[dinosaur] Goniopholidid three-dimensional skeleton from Late Jurassic of Portugal

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper:


E. Puértolas-Pascual & O. Mateus (2019)
A three-dimensional skeleton of Goniopholididae from the Late Jurassic of
Portugal: implications for the Crocodylomorpha bracing system
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, zlz102 (advance online
publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1093_zoolinnean_zlz102&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=BlImj9op_SnFCx42oo73QGmxEqJiSna-jRrYf0H0GZY&s=R7Vf76QgFDK07p8flf50rUsbuzA44OnlzVzmQN2ZmrI&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__academic.oup.com_zoolinnean_advance-2Darticle-2Dabstract_doi_10.1093_zoolinnean_zlz102_5610606&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=BlImj9op_SnFCx42oo73QGmxEqJiSna-jRrYf0H0GZY&s=vCbnVQYTUBP4r_JNzTouguYbWX9NosyesnzcHdOyAww&e= 


We here describe an articulated partial skeleton of a small neosuchian
crocodylomorph from the Lourinhã Formation (Late Jurassic, Portugal). The
skeleton corresponds to the posterior region of the trunk and consists of
dorsal, ventral and limb osteoderms, dorsal vertebrae, thoracic ribs and
part of the left hindlimb. The paravertebral armour is composed of two rows
of paired osteoderms with the lateral margins ventrally deflected and an
anterior process for a 'peg and groove' articulation. We also compare its
dermal armour with that of several Jurassic and Cretaceous neosuchian
crocodylomorphs, establishing a detailed description of this type of
osteoderms.

These features are present in crocodylomorphs with a closed paravertebral
armour bracing system. The exceptional 3D conservation of the specimen, and
the performance of a micro-CT scan, allowed us to interpret the bracing
system of this organism to assess if previous models were accurate. The
characters observed in this specimen are congruent with Goniopholididae, a
clade of large neosuchians abundant in most semi-aquatic ecosystems from
the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Laurasia. However, its small size,
contrasted with the sizes observed in goniopholidids, left indeterminate
whether it could have been a dwarf or juvenile individual. Future
histological analyses could shed light on this.

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