Pliosaur fossils from Aptian Lower Cretaceous of Mexico + Melanerpeton kuselense, new temnospondyl from Germany
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Ben Creisler
Jul 14, 2026, 3:14:27 PM (3 days ago) Jul 14
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
New tetrapod papers:
Jair Israel Barrientos-Lara, Mitzi Daniela Araiza-González, Angélica Oviedo, Oscar González-León & Víctor Hugo Reynoso (2026)
The first occurrence of Pliosauridae from the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) of North America (Chihuahua, Mexico) and their ecological significance
Cretaceous Research 106458
doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106458
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667126001473
Highlights
The first occurrence of the pliosaurids for the Aptian of North America.
Thalassophonean teeth have the fastest growth rates among marine reptiles showing Andresen growth lines of 164.8 μm average
Dentin growth patterns in pliosaurs may be more related food abundance/scarcity periods than to a predatory way of life
Cretaceous pliosaurids are generally scarce, but small remains may retain important ecological information.
Abstract
Pliosauridae includes large sauropterygians, which were dominant predators from the middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. The fossil record of Early Cretaceous plesiosaurians has improved in recent years; however, aspects such as their biogeographic patterns and extinction remain understudied due to several gaps in the Cretaceous record. Here, we report the first occurrence of pliosaurids in Cretaceous outcrops of Mexico, collected in two sites in the Coyame region of Chihuahua, northern Mexico. The first specimen is a disarticulated vertebral series, and the second is an isolated tooth. Both specimens belong to the clade Thalassophonea. In the first specimen, a combination of features, such as the proportions of length to height of the pectoral centra and the positions of the foramina on the ventral and dorsal surfaces, is consistent with those observed in Cretaceous thalassophonean pliosaurids. The second specimen is identified as a Thalassophonea based on its robust crown and the conspicuous apicobasal ridges on the enamel. These fossils represent the first known pliosaurids from the Aptian of North America, enhancing our knowledge of the group during the Early Cretaceous in this region.
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Melanerpeton kuselense sp. nov.
Rainer R. Schoch, Ralf Werneburg and Sebastian Voigt (2026)
A new diminutive temnospondyl from the Carboniferous-Permian boundary of Germany
Journal of Paleontology (advance online publication)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2026.10246
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/new-diminutive-temnospondyl-from-the-carboniferouspermian-boundary-of-germany/F428C6CFF81B3D0E3BC14DA849C65590
UUID: http://zoobank.org/52c398e1-78be-45db-b2e0-988fc3c1af77
A new species of dissorophoid temnospondyl, Melanerpeton kuselense new species, is reported from the Remigiusberg Formation (Carboniferous-Permian boundary) of southwestern Germany. The type and only known specimen is a skull belonging to a moderately advanced larva with distinctive features: (1) a very slender postorbital skull table, (2) large nasal, (3) short squamosal giving a short gape, and (4) a gracile and extremely small pterygoid. Phylogenetic analysis finds it to fall well within the branchiosaurids, above the Pennsylvanian Branchiosaurinae, and sister taxon to Melanerpeton pusillum Fritsch, 1878 from lower Permian deposits of the Czech Republic. It is not closely related to any of the branchiosaurids from the Saar-Nahe Basin, adding to the distinctive Remigiusberg tetrapod faunal assemblage.
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Free pdf:
Free pdf:
Jair Israel Barrientos-Lara, Mitzi Daniela Araiza-González, Angélica Oviedo, Oscar González-León & Víctor Hugo Reynoso (2026)
The first occurrence of Pliosauridae from the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) of North America (Chihuahua, Mexico) and their ecological significance
Cretaceous Research 106458
doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106458
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667126001473
Highlights
The first occurrence of the pliosaurids for the Aptian of North America.
Thalassophonean teeth have the fastest growth rates among marine reptiles showing Andresen growth lines of 164.8 μm average
Dentin growth patterns in pliosaurs may be more related food abundance/scarcity periods than to a predatory way of life
Cretaceous pliosaurids are generally scarce, but small remains may retain important ecological information.
Abstract
Pliosauridae includes large sauropterygians, which were dominant predators from the middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. The fossil record of Early Cretaceous plesiosaurians has improved in recent years; however, aspects such as their biogeographic patterns and extinction remain understudied due to several gaps in the Cretaceous record. Here, we report the first occurrence of pliosaurids in Cretaceous outcrops of Mexico, collected in two sites in the Coyame region of Chihuahua, northern Mexico. The first specimen is a disarticulated vertebral series, and the second is an isolated tooth. Both specimens belong to the clade Thalassophonea. In the first specimen, a combination of features, such as the proportions of length to height of the pectoral centra and the positions of the foramina on the ventral and dorsal surfaces, is consistent with those observed in Cretaceous thalassophonean pliosaurids. The second specimen is identified as a Thalassophonea based on its robust crown and the conspicuous apicobasal ridges on the enamel. These fossils represent the first known pliosaurids from the Aptian of North America, enhancing our knowledge of the group during the Early Cretaceous in this region.
====
====
Melanerpeton kuselense sp. nov.
Rainer R. Schoch, Ralf Werneburg and Sebastian Voigt (2026)
A new diminutive temnospondyl from the Carboniferous-Permian boundary of Germany
Journal of Paleontology (advance online publication)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2026.10246
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/new-diminutive-temnospondyl-from-the-carboniferouspermian-boundary-of-germany/F428C6CFF81B3D0E3BC14DA849C65590
UUID: http://zoobank.org/52c398e1-78be-45db-b2e0-988fc3c1af77
A new species of dissorophoid temnospondyl, Melanerpeton kuselense new species, is reported from the Remigiusberg Formation (Carboniferous-Permian boundary) of southwestern Germany. The type and only known specimen is a skull belonging to a moderately advanced larva with distinctive features: (1) a very slender postorbital skull table, (2) large nasal, (3) short squamosal giving a short gape, and (4) a gracile and extremely small pterygoid. Phylogenetic analysis finds it to fall well within the branchiosaurids, above the Pennsylvanian Branchiosaurinae, and sister taxon to Melanerpeton pusillum Fritsch, 1878 from lower Permian deposits of the Czech Republic. It is not closely related to any of the branchiosaurids from the Saar-Nahe Basin, adding to the distinctive Remigiusberg tetrapod faunal assemblage.
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