Más información sobre la anatomía de Paludidraco multidentatus en las XXXIX Jornadas de la SEP

Miembros del Grupo de Biología Evolutiva de la UNED han presentado durante las XXXIX Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, el trabajo titulado “New anatomical information about Paludidraco multidentatus and implications for Simosauridae (Nothosauroidea, Sauropterygia)” en formato oral. En este trabajo se ha presentado la anatomía detallada del holotipo del simosáurido español P. multidentatus. En este sentido, se proporciona una diagnosis actualizada tanto del taxón español, así como de su taxón hermano Simosaurus gaillardoti, y del clado Simosauridae. A continuación, os dejamos el resumen perteneciente a este trabajo:

Paludidraco multidentatus is an eosauropterygian reptile from the Carnian (Late Triassic) of Central Spain, defined less than a decade ago. This taxon is the only species of the clade Simosauridae described from Iberian remains. Its holotype represents one of the most complete sauropterygian skeletons in southwestern Europe, preserving both the skull and the relatively complete and articulated postcranial skeleton. One additional specimen of this taxon has been analyzed so far, corresponding to an isolated skull, identified as the paratype. The only other representative of Simosauridae was previously defined as Simosaurus gaillardoti, from the Ladinian (Middle Triassic) of France and Germany. This species is relatively well known since the 19th century based on abundant but generally isolated material. The Spanish taxon is a bizarre sauropterygian, interpreted as a filter feeder, showing adaptations to a slow swimming lifestyle near the seabed of coastal waters. It notably differs from the ecological niche proposed for S. gaillardoti, identified as an active predator with a relatively durophagous diet. Simosauridae is a poorly understood sauropterygian clade compared to other eosauropterygian lineages such as Nothosauria or Plesiosauria. The well-preserved holotype of P. multidentatus was only briefly described in the paper in which it was defined, the postcranial skeleton being poorly characterized. A further and thorough preparation of this specimen was recently performed, so that a detailed description of the postcranial skeleton could be provided. Here, we present some preliminary results and new information about the axial skeleton of P. multidentatus. In addition, several diagnostic characters involving the axial skeleton of Simosauridae are discussed.

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Más información:

• Referencia: Cabezuelo-Hernández, A., de Miguel Chaves, C., Ortega, F., Pérez-García, A. 2024. New anatomical information about Paludidraco multidentatus and implications for Simosauridae (Nothosauroidea, Sauropterygia). In Moncunill-Solé et al. (Eds.), Libro de Resúmenes de las XXXIX Jornadas SEP. Palaeontological publications 5, 155.