What is Cosesaurus? (2)

[david unwin <h0662eka@rz.hu-berlin.de>]

Dr Silvio Renesto very kindly sent me the following information regarding 
Cosesaurus

snip:

Cosesaurus is a tiny reptile from the Triassic of Spain, very probably a
prolacertiform with an elongate fifth toe in a tanystropheus-like fashion.
Due to the kind of sediments and of preservation it is not easy to see
details and this may explain part of the mess. The references I am aware 
of
are the following ones. Being interested in prolacertiforms, I will be 
very
grateful to know about new literature, if existing, thanks:

Ellenberger P. & de Villalta J. F. 1974: sur  la presence d'un ancetre
probable des Oiseaux dans le Muschelkalk superieur de Catalogne (Espagne).
Note preliminaire. Acta Geologica Hispanica tome IX n. 5: 162-168.
(first description, as a pre-bird)

Ellenberger, p. 1977: Quelques precisions sur l'anatomie functionale et la
place systematique tres speciale de Cosesaurus aviceps. Cuadernos Geologia
Iberica 4, 169-188.
(Here it is extensively described as a pre-bird)

Sanz J. L. and Lopez Martinez, N. 1984. The prolacertid lepidosaurian
Cosesaurus aviceps Ellenberger & de Villalta, a claimed "protoavian from
the Triassic of Spain. Geobios 17,  747-753.
(Here it is considered a juvenile individual very similar to Macrocnemus).

Milner A. R. 1985. Cosesaurus - The last proavian?. Nature 315:544.
(a short note supporting Sanz and Lopez Martinez identification as a
prolacertiform) 

Cosesaurus is alsoincluded in phylogenetic analyses or simply cited in the
systematic discussion in the following papers:

Olsen, P. E 1979. A new aquatic eosuchian from the Newark Supergroup (Late
Triassic-Early Jurassic) of North Carolina and Virginia. Postilla 176, 
1-14
(as sister group of the tanystropheids (= Tanytrachelos + Tanystropheus)

Renesto 1994: a new Prolacertiform reptile from the Late Triassic of
Northern Italy. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia 100: 285-306.
(possible sister group of Langobardisaurus plus the tanystropheids)

Jalil N. E. 1997 A new prolacertiform diapsid from the Triassic of North
Africa and the interrelationships of the prolacertiformes JVP 17(3) 
506-525.

(again, the sister group of Tanytrachelos + Tanystropheus)

Finally, you may find good drawings and some notes  on Cosesaurus (also 
on phylogeny) on David Peters website on pterosaurs (I have not the URL 
at hand, sorry).

snip:

David Peters website can be found at: 
http://home.stlnet.com/~azero/Pterosaur_Homepage.htm

Tschuessi

Dave 





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David M Unwin
Curator for Fossil Reptiles and Birds
Institut fur Palaontologie
MUSEUM FUR NATURKUNDE 
Zentralinstitut der Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin
Invalidenstrasse 43
D-10115 Berlin
GERMANY

Email: david.unwin@rz.hu-berlin.de

Tel. numbers:   

0049 30 2093 8577 (office)
0049 30 2093 8862 (department secretary)
0049 30 2093 8868 (fax)
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