The descriptions of fossil Triassic marine pla- codonts as durophagous reptiles are revised through comparisons with the sirenia and basal proboscidean mammal and palaeoenvironment analyses. The jaws of placodonts are...The descriptions of fossil Triassic marine pla- codonts as durophagous reptiles are revised through comparisons with the sirenia and basal proboscidean mammal and palaeoenvironment analyses. The jaws of placodonts are conver- gent with those of Halitherium/Dugong or Mo- eritherium in their general function. Whereas Halitherium possessed a horny oral pad and counterpart and a special rasp-like tongue to grind seagrass, as does the modern Dugong, placodonts had large teeth that covered their jaws to form a similar grinding pad. The sirenia also lost their anterior teeth during many Millions of years and built a horny pad instead and specialized tongue to fed mainly on seagrass, whereas placodonts had only macroalgae availa- ble. Indirect evidence for Triassic macroalgae is provided by benthic palaeocommunities from different layers and extended European regions in the Germanic Basin. Studies of tooth wear stages for Placodus indicate that anterior teeth may have been used in a similar manner to the procumbent front teeth of modern Dugong. Paraplacodus and Placodus seem to have used these teeth as spatulas to dig out seaplants. Cyamodus and other placodonts such as Placochelys had smaller or reduced anterior teeth. The scarcity of highly worn palatine or maxillary and lower jaw dentary Placodus or Cyamodus teeth (less then 0.5%) suggests that they had a relatively soft diet. The seaplants would only have been squeezed in a similar feeding strategy to that of modern Dugong feeding on seagrass without jaw rotation and grinding. The phylogenetic trend in tooth reduction within the placodonts Paraplacodus, Placodus, especially in Cyamodus but also Placochelys, and Henodus within 11 My appears to have been a result of this plant-feeding adaptation and may even explain the origin or at least close relationship of the earliest Upper Triassic turtles as toothless algae and jellyfish feeders, in terms of the long-term convergent development with the sirens.展开更多
A new cyamodontoid placodont is named (Pse-phochelys polyosteoderma gen. et. sp. nov.) and described based on a three-dimensionally preserved specimen. The material comes from the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation ...A new cyamodontoid placodont is named (Pse-phochelys polyosteoderma gen. et. sp. nov.) and described based on a three-dimensionally preserved specimen. The material comes from the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation (Carnian, Late Triassic) in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. The skull of Psephochelys shows a unique combination of characteristics observed in Psepho-derma and Placochelys, and the carapace is diagnostic of a new taxon as well. The ventral dermal armor of Psephochelys differs from all other known cyamodontoids in that it comprises irregular marginal osteoderms in loose contact with each other, and gastralia between them. The cranial suture pattern is in part difficult to analyze due to apparent co-ossification of elements, or poor delimitation of sutures. This affects primarily the demarcation of the nasal from the prefrontal, and the relation between the anterior part of the parietal, posterior ends of the frontals, and postfrontals. However, the postfrontal appears to enter the展开更多
记述的新铺中国豆齿龙（Sinocyamodus xinpuensis gen. et sp. nov.）代表了齿龙目的一新属。这是齿龙类化石在我国的首次发现，也是这类特殊的海生爬行动物在欧洲、北非和中东以外地区的首次记录。标本产自贵州关岭晚三叠世瓦窑组一段...记述的新铺中国豆齿龙（Sinocyamodus xinpuensis gen. et sp. nov.）代表了齿龙目的一新属。这是齿龙类化石在我国的首次发现，也是这类特殊的海生爬行动物在欧洲、北非和中东以外地区的首次记录。标本产自贵州关岭晚三叠世瓦窑组一段的泥晶灰岩中，与鱼龙类、幻龙类及海龙类等多种海生爬行类同时产出。这一化石组合表明，贵州关岭三叠纪海生爬行动物群的性质与西特提斯动物群（wstern-Tethyan fauna）的性质极为相似，这两个地区在晚三叠世早期有广泛的动物交流。展开更多
文摘The descriptions of fossil Triassic marine pla- codonts as durophagous reptiles are revised through comparisons with the sirenia and basal proboscidean mammal and palaeoenvironment analyses. The jaws of placodonts are conver- gent with those of Halitherium/Dugong or Mo- eritherium in their general function. Whereas Halitherium possessed a horny oral pad and counterpart and a special rasp-like tongue to grind seagrass, as does the modern Dugong, placodonts had large teeth that covered their jaws to form a similar grinding pad. The sirenia also lost their anterior teeth during many Millions of years and built a horny pad instead and specialized tongue to fed mainly on seagrass, whereas placodonts had only macroalgae availa- ble. Indirect evidence for Triassic macroalgae is provided by benthic palaeocommunities from different layers and extended European regions in the Germanic Basin. Studies of tooth wear stages for Placodus indicate that anterior teeth may have been used in a similar manner to the procumbent front teeth of modern Dugong. Paraplacodus and Placodus seem to have used these teeth as spatulas to dig out seaplants. Cyamodus and other placodonts such as Placochelys had smaller or reduced anterior teeth. The scarcity of highly worn palatine or maxillary and lower jaw dentary Placodus or Cyamodus teeth (less then 0.5%) suggests that they had a relatively soft diet. The seaplants would only have been squeezed in a similar feeding strategy to that of modern Dugong feeding on seagrass without jaw rotation and grinding. The phylogenetic trend in tooth reduction within the placodonts Paraplacodus, Placodus, especially in Cyamodus but also Placochelys, and Henodus within 11 My appears to have been a result of this plant-feeding adaptation and may even explain the origin or at least close relationship of the earliest Upper Triassic turtles as toothless algae and jellyfish feeders, in terms of the long-term convergent development with the sirens.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40072010, J9930095 and 49942006)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX3-J-02).
文摘A new cyamodontoid placodont is named (Pse-phochelys polyosteoderma gen. et. sp. nov.) and described based on a three-dimensionally preserved specimen. The material comes from the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation (Carnian, Late Triassic) in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. The skull of Psephochelys shows a unique combination of characteristics observed in Psepho-derma and Placochelys, and the carapace is diagnostic of a new taxon as well. The ventral dermal armor of Psephochelys differs from all other known cyamodontoids in that it comprises irregular marginal osteoderms in loose contact with each other, and gastralia between them. The cranial suture pattern is in part difficult to analyze due to apparent co-ossification of elements, or poor delimitation of sutures. This affects primarily the demarcation of the nasal from the prefrontal, and the relation between the anterior part of the parietal, posterior ends of the frontals, and postfrontals. However, the postfrontal appears to enter the
文摘记述的新铺中国豆齿龙（Sinocyamodus xinpuensis gen. et sp. nov.）代表了齿龙目的一新属。这是齿龙类化石在我国的首次发现，也是这类特殊的海生爬行动物在欧洲、北非和中东以外地区的首次记录。标本产自贵州关岭晚三叠世瓦窑组一段的泥晶灰岩中，与鱼龙类、幻龙类及海龙类等多种海生爬行类同时产出。这一化石组合表明，贵州关岭三叠纪海生爬行动物群的性质与西特提斯动物群（wstern-Tethyan fauna）的性质极为相似，这两个地区在晚三叠世早期有广泛的动物交流。
