LI Chun, Olivier RIEPPEL & Nicholas C. FRASER (2017)
Viviparity in a Triassic marine archosauromorph reptile.
Vertebrata PalAsiatica (advance online publication)
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Eggs or embryos have been reported in various groups of fossil reptiles, where viviparity is a common mode of reproduction in aquatic taxa such as the ichthyopterygians, some groups of sauropterygians, mosasauroids, some taxa of choristoderans and certain protorosaurs. Here, we describe a complete embryo of a marine protorosaur, based on a well-preserved, curled-up skeleton. The new discovery is referred to a taxon closely related to the remarkable long-necked Dinocephalosaurus. It further confirmed viviparity in an archosauromorph group and indicates an increasing taxonomic diversity not only within this group, but of Triassic marine reptiles in general.