Chun
作者单位	1.Staatl Museum Naturkunde Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, D-10191 Stuttgart, Germany 2.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Vertebrate Palaeontol & Palaeoanthropol, Key Lab Vertebrate Evolut & Human Origins, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China 3.Zhejiang Museum Nat Hist, Hangzhou 310014, Peoples R China 4.Field Museum Nat Hist, 1400 Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60605 USA 5.Natl Museums Scotland, Chambers St, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, Scotland
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Spiekman, Stephan N. F.,Wang, Wei,Zhao, Lijun,et al. Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: a remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China[J]. EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH,2024:33.
APA	Spiekman, Stephan N. F.,Wang, Wei,Zhao, Lijun,Rieppel, Olivier,Fraser, Nicholas C.,&Li, Chun.(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,33.
MLA	Spiekman, Stephan N. F.,et al."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 (2024):33.