Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, Oklahoma

A small, pristinely preserved specimen recently collected from the Dolese Brothers limestone quarry near Richards Spur, Oklahoma provides evidence for the presence of a new early Permian parareptile at this locality. The specimen includes an articulated, nearly complete skull roof, and with the righ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Robert R. Reisz, Dylan C.T. Rowe, Joseph J. Bevitt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2024-11-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/18393.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846160933674549248
author Robert R. Reisz
Dylan C.T. Rowe
Joseph J. Bevitt
author_facet Robert R. Reisz
Dylan C.T. Rowe
Joseph J. Bevitt
author_sort Robert R. Reisz
collection DOAJ
description A small, pristinely preserved specimen recently collected from the Dolese Brothers limestone quarry near Richards Spur, Oklahoma provides evidence for the presence of a new early Permian parareptile at this locality. The specimen includes an articulated, nearly complete skull roof, and with the right premaxilla, right quadratojugal, most of the right palate, as well as the right epipterygoid and the sphenethmoid preserved inside. Although similar in many respects to the other contemporary parareptiles Acleistorhinus, Delorhynchus and Colobomycter, it can be distinguished from other acleistorhinids by the presence of a number of autapomorphies related to its dentition. Phylogenetic analysis places it closer to Delorhynchus and Colobomycter within Acleistorhinidae than to Acleistorhinus pteroticus. Unique aspects of the present specimen include the pronounced anterior extension of the lacrimal bone, largely homodont dentition composed of simple conical crowns with slight recurvature in the premaxillary and anterior maxillary teeth, and simple conical crowns in posterior maxillary dentition. The discovery of this new parareptile along with the surprisingly large number of acleistorhinids at Richards Spur highlights the importance of the unique fissure and vertical cave system at this site. No other early Permian site has provided such a wide diversity of parareptilian taxa, part of a complex community of terrestrial vertebrates. The present specimen highlights the fine niche partitioning that appears to have been present among reptiles of this region.
format Article
id doaj-art-ac0f5c71cf6d4b568348720f48be9aaa
institution Kabale University
issn 2167-8359
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj-art-ac0f5c71cf6d4b568348720f48be9aaa2024-11-21T15:05:15ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592024-11-0112e1839310.7717/peerj.18393Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, OklahomaRobert R. Reisz0Dylan C.T. Rowe1Joseph J. Bevitt2Department of Biology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario, CanadaAustralian Centre for Neutron Scanning, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaA small, pristinely preserved specimen recently collected from the Dolese Brothers limestone quarry near Richards Spur, Oklahoma provides evidence for the presence of a new early Permian parareptile at this locality. The specimen includes an articulated, nearly complete skull roof, and with the right premaxilla, right quadratojugal, most of the right palate, as well as the right epipterygoid and the sphenethmoid preserved inside. Although similar in many respects to the other contemporary parareptiles Acleistorhinus, Delorhynchus and Colobomycter, it can be distinguished from other acleistorhinids by the presence of a number of autapomorphies related to its dentition. Phylogenetic analysis places it closer to Delorhynchus and Colobomycter within Acleistorhinidae than to Acleistorhinus pteroticus. Unique aspects of the present specimen include the pronounced anterior extension of the lacrimal bone, largely homodont dentition composed of simple conical crowns with slight recurvature in the premaxillary and anterior maxillary teeth, and simple conical crowns in posterior maxillary dentition. The discovery of this new parareptile along with the surprisingly large number of acleistorhinids at Richards Spur highlights the importance of the unique fissure and vertical cave system at this site. No other early Permian site has provided such a wide diversity of parareptilian taxa, part of a complex community of terrestrial vertebrates. The present specimen highlights the fine niche partitioning that appears to have been present among reptiles of this region.https://peerj.com/articles/18393.pdfPaleontologyParareptiliaCraniaDentitionParareptile diversityAcleistorhinidae
spellingShingle Robert R. Reisz
Dylan C.T. Rowe
Joseph J. Bevitt
Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, Oklahoma
PeerJ
Paleontology
Parareptilia
Crania
Dentition
Parareptile diversity
Acleistorhinidae
title Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, Oklahoma
title_full Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, Oklahoma
title_fullStr Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, Oklahoma
title_full_unstemmed Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, Oklahoma
title_short Klastomycter conodentatus, gen et sp. nov., a small early Permian parareptile with conical teeth from Richards Spur, Oklahoma
title_sort klastomycter conodentatus gen et sp nov a small early permian parareptile with conical teeth from richards spur oklahoma
topic Paleontology
Parareptilia
Crania
Dentition
Parareptile diversity
Acleistorhinidae
url https://peerj.com/articles/18393.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT robertrreisz klastomycterconodentatusgenetspnovasmallearlypermianparareptilewithconicalteethfromrichardsspuroklahoma
AT dylanctrowe klastomycterconodentatusgenetspnovasmallearlypermianparareptilewithconicalteethfromrichardsspuroklahoma
AT josephjbevitt klastomycterconodentatusgenetspnovasmallearlypermianparareptilewithconicalteethfromrichardsspuroklahoma