Abstract
An isolated mandible of a large temnospondyl from Theisbergstegen, Rhineland-Palatinate, is described that is derived from the Late Carboniferous Remigiusberg Formation of the Saar-Nahe Basin, southwestern Germany. The mandible is well preserved and exposed in lingual view, showing typical characteristics of basal eryopoids (i.e., eryopids plus stereospondylomorphs) such as the small size of the postglenoid area formed by the surangular and articular and the rather small Meckelian fenestra that fails to contact the postsplenial. It can be distinguished from the mandibles of all other known eryopoids from the Saar-Nahe Basin by characters such as a distinctly higher surangular process, higher, more strongly curved marginal teeth and the presence of a symphyseal lamina with at least one large parasymphyseal tooth. The mandible resembles those of eryopids rather than stereospondylomorphs in the angle of jaw being located on the level of the anterior portion of the surangular process and the dorsal edge of the mandibular ramus being dorsally concave. The described mandible is unequivocally the earliest known eryopoid from the Saar-Nahe Basin and shows that also large temnospondyls invaded the lakes of the Saar-Nahe Basin already during the “Remigiusberg invasion” in the Late Carboniferous.
Kurzfassung
Ein isolierter Unterkiefer eines großen Temnospondylen aus Theisbergstegen, Rheinland-Pfalz, wird beschrieben, welcher aus der Remigiusberg-Formation (spätes Karbon) des Saar-Nahe Beckens in Südwest-Deutschland stammt. Der Unterkiefer ist sehr gut in lingualer Ansicht erhalten und zeigt typische Merkmale der basalen Eryopoidea (d.h. Eryopidae plus Stereospondylomorpha), wie beispielsweise die geringe Größe der Postglenoid-Fläche, die durch das Surangulare und Artikulare gebildet wird, sowie das eher kleine Meckelsche Fenster, welches das Postspleniale nicht erreicht. Der Unterkiefer kann von denjenigen aller bekannten Eryopoiden des Saar-Nahe Beckens unterscheiden werden durch Merkmale wie den deutlich höheren Surangularfortsatz, höhere, stärker gebogene marginale Zähne sowie das Vorhandensein einer symphysealen Lamina mit mindestens einem großen Parasymphysenzahn. Der Unterkiefer erinnert eher an Vertreter der Eryopidae als an Vertreter der Stereospondylomorpha, da der Kieferwinkel auf der Höhe des anterioren Teils des Surangular-Fortsatzes liegt und die dorsale Grenze des Unterkieferastes dorsal konkav ist. Der beschriebene Unterkiefer ist unzweifelhaft der früheste bekannte Nachweis eines Eryopoiden im Saar-Nahe Becken und zeigt, dass auch große Temnospondylen die Seen des Saar-Nahe Beckens schon während der “Remigiusberg-Invasion” im späten Karbon besiedelten.
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Acknowledgments
I want to thank Ulrich H.J. Heidtke (Niederkirchen) for drawing my attention to the Remigiusberg mandible and Benno Rahm (Stockborn-Kaiserslautern) for his hospitality and the possibility to study the specimen. David Marjanović is thanked for assistance with the phylogenetic analysis. The reviews of Marcello Ruta and Rainer Schoch have greatly improved the manuscript.
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Appendix: Character-taxon matrix: additional characters to Schoch and Witzmann (2009b)
Appendix: Character-taxon matrix: additional characters to Schoch and Witzmann (2009b)
List of taxa:
Ba, Balanerpeton (Milner and Sequeira 1993); Co, Cochleosauru (Sequeira 2004); Mi, Micropholis (Schoch and Rubidge 2005); Ac, Acanthostomatops (Boy 1989); Ib, Iberospondylus (Laurin and Soler-Gijón 2006); Er, Eryops (Sawin 1941); On, Onchiodon (Boy 1990; Werneburg 2007); Rm, Remigiusberg mandible; Sh, Sclerocephalus haeuseri (Schoch and Witzmann 2009a); Ga, Glanochthon angusta (Schoch and Witzmann 2009a); In, Intasuchus (Konzhukova 1956); Ar, Archegosaurus (Witzmann 2006); Pl, Platyoposaurus (Gubin 1991).
Ba | Co | Mi | Ac | Ib | Er | On | Rm | Sh | Ga | In | Ar | Pl | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
55 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
56 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
57 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
59 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
List of characters:
#55, angle of jaw located posterior to the level of the anterior portion of the surangular process (0), or angle of jaw being located on the level of the anterior portion of the surangular process (1) (new character);
#56, dorsal edge of mandibular ramus anterior to the surangular process is dorsally straight (0), or dorsal edge of mandibular ramus anterior to the surangular process is dorsally concave (1);
#57, prearticular does not contact coronoid 1 (0), or prearticular contacts coronoid 1 (1) (new character);
#58, parasymphyseal teeth are not or only slightly smaller than the adjacent marginal teeth (0); parasymphyseal teeth are smaller than the adjacent marginal teeth (1) (new character); no parasymphyseal teeth are present (2) (new character);
#59, posterodorsal process of posterior coronoid not contributing (0) or contributing (1) to tallest point of lateral margin of adductor fossa (surangular process) (character 216 of Ruta et al. 2003).
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Witzmann, F. The stratigraphically oldest eryopoid temnospondyl from the Permo-Carboniferous Saar-Nahe Basin, Germany. Paläontol Z 87, 259–267 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-012-0152-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-012-0152-2