Palaeontologia africana

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

New ‘rauisuchian’ fossil material from the lower Elliot Formation of South Africa
(Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2023) Tolchard, Frederick B; Bordy, Emese M; Choiniere, Jonah N
‘Rauisuchians’ are a grade of paracrocodylomorph archosaurs that evolved a diversity of body plans and played a key role in ecosystems worldwide throughout the Triassic. They are widely believed to have gone extinct during the end-Triassic mass extinction event though the fossil record of rauisuchians in the latest Triassic is still poorly known. In this study, we describe new rauisuchian fossil remains from the lower Elliot Formation of South Africa. Based on comparative anatomical evidence, we assign these specimens to the pseudosuchian clade Rauisuchidae. The addition of this material to the existing southern African fossil record allows us, along with some new insights into the taxonomic affinities of previously published material, to identify the presence of at least three distinct taxa of rauisuchian in the Norian of southern Africa: two of the clade Rauisuchidae; and one of the clade Poposauroidea. These likely filled the ecological role of apex predators in the Late Triassic of southern Africa. We also provide a revision of the stratigraphic record of ‘rauisuchians’ from the Elliot Formation and show that the existing record of rauisuchians in southern Africa, though among the youngest in the world, does not extend beyond the late Norian. Further exploration of the Elliot Formation and other terrestrial deposits at the Triassic–Jurassic boundary will be needed to assess whether rauisuchians survived until, or even beyond, the end-Triassic mass extinction event.
Anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of a possible lessemsaurid with associated plant fossils from the lower part of the Elliot Formation
(Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2023) Moopen, Atashni; Matiwane, Aviwe; Viglietti, Pia A; Choiniere, Jonah N
The Elliot Formation forms the middle layer of the Stormberg Group of South Africa and ranges in age from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Jurassic. This stratigraphic unit bears a rich and varied faunal assemblage, including a wide variety of vertebrate fossils, the most abundant of which are sauropodomorph dinosaurs. While Early Jurassic sauropodomorphs are increasingly well-known, our knowledge of Late Triassic sauropodomorphs from the lower Elliot Formation is still at a deficit. Specimens from this section of the Stormberg Group can provide key information on the early evolution of Sauropodomorpha. Here we report on a new specimen of a Late Triassic sauropodomorph from a locality a short distance above the Molteno – Elliot boundary making it among the stratigraphically lowest sauropodomorphs from South Africa. Phylogenetic analyses and body mass estimations indicate the specimen represents a medium-to-large-bodied possible lessemsaurid with a combination of plesiomorphic and derived characters. This specimen adds to the diversity of the lower Elliot Formation and provides stronger support for a biogeographical link between the Elliot Formation and the Los Colorados Formation of Argentina. This skeletally immature possible lessemsaurid also provides insight into body size evolution during the Norian, a critical time for the evolution of sauropodomorph gigantism. The fossil plant genera Taeniopteris and Cladophlebis were recovered from sediments containing the sauropodomorph specimen, documenting one of the first co-occurrences of dinosaurs and plant material in the Elliot Formation, as well as preserving direct evidence of plant-insect interactions.
Late Triassic traversodont cynodonts from Nova Scotia and southern Africa
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1984) Hopson, James A.
The first gomphodont cynodont from North America is described from the Upper Triassic Wolfville Formation, Fundy Group, Newark Supergroup, of Burntcoat, Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada. Known material consists of a large mandible, edentulous but for two incisors, a probably associated canine, and two small dentaries; an isolated multicusped tooth may belong to this species. This gomphodont closely resembles the large traversodont Scalenodontoides macrodontes from the lower Elliot Formation (= Red Beds) of Lesotho; it is provisionally placed in this genus but is a distinct species, ?Scaleno- dontoides plemmyridon sp. nov. It differs from S. macrodontes primarily in its more massive symphyseal region and much larger mental foramen from which a prominent groove extends posterodorsally. The large, posteriorly-located mental foramen is believed to be a well-developed oral vestibule and cheek. The isolated tooth, provisionally interpreted as a traversodont lower postcanine, is anteroposteriorly compressed, with a high anterior blade formed by three transversely-aligned cusps and a short heel; it does not resemble postcanines of S. macrodontes and so reference to ?S. plemmyridon is questionable. Scalenodontoides is the sister genus of Exaeretodon from the Late Triassic of Argentina, Brazil, and India; they are allied on the basis of: upper incisors reduced from 4 to 3, all incisors greatly enlarged, and internarial bar incomplete. These resemblances to tritylodontids are convergent. Scalenodontoides and Exaeretodon share with Gomphodontosuchus the enlargement of the anterolabial cusp of the lower postcanines and posterior inclination of the anterolingual cusp. The Wolfville and basal Elliot faunas are considered to be Late Carnian or Carno-Norian in age. Faunas containing Exaeretodon are older Carnian, though the Santa Maria Formation of Brazil may be Late Ladinian.

Palaeontologia africana

Browse

Filters

Settings

Sort By

Results per page

Search Results