Varios integrantes del Grupo de Biología Evolutiva de la UNED han presentado durante las XXXVIII Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, el trabajo titulado “Paired bulks in the articular facets of several dorsal centra of the Paludidraco multidentatus holotype (Eosauropterygia, Simosauridae): pathology or diagnostic character?” en formato póster. En este trabajo se presenta el estudio preliminar de varios centros vertebrales con morfología inusual del holotipo del simosáurido español P. multidentatus. Los centros corresponden a la zona lumbar del ejemplar, en los cuales se han identificado estructuras pares a modo de ‘bultos’ en sus caras de articulación. Dichas estructuras no se han identificado en ningún sauropterigio, grupo al que pertenece P. multidentatus, ni en ninguna otra zona de la columna vertebral de este mismo individuo. Así, en este trabajo se discute de forma preliminar el origen, potencialmente patológico, de dichas estructuras. A continuación, os dejamos el resumen perteneciente a este trabajo:
Simosauridae was an eosauropterygian clade ranging from the Middle to the Late Triassic, and identified by two valid taxa, Simosaurus gaillardoti (from the Ladinian of France and Germany) and Paludidraco multidentatus (from the Carnian of Spain). The holotype of P. multidentatus corresponds to a relatively complete and partially articulated skeleton. It preserves numerous vertebral elements, including some cervical, all dorsal and sacral, and scarce caudal vertebrae. However, unlike S. gaillardoti, information on this taxon is currently very limited. In addition to in other anatomical regions, different characters in the vertebral centra of both taxa can be recognized. Thus, these of P. multidentatus are amphicoelous, whereas those of S. gaillardoti are platycoelous. Paired bulks are identified here in the central region of the articular facets of several distalmost dorsal centra of P. multidentatus. These had not been previously documented in Simosauridae, and are not present in other areas of the vertebral column of that individual. Within Sauropterygia, similar bulks are known in the vertebral centra of several plesiosaurs. However, they are unpaired and surround a central notochordal pit, which is exclusive of Plesiosauria among the sauropterygians. Hence, they differ from the structures identified here for P. multidentatus. We perform here the morphological description and a preliminary analysis of these centra of the P. multidentatus holotype, as well as the anatomical comparison with the centra of its sister taxon, S. gaillardoti, and those of other sauropterygians to assess whether similar structures can be identified for other taxa, despite not having been previously notified. Considering this comparative framework, the potentially diagnostic morphology of these structures is discussed. However, a pathological origin cannot be discarded. Thus, several of these centra were CT-scanned to analyze the bone density of these bulks in relation to that of other regions of these bones.
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