Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica
The upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica preserves a diverse record of temnospondyls, with three species currently recognized. To date, all of the described material belongs to a single clade, Capitosauria. Our reanalysis suggests that cursory historical reports suggesting the pre...
Published in: | Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |
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The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
2022
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ftbioone:10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 2024-06-02T07:57:16+00:00 Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica Bryan M. Gee Christian A. Sidor Bryan M. Gee Christian A. Sidor world 2022-04-07 text/HTML https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 en eng The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 Text 2022 ftbioone https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 2024-05-07T00:51:19Z The upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica preserves a diverse record of temnospondyls, with three species currently recognized. To date, all of the described material belongs to a single clade, Capitosauria. Our reanalysis suggests that cursory historical reports suggesting the presence of a benthosuchid (Trematosauria) are in error. Here we report substantial amounts of hemimandibular material of large-bodied temnospondyls from the upper Fremouw Formation. All seven specimens, including the historic material attributed to Trematosauria, exhibit features indicative of capitosaurian affinities. These specimens represent a notable expansion in the physical and conceptual body of temnospondyl material known from the Fremouw Formation, although they cannot be definitively associated with any of the three previously named Antarctic species in the absence of skeletal overlap. In addition, all of the specimens come from large-bodied individuals (i.e., skull lengths exceeding 70 cm), which likely reflects a taphonomic filter created by the high-energy channel lag deposition of the fossiliferous horizon of the upper Fremouw Formation. We also report the first occurrence of a non-capitosaur, an interclavicle belonging to a plagiosaurid. This represents only the third occurrence of Plagiosauridae in southern Pangea during the Triassic, in contrast to a much richer record of this clade in northern parts of the supercontinent and a rich record of the closely related brachyopids in the southern hemisphere. Together with the continued absence of trematosaurs in Antarctica, the plagiosaurid record hints at nuances in the distribution of cosmopolitan clades patterns that are tied to presently unrecognized ecological and physiological differentiators. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica BioOne Online Journals Antarctic Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41 4 |
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language |
English |
description |
The upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica preserves a diverse record of temnospondyls, with three species currently recognized. To date, all of the described material belongs to a single clade, Capitosauria. Our reanalysis suggests that cursory historical reports suggesting the presence of a benthosuchid (Trematosauria) are in error. Here we report substantial amounts of hemimandibular material of large-bodied temnospondyls from the upper Fremouw Formation. All seven specimens, including the historic material attributed to Trematosauria, exhibit features indicative of capitosaurian affinities. These specimens represent a notable expansion in the physical and conceptual body of temnospondyl material known from the Fremouw Formation, although they cannot be definitively associated with any of the three previously named Antarctic species in the absence of skeletal overlap. In addition, all of the specimens come from large-bodied individuals (i.e., skull lengths exceeding 70 cm), which likely reflects a taphonomic filter created by the high-energy channel lag deposition of the fossiliferous horizon of the upper Fremouw Formation. We also report the first occurrence of a non-capitosaur, an interclavicle belonging to a plagiosaurid. This represents only the third occurrence of Plagiosauridae in southern Pangea during the Triassic, in contrast to a much richer record of this clade in northern parts of the supercontinent and a rich record of the closely related brachyopids in the southern hemisphere. Together with the continued absence of trematosaurs in Antarctica, the plagiosaurid record hints at nuances in the distribution of cosmopolitan clades patterns that are tied to presently unrecognized ecological and physiological differentiators. |
author2 |
Bryan M. Gee Christian A. Sidor |
format |
Text |
author |
Bryan M. Gee Christian A. Sidor |
spellingShingle |
Bryan M. Gee Christian A. Sidor Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica |
author_facet |
Bryan M. Gee Christian A. Sidor |
author_sort |
Bryan M. Gee |
title |
Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica |
title_short |
Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica |
title_full |
Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cold Capitosaurs and Polar Plagiosaurs: New Temnospondyl Records from the Upper Fremouw Formation (Middle Triassic) of Antarctica |
title_sort |
cold capitosaurs and polar plagiosaurs: new temnospondyl records from the upper fremouw formation (middle triassic) of antarctica |
publisher |
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 |
op_coverage |
world |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica |
op_source |
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 |
op_relation |
doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 |
op_rights |
All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1998086 |
container_title |
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |
container_volume |
41 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1800740424323694592 |