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A new bolosaurid parareptile, Belebey chengi sp. nov., from the Middle Permian of China and its paleogeographic significance

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Abstract

A new bolosaurid parareptile, Belebey chengi sp. nov., is described from Dashankou, Gansu Province, China, a Middle Permian locality which is known mostly for its therapsid fauna. The material consists of well-preserved mandibular and anterior skull remains and currently represents the largest and latest surviving member of Bolosauridae. Phylogenetic analysis of bolosaurid interrelationships, the first analysis of any clade of Early Permian parareptiles, indicates that the new taxon groups consistently with the other (Russian) members of the genus Belebey, and forms the sister clade to the genus Bolosaurus from North America. The Early Permian Eudibamus cursoris from Germany falls into the basal most position within Bolosauridae. Our analysis also shows that the split between the main bolosaurid lineages must have occurred near or before the Permo-Carboniferous boundary and that the paleo-equatorial region of Laurasia probably served as the center of origination for these parareptiles. A similar pattern can be found in other clades of Paleozoic amniotes, suggesting that this may be the general trend in early amniote evolution.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG Mu 1760/2-3, to J.M.), and an NSERC discovery grant (to R.R.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Museum für Naturkunde, 10099, Berlin, Germany

    Johannes Müller

  2. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 643, Beijing, 100044, People’s Republic of China

    Jin-Ling Li

  3. Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd. N., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5L 1C6

    Robert R. Reisz

Authors
  1. Johannes Müller
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  2. Jin-Ling Li
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  3. Robert R. Reisz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Johannes Müller.

Additional information

Communicated by G. Mayr

Appendix

Appendix

Character list and data matrix for the phylogenetic analysis of bolosaurid ingroup relationships.

  1. 1.

    Tooth shape of middle and distal teeth in the upper and lower jaw: slender (0); bulbous (1).

  2. 2.

    Mesial teeth in the upper and lower jaw: not procumbent (0); procumbent (1).

  3. 3.

    Transverse expansion of distal cheek teeth: absent (0); present (1).

  4. 4.

    Anterior extent of prearticular on dentary: terminating prior to the anterior third of the tooth-bearing portion (0); reaching well into the anterior third (1).

  5. 5.

    Main cusp of distal cheek teeth: pointing straight upwards (0); sharply recurved (1).

  6. 6.

    Incisiform mesial tooth on maxilla: present (0); absent (1).

  7. 7.

    “Intermediate” mesial teeth 3 and 4 (on maxilla/dentary): absent (0); present (1).

  8. 8.

    Number of premaxillary teeth: 3 or more (0); 2 (1).

  9. 9.

    Premaxillary teeth, size: smaller than or almost equal to mesial maxillary teeth (0); larger (1).

  10. 10.

    Contact between maxilla and quadratojugal: absent (0); present (1).

  11. 11.

    Distal most tooth on dentary: equal or slightly smaller than preceding teeth (0); very small and peg-like (1).

  12. 12.

    Cutting ridges on distal teeth: absent (0); present (1).

  13. 13.

    Distinct striations on tooth crowns: absent (0); present (1).

  14. 14.

    Lacrimo-maxillary suture: anterodorsal margin of maxilla irregular or straight (0); anterodorsal margin concave (1).

  15. 15.

    Maxilla posterodorsal margin: slopes posteroventrally (0); straight (1).

  16. 16.

    Dentary in dorsal view: sigmoidal (0); straight (1).

  17. 17.

    Coronoid process: absent or small (0); tall, multipartite (1).

  18. 18.

    Surangular: extends beyond coronoid eminence (0); does not extend beyond eminence (1).

  19. 19.

    Teeth on pterygoid transverse flange: present (0); absent (1)

  20. 20.

    Quadratojugal shape: sheet-like (0); rod-like (1)

  21. 21.

    Number of sacral vertebrae: 2 (0); 3 (1).

Mesosauridae           00000       00000       00000       ??0000

Millerettidae            00000       00000       00000       000000

Owenettidae            00000       00000       00000       001101

Acleistorhinus          00000       00001       ?0000       1?100?

Bolosaurus striatus   11010       11110       10100       111?1?

Bolosaurus grandis    11010       1????       101??       11????

Eudibamus cursoris    10000       11000       ?00?0       10?111

Belebey vegrandis      11111       01111       01111       111111

Belebey maximi          1?1?1       ?????       ?11??       ??????

Belebey chengi           10101       01???       01111       01????

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Müller, J., Li, JL. & Reisz, R.R. A new bolosaurid parareptile, Belebey chengi sp. nov., from the Middle Permian of China and its paleogeographic significance. Naturwissenschaften 95, 1169–1174 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-008-0438-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-008-0438-0

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