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A new species of Macrocnemus (Reptilia: Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China and its palaeogeographical implication

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Abstract

A new species of the terrestrial protorosaur Macrocnemus is briefly described and named Macrocne-mus fuyuanensis sp. nov. The specimen was found from the marine Triassic of Yunnan Province, southwestern China. It differs from the type species M. bassanii in having the following characters: (1) 17 or 18 dorsal vertebrae; (2) relatively long humerus; and (3) femur longer than tibia. M. fuyuanensis is the only record of the genus outside Monte San Giorgio area and the first definite terrestrial reptile found from the marine Triassic of China. The age of the fossil-bearing Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation is believed to be the Ladinian based on associated vertebrate fauna. The existence of Mac-rocnemus in the limestone suggests the presence of a terrestrial ecosystem which probably originated from the Anisian and well developed in the Ladinian in this region. The island system along the north-coast of Tethyan during the Triassic was probably an important route for the exchanges of rep-tiles, especially the terrestrial reptiles between the west and east.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China

    Li Chun

  2. Zhejiang Museum of Nature History, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    Zhao LiJun

  3. Geological Survey of Guizhou Province, Guiyang, 550005, China

    Wang LiTing

Authors
  1. Li Chun
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  2. Zhao LiJun
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  3. Wang LiTing
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Li Chun.

Additional information

Supported by the Major Basic Research Projects (2006CB806400) of MST of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.40302007/J0630965) and the special grant for fossil excavation and preparation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Li, C., Zhao, L. & Wang, L. A new species of Macrocnemus (Reptilia: Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China and its palaeogeographical implication. SCI CHINA SER D 50, 1601–1605 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-007-0118-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-007-0118-5

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