Newly discovered Triassic The crocodile relatives proved that archosaurs lived in coastal areas around the world. Mesozoic Marine ecosystem.
The researchers seed An extinct species of crocodile discovered in the Triassic Fabre Formation of Nevada. Bengwigiwishingasucus Elemical Minishave revealed that a group of ancient crocodile species known as pseudopterygota archosaurs dominated Earth’s coastlines during the Middle Triassic Period, between 247.2 million and 237 million years ago. The findings are detailed in a study published July 10. Biology Lettersreconstructs our understanding of early coastal ecosystems during the age of dinosaurs.
“This intriguing new species provides evidence that pseudobranchs occupied coastal habitats worldwide during the Middle Triassic,” said lead author Dr. Nate Smith and Gretchen Augustine, director and curator of the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Elucidating the diversity of pseudopterygota
Most of the fossils found in the Triassic Eastern Panthalassa Ocean, including the Fabre Formation, are marine creatures such as ammonites and marine reptiles such as giant ichthyosaurs. C. YoungramThus, the discovery of newly described terrestrial species B. Elemical Minis It was completely unexpected.
“Our first reaction was, what on earth is this,” said co-author Dr Nicole Klein from the University of Bonn. “We expected to find something like a marine reptile. We couldn’t understand how a land animal could end up so deep in the ocean amongst ichthyosaurs and ammonites. It was only when we actually saw the almost perfectly prepared specimen that we were convinced it was indeed a land animal.”
Map of archosaurs (yellow dots) found in the Middle Triassic oceans and east coast, including the new species B. eremicarminis (red star) found on the Panthalassan Coast. Credit: Nate Smith
Fossil discoveries provide evolutionary insights
Although pseudopinniform archosaurs have been unearthed from fossil beds along the coasts of the ancient Tethys Ocean, this is the first time they have been found living in the Panthalassa Ocean and along the coasts of the Western Hemisphere, revealing that these crocodilian relatives inhabited coastal environments around the world during the Middle Triassic. Interestingly, these coastal species do not all belong to the same evolutionary group, suggesting that pseudopinniformes (and archosaurs more broadly) were uniquely adapted to coastal life.
“Essentially, it seems that during the Middle Triassic, very different groups of archosaurs decided to dip their toes in the water. What’s interesting is that many of these ‘independent experiments’ don’t seem to have led to a more widespread spread of semi-aquatic groups,” Smith said.
B. eremicarminis specimen. a) Overview of the skeleton, b) Color-coded interpretation of the skeleton. Courtesy of photo by Stephanie Abramovich and illustration by Dr. Nicole Klein.
Revealing ancient adaptations and diverse forms
During the Triassic period, the “dominant reptiles”, the archosaurs, appeared, with two representatives surviving splitting into two groups: birds, the descendants of the dinosaurs, and crocodiles (alligators, crocodiles, and gharials). B. Elemical MinisAlthough today’s crocodiles are similar enough that most people would mistake them for other reptiles, ancient crocodiles varied widely in size and lifestyle. B. Elemical Minis and its relatives suggest that pseudobranchs gained great diversity very rapidly after the end-Permian mass extinction, but the extent of this remains to be elucidated in the fossil record.
“The growing number of recent discoveries of Middle Triassic pseudo-pinny fishes suggests that there was underappreciated morphological and ecological diversity and experimentation taking place early in the group’s history,” said Smith. “Much of the public’s interest in the Triassic has been focused on the origin of the dinosaurs, but it’s the pseudo-pinny fishes that were doing interesting things in the early Mesozoic.”
Explore Ecology B. Elemical Minis
This new species highlights the diversity of ancient reptiles from the Triassic Period. Mambawakare Lufufu Newly described small animals B. Elemical MinisIt was probably about five or six feet long. B. Elemical Minis How it managed to survive along the coast remains a mystery of its past: only a few skulls have been found of the creature, and clues as to how it fed or hunted are similarly lacking. B. Elemical Minis It was probably quite close to shore, and its limbs are well developed, with no signs of aquatic life, such as fins or changes in bone density.
The team wanted a name that would pay tribute to the original inhabitants of the Augusta Mountains where the specimen was found, so they consulted with members of the Fallon Paiute Shoshone tribe to determine an appropriate name. The new genus name was created by combining the Shoshone word “Bengwi gwishinga,” meaning “to catch fish,” with the Greek name for the Egyptian crocodile-headed god Sobek. BengwygwishingaskSpecies name Elemical Minis It translates as “Song of the Desert” and pays tribute to two NHMLAC supporters who share a passion for Southwest paleontology and opera, so the full name would roughly translate as “Desert Song of the Fisher Crocodile.”
Reference: “New pseudobranchs from Nevada’s Favre Formation reveal that archosaurs inhabited coastal regions worldwide during the Middle Triassic,” by Nathan D. Smith, Nicole Klein, P. Martin Sander, and Lars Schmitz, July 10, 2024, Biology Letters.
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0136
