Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of the trogonophid Amphisbaenian (worm lizard) from fossil specimens discovered in Tunisia.
rebuilding the life of Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi Ready to prey on large snails of the Brimulidae family. Image credit: Jaime Chirinos.
Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi They lived in what is now Africa during the Eocene epoch, about 47 million years ago.
The new species belongs to Trogonophidae, a small family of limbless carnivorous lizard-like reptiles belonging to the clade Amphisbaenia.
“Amphibians are a group of charismatic fossil squamates with bizarre morphological features and extreme anatomical variations,” said lead author Dr. Georgios Georgalis of the Institute of Animal Systemology and Evolution, Polish Academy of Sciences and his colleagues. said a colleague.
“In particular, its unique skeletal structure has fascinated and puzzled researchers since the 19th century.”
“Before the advent and widespread acceptance of phylogenetics, amphibians were considered to be the third major group of squamates, along with Serpenta and the paraphyletic 'Lacerthilla'.”
“However, recent phylogenetic analyzes place them as a sister group to lizards in the family Caricidae, and this topology is supported by both molecular evidence and a combination of morphological and molecular evidence. The name Lacertibaenia has also been proposed for the clade Amphisbaenia + Lacertidae.
“Amphibians have a relatively rich fossil record spanning the Cenozoic era in Europe and North America, in addition to several Neogene and Quaternary occurrences from South America and some from Africa. Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary productions, very few Neogene productions from the Arabian Peninsula, and very few Neogene occurrences from southwest Asia. is. ”
“Trogonophidae is a fairly distinctive group of amphibians that is today distributed across northern and north-central Africa (including Socotra Island in Yemen) and the Middle East,” the researchers added.
“Currently, four extant genera are recognized. Agamodon, Diplometopon, Pachykaramasu, and the type genus, Trogonophis”
The most distinguishing feature of trogonophids is their hooked teeth, a feature found only among squamates in the otherwise Iguanian group Chronophytes. ”
“Trogonophids have other unique features among amphibians, including locomotion and burrowing patterns, shoulder girdle or hemipenes morphology, chromosomes, spinal arrangement, lack of caudal autodissection, and triangular cross-section. It also has features.
some specimens Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi It was discovered in a place where fossils of Jebel Chanbi Nature Park In Tunisia.
“Jebel Chambi National Park is located in the Kasserine region of central-western Tunisia,” the paleontologists said.
“Material for this study was obtained from a fossiliferous site (Chambi locus 1) consisting of fluvial-lacustrine deposits located at the base of the Chambi continental sequence.”
“These habitats support fish, amphibians, turtles, crocodiles, squamates, birds, and mammals such as bats, primates, euphorians, hyaenodonts, hyracoids, elephant shrews, marsupials, and mammals. It produces a diverse population of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, including rodents and sirenians.
Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi At over 90 centimeters (35 inches) long, it was the largest amphibian ever known.
“Among the extant amphibian fliers, Amphisbaena Alba is the largest species, reaching a maximum total length of 81 centimeters (32 inches) and a skull length of more than 3.1 centimeters (1.2 inches), the researchers said.
Virtually all modern amphibians are burrowing animals and rarely appear on the surface outside of underground environments.
Nevertheless, certain features Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi They seem to contradict this natural history pattern and instead suggest that ancient species likely lived on the surface of the earth.
This is further supported by the extreme size. Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi which makes underground habits less likely to occur.
“Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi “This is a significant contribution to the fossil record of the hitherto little-known African Amphisbaenia, making it only the fifth species to be named extinct on the African continent,” the scientists concluded. .
“Furthermore, the new material from Chambi further adds to the extremely poor fossil record of the Trogonophidae.”
Regarding new species, paper this week, Zoological journal of the Linnean Society.
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Georgios L. Georgalis others. 2024. The world's largest earthworm lizard: a new giant trogonophid (Squamata: Amphisbaenia) with extreme dental adaptations from the Eocene of Chambi, Tunisia. Zoological journal of the Linnean Society 202 (3): zlae133;doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae133
Source: www.sci.news
