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The skull of Gephyrostegus bohemicus. University of Lincoln |
Paleontologists from the Natural History Museum and academics
from Lincoln, Cambridge and Solvakia have recreated the cranial structure of a
308-million-year-old lizard-like vertebrate that could be the earliest example
of a reptile and explain the origin of all vertebrates that belong to reptiles,
birds and mammals.
Dr Marcello Ruta, from the School of Life Sciences,
University of Lincoln, UK, was one of the authors of the paper which is
published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and produced a series of
intricate hand-drawn recreations of the cranial structure of Gephyrostegus.
Paleontologists have provided a new cranial reconstruction
of a long-extinct limbed vertebrate (tetrapod) from previously unrecognized
specimens found in coal deposits from the Czech Republic.
The team of academics reviewed the cranial structural
features of the Late Carboniferous
Gephyrostegus bohemicus --
a small animal of generally lizard-like build that lived 308 million years ago.
This early tetrapod could be the earliest example of a
reptile and explain the origin of amniotes, all vertebrates that belong to
reptiles, birds and mammals.
Experts from, Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia),
University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, The Natural History Museum in
London, and the University of Lincoln, UK, have been able to study additional
specimens unavailable in previous works.
Their aim was to provide an analysis of early tetrapod
relationships incorporating their new observations of Gephyrostegus. Their analysis used skeletal traits across a sample
of early tetrapod groups to identify the likely affinities of Gephyrostegus.
Dr Marcello Ruta, from the School of Life Sciences,
University of Lincoln, UK, was one of the authors and produced a series of intricate
hand-drawn recreations of the cranial structure of Gephyrostegus.
He explained: "Gephyrostegus has
always been an elusive beast. Several researchers have long considered the
possibility that the superficially reptile-like features of this animal might
tell us something about amniote ancestry. But Gephyrostegus also shows some much generalized skeletal
features that make the issue of its origin even more problematic. We conducted
a new study that brings together data from a large number of early tetrapods.
The study shows that Gephyrostegus is
closely related to another group of Eurasiatic and North American tetrapods
called seymouriamorphs, also involved in debates about amniote ancestry.
We
found some interesting new cranial features in Gephyrostegus that helped us establish this link.
"Staring at specimens for a long time down a microscope
and trying to make sense of their anatomy may be frustrating and tiring at
times, but always immensely rewarding."
Citations
Jozef Klembara, Jennifer A. Clack, Andrew R. Milner,
Marcello Ruta. Cranial anatomy, ontogeny, and relationships of the Late
Carboniferous tetrapod
Gephyrostegus
bohemicusJaekel, 1902.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology,
2014; 34 (4): 774 DOI:
10.1080/02724634.2014.837055