Kalasinemys prasarttongosothi n. gen.&Â n. sp.,ÂÂ
Haiyan Tong, Wilailuck Naksri, Eric Buffetaut, Suravech Suteethorn, Varavudh Suteethorn, Phornphen Chantasit & Julien Claude (2019)
Kalasinemys, a new xinjiangchelyid turtle from the Late Jurassic of NE Thailand.
Geological Magazine (advance online publication)
A new xinjiangchelyid turtle, Kalasinemys prasarttongosothi n. gen. n. sp., is described on the basis of skull and shell material from the Upper Jurassic Phu Kradung Formation at Phu Noi locality, Kalasin Province, in NE Thailand. This second xinjiangchelyid turtle from Phu Noi is distinct from Phunoichelys thirakhupti by the smooth shell surface, the presence of a cervical notch, and vertebral 1 narrower than nuchal. The skull presents an arterial system characteristic of the Xinjiangchelyidae (basal Eucryptodira), and its outline is similar to that of Annemys spp. known from the MiddleâLate Jurassic of China and Mongolia, but distinct from the latter mainly by the wider triturating surface, smaller foramen palatinum posterius and the shape of the prefrontal and frontal, as well as that of the basisphenoid and basioccipital. Based on the turtle assemblages, the correlation with mainland Asia further supports a Late Jurassic age for the lower part of the Phu Kradung Formation where Phu Noi site is located stratigraphically. Our study provides new insight on the evolution of the basal eucryptodiran turtles in Asia.
Marco Romano, Riccardo Manni, Enrico Venditti, Umberto Nicosia & Angelo Cipriani (2019)
First occurrence of a Tylosaurinae mosasaur from the Turonian of the Central Apennines, Italy.
Cretaceous Research (advance online publication)
Highlights
Geological mapping permitted finding the first mosasaur remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Central Apennines.
Litho- and biostratigraphic data constraints the study specimen to the Turonian;\.
New data on the geographic and temporal distribution of mosasaurs from the subfamily Tylosaurinae are provided.
The specimen represents one of the oldest tylosaurine occurrences from the lowest-known latitude.
Abstract
During the Late Cretaceous mosasaurs experienced a very rapid diversification, and inhabited almost the whole globe, especially in ancient coastal marine environments and subtropical epicontinental seas. Occurrences of mosasaurs as both complete and fragmentary material are known from all continents, ranging from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica and from northern Europe to southern Africa. Despite their frequent occurrence in Europe, mosasaur remains from Italy are quite rare. Considering the central position of the Italian peninsula in the Tethyan realm during the Late Cretaceous, and the extensive outcrop of shallow-marine carbonates deposited in that period, the extreme rarity of mosasaur material is really puzzling. Occurrences of mosasaurs in Italy are essentially limited to historical findings from the second half of the 19th century, with specimen from the Vittorio Veneto area in Northern Italy, Reggio Emilia (Castellarano municipality) and from the Argille Scagliose Complex of Northern Italy. In this contribution we present and describe the first evidence for a mosasaur from the Turonian of the Apennine Carbonate Platform, represented by an isolated tooth found within the Cretaceous limestones outcropping on the eastern slopes of Mt. Cima la Torre (Prossedi village, Latina, Central Italy). The absence of evident granulae in the proximal portion of the crown, the just slightly posteriorly recurved tooth crown, the sub-oval cross section moderately compressed labiolingually, the different order of striae vanishing to disappear toward the upper part of the crown, and the presence of dense tertiary striae (especially at the base of the crown) allow us to refer the isolated tooth to the subfamily Tylosaurinae. The new specimen represents the first Tylosaurinae mosasaur from Italy; in addition, assuming a paleolatitude of 25ÂN for the Apennine Carbonate Platform, the new finding also represents the southernmost occurrence of a Tylosaurinae mosasaur in the northern margin of the Mediterranean Tethys, throwing new light on the dispersal pattern of this crucial clade of mosasaurs in the Late Cretaceous.