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[dinosaur] Cargninia and lepidosauromorphs from Upper Triassic of Brazil



Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com

A new paper:

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Paulo R. Romo De Vivar, AgustÃn G. Martinelli, Pedro Henrique M. Fonseca & Marina Bento Soares (2020)
To be or not to be: The Hidden Side of CargniniaÂenigmatica and Other Puzzling Remains of Lepidosauromorpha From the Upper Triassic of Brazil
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Article: e1828438
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2020.1828438
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2020.1828438


In this contribution, we re-describe the holotype (i.e., the posterior fragment of a left dentary with dentition) of Cargninia enigmatica from the Riograndia Assemblage Zone, CandelÃria Sequence, Santa Maria Supersequence (Upper Triassic, Brazil), originally considered a member of the Lepidosauria. In addition, two other specimens of lepidosauromorphs from the same locality are described and compared. Broad comparisons suggest that C. enigmatica possesses a unique combination of features, but several key features are widely distributed among basal non-rhynchocephalian lepidosauromorphs and kuehneosaurids. Thus, two possible scenarios are proposed: (1) Cargninia is a basal non-lepidosaurian lepidosauromorph, or (2) it is a basal lepidosaurian. The new specimens are a portion of a right maxilla with teeth (in two fragments) and a fragment of a dentary with teeth. The first specimen is identified as a lepidosauromorph because the maxilla cannot be directly compared with the holotype of C. enigmatica and it is difficult to evaluate if the differences in the dentition (upper versus lower teeth) are the result of intra- or interspecific variation. The dentary, on the other hand, is tentatively referred to C. enigmatica. These specimens together add new clues to understanding the early evolution of Lepidosauromorpha.

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