Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica
Abstract Temnospondyl amphibians are common in non-marine Triassic assemblages, including in the Fremouw Formation (Lower to Middle Triassic) of Antarctica. Temnospondyls were among the first tetrapods to be collected from Antarctica, but their record from the lower Fremouw Formation has long been t...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2021.115 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022336021001153 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jpa.2021.115 2024-03-03T08:38:49+00:00 Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica Gee, Bryan M. Makovicky, Peter J. Sidor, Christian A. Office of Polar Programs Office of Polar Programs Office of Polar Programs 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2021.115 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022336021001153 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Journal of Paleontology volume 96, issue 3, page 658-683 ISSN 0022-3360 1937-2337 Paleontology journal-article 2021 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2021.115 2024-02-08T08:41:37Z Abstract Temnospondyl amphibians are common in non-marine Triassic assemblages, including in the Fremouw Formation (Lower to Middle Triassic) of Antarctica. Temnospondyls were among the first tetrapods to be collected from Antarctica, but their record from the lower Fremouw Formation has long been tenuous. One taxon, ‘ Austrobrachyops jenseni ,’ is represented by a type specimen comprising only a partial pterygoid, which is now thought to belong to a dicynodont. A second taxon, ‘ Cryobatrachus kitchingi ,’ is represented by a type specimen comprising a nearly complete skull, but the specimen is only exposed ventrally, and uncertainty over its ontogenetic maturity and some aspects of its anatomy has led it to be designated as a nomen dubium by previous workers. Here, we redescribe the holotype of ‘ C . kitchingi ,’ an undertaking that is augmented by tomographic analysis. Most of the original interpretations and reconstructions cannot be substantiated, and some are clearly erroneous. Although originally classified as a lydekkerinid, the purported lydekkerinid characteristics are shown to be unfounded or no longer diagnostic for the family. We instead identify numerous features shared with highly immature capitosaurs, a large-bodied clade documented in the upper Fremouw Formation of Antarctica and elsewhere in the Lower Triassic. Additionally, we describe a newly collected partial skull from the lower Fremouw Formation that represents a relatively mature, small-bodied individual, which we provisionally refer to Lydekkerinidae; this specimen represents the most confident identification of a lydekkerinid from Antarctica to date. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Cambridge University Press Journal of Paleontology 1 26 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Paleontology |
spellingShingle |
Paleontology Gee, Bryan M. Makovicky, Peter J. Sidor, Christian A. Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Paleontology |
description |
Abstract Temnospondyl amphibians are common in non-marine Triassic assemblages, including in the Fremouw Formation (Lower to Middle Triassic) of Antarctica. Temnospondyls were among the first tetrapods to be collected from Antarctica, but their record from the lower Fremouw Formation has long been tenuous. One taxon, ‘ Austrobrachyops jenseni ,’ is represented by a type specimen comprising only a partial pterygoid, which is now thought to belong to a dicynodont. A second taxon, ‘ Cryobatrachus kitchingi ,’ is represented by a type specimen comprising a nearly complete skull, but the specimen is only exposed ventrally, and uncertainty over its ontogenetic maturity and some aspects of its anatomy has led it to be designated as a nomen dubium by previous workers. Here, we redescribe the holotype of ‘ C . kitchingi ,’ an undertaking that is augmented by tomographic analysis. Most of the original interpretations and reconstructions cannot be substantiated, and some are clearly erroneous. Although originally classified as a lydekkerinid, the purported lydekkerinid characteristics are shown to be unfounded or no longer diagnostic for the family. We instead identify numerous features shared with highly immature capitosaurs, a large-bodied clade documented in the upper Fremouw Formation of Antarctica and elsewhere in the Lower Triassic. Additionally, we describe a newly collected partial skull from the lower Fremouw Formation that represents a relatively mature, small-bodied individual, which we provisionally refer to Lydekkerinidae; this specimen represents the most confident identification of a lydekkerinid from Antarctica to date. |
author2 |
Office of Polar Programs Office of Polar Programs Office of Polar Programs |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gee, Bryan M. Makovicky, Peter J. Sidor, Christian A. |
author_facet |
Gee, Bryan M. Makovicky, Peter J. Sidor, Christian A. |
author_sort |
Gee, Bryan M. |
title |
Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica |
title_short |
Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica |
title_full |
Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Upside down: ‘ Cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from Antarctica |
title_sort |
upside down: ‘ cryobatrachus ’ and the lydekkerinid record from antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2021.115 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022336021001153 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_source |
Journal of Paleontology volume 96, issue 3, page 658-683 ISSN 0022-3360 1937-2337 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2021.115 |
container_title |
Journal of Paleontology |
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1 |
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26 |
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1792507272146976768 |