[dinosaur] Asilisaurus (mid-Triassic dinosauriform) anatomy described

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper:

Sterling J. Nesbitt,  Max C. Langer  &  Martin D. Ezcurra (2019)
The Anatomy of Asilisaurus kongwe, a Dinosauriform from the Lifua Member of
the Manda Beds (~Middle Triassic) of Africa
The Anatomical Record (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1002_ar.24287&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ctc7TX3t948yxaOFG9ut8ODLlE04cKYb1I5_FJBlMks&s=eUQCel-Znx35krWDyb7Tox3wfsExMcZIakDEhsBUD2M&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com_doi_10.1002_ar.24287&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ctc7TX3t948yxaOFG9ut8ODLlE04cKYb1I5_FJBlMks&s=6jWyOl6kDXlR0JzNtrOpbXnXRu_gTiV7eTjj8Iv41ts&e= 


The diagnosis of Dinosauria and interrelationships of the earliest
dinosaurs relies on careful documentation of the anatomy of their closest
relatives. These close relatives, or dinosaur "precursors," are typically
only documented by a handful of fossils from across Pangea and nearly all
specimens are typically missing important regions (e.g., forelimbs, pelves,
skulls) that appear to be important to help resolving the relationships of
dinosaurs. Here, we fully describe the known skeletal elements of
Asilisaurus kongwe, a dinosauriform from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of
the Ruhuhu Basin of Tanzania. The taxon is known from many disarticulated
and partially articulated remains and, most importantly, from a
spectacularly preserved associated skeleton of an individual containing
much of the skull, pectoral and pelvic girdles, forelimb and hindlimb, and
parts of the vertebral column including much of the tail. The unprecedented
detail of the anatomy indicates that Asilisaurus kongwe had a unique skull
that was short and had both a premaxillary and dentary edentulous margin,
but retained a number of character states plesiomorphic for Archosauria,
including a crocodylian‐like ankle configuration and a rather short foot
with well‐developed metatarsals I and V. Additionally, character states
present across the skeleton of Asilisaurus kongwe suggest it is more
closely related to Silesaurus opolensis than to dinosaurs; thus suggesting
high homoplasy and parallel trends within Silesauridae and within lineages
of early dinosaurs. The anatomy of Asilisaurus kongwe and detailed
description of early members of clades found outside Dinosauria are clearly
needed to untangle the seemingly complex character evolution of the
skeleton within avemetatarsalians.

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