2017 in reptile paleontology

Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2017.

Lepidosaurs

Rhynchocephalians

Research

• A study on the morphological diversity and rates of morphological evolution of extinct and extant rhynchocephalians is published by Herrera-Flores, Stubbs & Benton (2017); the study is subsequently criticized by Vaux et al. (2019).
• A study on the bone histology and growth of the Jurassic pleurosaurid Palaeopleurosaurus is published by Klein & Scheyer (2017).
• Jaws of Clevosaurus brasiliensis affected by osteomyelitis are described from the Late Triassic (Norian) Candelária Sequence of the Santa Maria Supersequence (Brazil) by Romo-de-Vivar-Martínez et al. (2017).

New taxa

Lizards and snakes

Research

• A study comparing inner ear morphology of Dinilysia patagonica and extant lizards and snakes is published by Palci et al. (2017).
• An overview of the discoveries of Mesozoic lizards from Brazil is published by Simões et al. (2017).
• A study on the origins of the Australian fauna of lizards and snakes is published by Oliver & Hugall (2017).
• A study on the nomenclature and phylogenetic relationships of the lizard species assigned to the genus Necrosaurus is published by Georgalis (2017), who assigns the species Necrosaurus cayluxi and Melanosauroides giganteus to the genus Palaeovaranus and names a new family Palaeovaranidae.
• A study on the anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Eichstaettisaurus schroederi and Ardeosaurus digitatellus is published by Simões et al. (2017).
• A redescription of the anatomy of the holotype specimen of the teiid species Callopistes bicuspidatus from the late Miocene–early Pliocene of Argentina is published by Brizuela & Albino (2017).
• An almost complete skull and a few associated postcranial bones of the lacertid Dracaenosaurus croizeti are described from the Oligocene locality of Cournon (south-central France) by Čerňanský et al. (2017).
• A description of the anatomy of the postcranial skeleton of the putative stem-amphisbaenian Slavoia darevskii and a study on its implications for the evolution of the postcranial skeleton of amphisbaenians is published by Tałanda (2017).
• Description of a new specimen of Geiseltaliellus maarius from the Eocene Messel pit (Germany), preserving details of the squamation, is published by Smith (2017).
• A study testing whether extant anole species adapted to similar ecological niches have similar semicircular canal morphologies, as well as a reconstruction of the vestibular system in five Miocene anoles from the Dominican Republic and a study on their ecology is published by Dickson et al. (2017).
• An autotomized tail of a shinisaurid is described from the Eocene Messel pit (Germany) by Smith (2017).
• Fossils of a monitor lizard are described from the middle Pleistocene of Greece by Georgalis, Villa & Delfino (2017), representing the most recent known record of the family Varanidae from Europe.
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of members of Mosasauroidea is published by Simões et al. (2017).
• A study on the robustness of the hypotheses about mosasauroid phylogenetic relationships and a reevaluation of the dataset from the study of Simões et al. (2017) is published by Madzia & Cau (2017).
• A revision of mosasauroids from the Upper Cretaceous marine sediments associated with Gondwanan landmasses is published by Jiménez-Huidobro, Simões & Caldwell (2017).
• A redescription of Mosasaurus hoffmannii based on examination of many specimens is published by Street & Caldwell (2017), who also provide emended diagnoses for both the genus Mosasaurus and its type species M. hoffmannii.
• A study on the presence of ligamentous tooth attachment in mosasaurs and in fossil and modern snakes is published by LeBlanc, Lamoureux & Caldwell (2017).
• A pachyostotic marine squamate specimen belonging to the family Pachyophiidae, consisting of 29 vertebrae, is described from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Đurić et al. (2017).
• An overview of the snake fossil record from Brazil is published by Onary, Fachini & Hsiou (2017).
• A redescription of the type material of Gigantophis garstini, a reevaluation of referred material from North Africa and Pakistan, and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of Gigantophis and other madtsoiids is published by Rio & Mannion (2017).
• Snake fossils, including the first record of an indigenous member of the genus Pantherophis in West Indies and the first reported member of the genus Nerodia in the fossil record of West Indies, are described from the late Pleistocene of the Bahamas by Mead & Steadman (2017).
• A large viperine snake assigned to the genus Macrovipera is reported from the early Vallesian of Romania by Codrea et al. (2017), representing the first occurrence of this genus in the late Miocene of eastern Romania.

New taxa

Ichthyosauromorphs

Research

• A study on the emergence date and changes of the evolutionary rate during the ichthyosauromorph evolution is published by Motani et al. (2017).
• A jaw fragment of a member of the genus Omphalosaurus is described from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Karchowice Formation (Poland) by Wintrich, Hagdorn & Sander (2017), representing the first record of Omphalosaurus from shallow marine carbonates and from the Muschelkalk facies.
• Description of three nearly complete and well-preserved skulls of Chaohusaurus chaoxianensis, revealing new information on the skull anatomy of the species, is published by Zhou et al. (2017).
• A specimen of Ichthyosaurus somersetensis containing an embryo, representing the largest unequivocal specimen of a member of the genus Ichthyosaurus, is described from the Lower Jurassic (lower Hettangian) Blue Lias Formation (United Kingdom) by Lomax & Sachs (2017).
• Plet et al. (2017) report the presence of red and white blood cell-like structures as well as platelet-like structures, collagen and cholesterol in a vertebra of a member of the genus Stenopterygius from Toarcian Posidonia Shale (Germany).
• An articulated skeleton of an ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur is described from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Katrol Formation (India) by Prasad et al. (2017).

New taxa

Sauropterygians

Research

• A study on the mechanisms generating vertebral counts and their regionalisation during embryo development that were responsible for high plasticity of the body plan of sauropterygians is published by Soul & Benson (2017).
• A study on the evolution of the anatomy of the inner ear of sauropterygians is published by Neenan et al. (2017).
• A study on the morphology of the occlusal surface of placodont teeth and its implications for the diet of the placodonts is published by Crofts et al. (2017).
• New specimen of Dianmeisaurus gracilis is described from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation (China) by Shang, Li & Wu (2017).
• Fossilized soft tissues preserved with skeletal remains of Middle Triassic nothosaurs from Poland are described by Surmik, Rothschild & Pawlicki (2017).
• Description of a new specimen of Lariosaurus xingyiensis from the Middle Triassic Falang Formation (China) and a phylogenetic analysis of the family Nothosauridae is published by Lin et al. (2017), who transfer the species "Nothosaurus" juvenilis, "N." youngi and "N." winkelhorsti to the genus Lariosaurus.
• Evidence of septic necrosis and decompression syndrome-associated avascular necrosis affecting bones of Pistosaurus longaevus is reported by Surmik et al. (2017).
• A study on the skeletal anatomy of Bobosaurus forojuliensis is published by Dalla Vecchia (2017).
• A study on the function of the long neck in plesiosaurs as indicated by the anatomy of the neck is published by Noè, Taylor & Gómez-Pérez (2017).
• A study on the large, paired openings in the neck vertebrae of plesiosaurs and their implications for inferring the anatomy of the vascular system in the neck of plesiosaurs is published by Wintrich, Scaal & Sander (2017).
• A study on the swimming method of plesiosaurs is published by Muscutt et al. (2017).
• An assessment of the completeness of the plesiosaur fossil record is published by Tutin & Butler (2017).
• A description of a new specimen of Colymbosaurus svalbardensis from the Tithonian–Berriasian Agardhfjellet Formation (Svalbard, Norway), a reevaluation of the diagnostic features of the species and a study on its phylogenetic relationships is published by Roberts et al. (2017).
• A study on the tooth formation cycle in elasmosaurid plesiosaurs is published by Kear et al. (2017).
• A redescription of the holotype specimen of Tuarangisaurus keyesi and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by O'Gorman et al. (2017).
• A study on the anatomy of the vertebra of Vegasaurus molyi and its implications for the anatomy of the nervous system of the species is published by O'Gorman & Fernandez (2017).
• A study on the skeletal morphology and histology of a perinatal aristonectine plesiosaur specimen recovered from the Lopez de Bertodano Formation (Seymour Island, Antarctica) is published by O'Gorman, Talevi & Fernández (2017).
• A redescription of the anatomy of the holotype skull of Morturneria seymourensis is published by O'Keefe et al. (2017).
• A reappraisal and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of Mauisaurus is published by Hiller et al. (2017).
• Libonectes atlasense is redescribed by Sachs & Kear (2017), who consider this species to be likely synonymous with Libonectes morgani.
• An elasmosaurid specimen closely related to Vegasaurus molyi, Kawanectes lafquenianum, Morenosaurus stocki and aristonectines is described from the Late Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) Lopez de Bertodano Formation (Antarctica) by O’Gorman & Coria (2017), who name a new elasmosaurid clade Weddellonectia.

New taxa

Turtles

Research

• A study on the evolution of the turtle vertebral column as indicated by the anatomy of the Late Triassic turtles and a phylogenetic analysis (which also tests the suggested relationship of Eunotosaurus africanus and Pappochelys rosinae to turtles) is published by Szczygielski (2017).
• A study on the evolution of turtle neck anatomy based on data from fossil and extant taxa is published by Böhmer & Werneburg (2017).
• A study on the morphological diversity of the skulls of the fossil turtles through time is published by Foth, Ascarrunz & Joyce (2017).
• A review of the basalmost known members of Testudinata is published by Joyce (2017), who defines new clades Mesochelydia (the clade that arises from the most recent common ancestor of Condorchelys antiqua, Eileanchelys waldmani, Heckerochelys romani and Kayentachelys aprix) and Perichelydia (the clade that arises from the most recent common ancestor of Meiolania platyceps, Helochelydra nopcsai, Sichuanchelys chowi and Testudo graeca).
• A method of inferring habitats of extinct turtles based on measurements of the shell is proposed by Lichtig & Lucas (2017).
• Meiolaniid fossils are described from the Eocene Rundle Formation (eastern Queensland, Australia) by Poropat et al. (2017), representing the oldest meiolaniid remains found in Australasia to date.
• Reconstructions of the morphology of the brain, inner ear and nasal cavities in the meiolaniids Niolamia argentina, Gaffneylania auricularis and Meiolania platyceps are presented by Paulina-Carabajal et al. (2017).
• New fossil material of Jiangxichelys ganzhouensis is described by Tong et al. (2017), who also transfer the species "Zangerlia" neimongolensis to the genus Jiangxichelys.
• A juvenile specimen of Manchurochelys manchoukuoensis is described from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation (China) by Shao et al. (2017).
• A redescription of Ctenochelys acris based on several specimens from the Late Cretaceous (early Campanian) Mooreville Chalk of Alabama (United States) is published by Gentry (2017).
• Description of a new specimen of Camerochelys vilanovai from the Early Cretaceous of Spain and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by Pérez-García, Sáez-Benito & Murelaga (2017).
• Description of new specimens of the baenid species Baena arenosa and Chisternon undatum from the Eocene Uinta Formation (Utah, United States) is published by Smith et al. (2017).
• A revision of the Late Jurassic turtle taxa traditionally assigned to the families Eurysternidae, Plesiochelyidae and Thalassemydidae is published by Anquetin, Püntener & Joyce (2017), who hypothesize that these taxa form a monophyletic group named Thalassochelydia.
• A description of the skull morphology of Anosteira maomingensis is published by Danilov et al. (2017).
• A study on the histology of the shell bones of Kizylkumemys schultzi is published by Skutschas et al. (2017).
• Morphologically and histologically diagnostic trionychid specimens are reported from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian–Aptian) of Japan by Nakajima et al. (2017).
• A study on the shell morphology, phylogenetic relationships and paleoecology of the Cretaceous trionychid Helopanoplia distincta is published by Joyce & Lyson (2017).
• A redescription of the holotype specimen of Procyclanorbis sardus (a Miocene trionychid from Sardinia, Italy) is published by Georgalis et al. (2017).
• Fossilized shell remains of geoemydids, kinosternids and a chelydrid are described from five Pleistocene localities belonging to the Tablazo Formation (Ecuador) by Cadena, Abella & Gregori (2017).
• Fossils of a member of the tortoise genus Titanochelon are described from the early Pleistocene of Spain by Pérez-García, Vlachos & Arribas (2017), representing the youngest evidence of a large tortoise in continental Europe.
• Redescription of the giant fossil tortoise "Testudo" gymnesica from the Balearic Islands (Spain) and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by Luján et al. (2017).
• New, more complete fossil material of the Oligocene species Procolpochelys charlestonensis, as well as fused dentaries of a late Eocene member of the genus Euclastes (the most recent fossils of a member of the genus reported so far) are described from South Carolina by Weems & Brown (2017).
• Lindgren et al. (2017) examine, at the molecular level, details of the soft tissue anatomy of the holotype specimen of Tasbacka danica.
• A study on the anatomy of the neck vertebrae of the Late Jurassic stem-pleurodire Platychelys oberndorferi and its implications for the mechanism allowing neck and head retraction in this species is published by Anquetin, Tong & Claude (2017).
• A study on the anatomy of the shell and pelvis of the specimens of Platychelys oberndorferi from Switzerland is published by Sullivan & Joyce (2017).
• A plate from the Lower Cretaceous (uppermost Hauterivian-basal Barremian) El Castellar Formation (Spain) is interpreted as the oldest known record of the stem-pleurodire family Dortokidae by Pérez-García, Cobos & Royo-Torres (2017).
• A description of a large shell fragment from the Late Cretaceous Marília Formation (Brazil), interpreted as belonging to the largest podocnemidoid turtle reported from the Bauru Basin so far, is published by Hermanson, Ferreira & Langer (2017).
• A study on the skulls of the Late Cretaceous stem-podocnemidid Bauruemys elegans from the Presidente Prudente Formation (Brazil) is published by Mariani & Romano (2017), who interpret all specimens as belonging to the same species and likely to the same population, assess the ontogenetic changes in the skull of B. elegans and tentatively assess the changes of eating preference habits over ontogeny in the species.
• Two incomplete hatchling specimens of members of the genus Araripemys are described from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation (Brazil) by Oliveira & Kellner (2017).
• A revision of the fossil turtles from the Eocene clays in the vicinities of Kyiv (Ukraine) is published by Zvonok & Danilov (2017).

New taxa

Archosauriformes

Archosaurs

Other archosauriforms

• A study on the microstructure of the osteoderms of doswelliids and proterochampsids, as well as its implications for inferring the paleoecology of members of these groups, is published by Ponce et al. (2017).
• Diandongosuchus fuyuanensis, originally thought to be a member of Poposauroidea, is reinterpreted as a basal phytosaur by Stocker et al. (2017).
• A study on the morphology of the braincase of the phytosaur Wannia scurriensis is published by Lessner & Stocker (2017).
• A description of the morphology of the sacrum of Smilosuchus adamanensis is published by Griffin et al. (2017).

Other reptiles

Research

• A study on the red blood cell size in fossil tetrapods, especially archosauromorph reptiles and synapsids, as indicated by bone microstructure, is published by Huttenlocker & Farmer (2017).
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of mesosaurs and other early reptiles is published by Laurin & Piñeiro (2017); this study is subsequently reevaluated by MacDougall et al. (2018).
• A study on the diet of the mesosaurs from the Early Permian Irati Formation (Brazil) and Mangrullo Formation (Uruguay) is published by Da Silva et al. (2017).
• A specimen of the mesosaur species Stereosternum tumidum affected by congenital scoliosis is described from the Permian of Brazil by Szczygielski et al. (2017).
• New cranial material of Colobomycter pholeter, revealing previously unknown aspects of the anatomy of the skull, is described by Macdougall et al. (2017).
• A study on the bone histology of Permian pareiasaurs from South Africa and its implications for the lifestyle and growth patterns of pareiasaurs is published by Canoville & Chinsamy (2017).
• A study on rates of morphological evolution in members of the family Captorhinidae and on whether changes of evolutionary rates coincided with shifts in diet is published by Brocklehurst (2017).
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships, species richness and morphological diversity of captorhinids is published by Romano, Brocklehurst & Fröbisch (2017).
• Partial maxillary toothplate of an early reptile, probably a juvenile specimen of Labidosaurikos meachami, is described from the Lower Permian Arroyo Formation (Texas, United States) by Jung & Sumida (2017).
• Description of a juvenile specimen Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Upper Prosanto Formation (Switzerland), interpreted as most likely to be a terrestrial animal, and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by Scheyer et al. (2017).
• A restudy of Arctosaurus osborni is published by Sues (2017), who considers this species to be an archosauromorph reptile, possibly an allokotosaurian.
• A study on the geological setting, anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of the rhynchosaur species Supradapedon stockleyi is published by Langer, da Rosa & Montefeltro (2017).
• A specimen of Dinocephalosaurus containing an embryo, providing evidence of live birth in this taxon, is described from the Middle Triassic of China by Liu et al. (2017).
• A well-preserved, curled-up skeleton of an embryo of a marine protorosaur related to Dinocephalosaurus is described from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation (China) by Li, Rieppel & Fraser (2017).
• A study on the histology of the postcranial bones of Tanystropheus and Macrocnemus, and its implications for the ecology and mode of growth in these taxa, is published by Jaquier & Scheyer (2017).
• A skeleton of a member of the genus Macrocnemus related to the species M. fuyuanensis is described from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation (Switzerland) by Jaquier et al. (2017).
• Diverse archosauromorph tracks are described from the Early Triassic (Olenekian) of the Catalan Pyrenees by Mujal et al. (2017), who name a new ichnotaxon Prorotodactylus mesaxonichnus described on the basis of footprints which might have been left by a euparkeriid or a similar basal archosauriform.

New taxa

References