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Cynodont postcranial remains from Triassic of Brazil + Cynodictis (earliest European carnivoran "beardog") cranial osteology
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Ben Creisler
Mar 19, 2025, 4:39:58 PMMar 19
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
bcre...@gmail.com
Kévin Le Verger, Charlène Letenneur, Valentin Fischer, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra, Sandrine Ladevèze & Floréal Solé (2025)
Cranial osteology of Cynodictis (Amphicyonidae), the oldest European carnivoran
Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 144: 15
doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00350-z
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13358-025-00350-z
The amphicyonids, colloquially called ‘beardogs’, are one of the oldest known groups of caniformians, taking part in the initial radiation of this carnivoran clade. While the oldest American occurrences from the Middle Eocene have been investigated in detail, the European material remains understudied. The oldest European occurrences suggest an appearance of caniformians in the Priabonian of southern France and a diversification during the Oligocene, after a major faunal turnover following drastic climatic and environmental changes, the ‘Grande Coupure’. Their first representative is the amphicyonid Cynodictis lacustris, the cranial osteology of which is of much relevance for the systematics of Caniformia. A well-preserved cranium of Cynodictis lacustris was collected in the Phosphorites of Quercy (Lot, France) in the late 1960s. The exceptional preservation of the specimen allows us to describe the osteology, make substantial comparative observations and propose biological interpretations, leading to a partial reconstruction of the cranial vascularization, innervation, and musculature. We also reconstruct the ecological evolution of the European amphicyonids from the Paleogene based on their body masses and diets, leading to identify three different faunas: (1) the oldest one (Priabonian) is characterized by body mass around 10 kg, well-exemplified by Cynodictis lacustris; (2) the second (Rupelian) groups taxa from 30 to 50 kg; (3) the last one (Chattian) differs from the two others by the presence of large amphicyonids (ca. 140 kg) and the low number of hypercarnivorous amphicyonids. The in-depth investigation of this exceptional specimen provides new material for the systematic and paleoecological understanding of Paleogene amphicyonids.
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Non-dino synapsid and mammal papers:
Leonardo Kerber, Iasmim M. Michelotti, Jhonata.H.A. Martins & Rodrigo T. Müller (2025)
New postcranial remains of a non-mammaliaform cynodont from the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence (Middle-Upper Triassic) of Brazil
Journal of South American Earth Sciences 105487
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2025.105487
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S089598112500149X
Highlights
We report new postcranial remains of a non-mammaliaform cynodont from the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence (Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone, Middle/Upper Triassic) of the Santa Maria Supersequence, Brazil.
The material includes three presacral isolated vertebrae, the proximal region of the left humerus, the proximal region of the left ulna, right and left femora.
Anatomical traits suggest affinities with traversodontids.
Abstract
The Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence (Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone, Middle/Upper Triassic) of the Santa Maria Supersequence in Brazil is renowned for its rich fossil record of traversodontid and probainognathian cynodonts (Therapsida: Eucynodontia). However, despite this diversity, their postcranial anatomy remains poorly studied. In this study, we describe new postcranial remains assigned to an eucynodont from this sequence. The specimen includes three presacral vertebrae, the proximal region of the left humerus, the proximal region of the left ulna, right and left femora. The absence of associated cranial material limits a definitive taxonomic assignment. Nonetheless, the combination of distinct femoral characteristics—(i) the femoral head positioned well above the greater trochanter, (ii) a laterally protruding greater trochanter with a distal projection (forming a “hook”), and (iii) a slender diaphysis—suggests affinities with traversodontids. Future discoveries of cranial material associated with similar postcranial remains could provide critical insights, helping to clarify the taxonomic identification of this specimen.
Leonardo Kerber, Iasmim M. Michelotti, Jhonata.H.A. Martins & Rodrigo T. Müller (2025)
New postcranial remains of a non-mammaliaform cynodont from the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence (Middle-Upper Triassic) of Brazil
Journal of South American Earth Sciences 105487
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2025.105487
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S089598112500149X
Highlights
We report new postcranial remains of a non-mammaliaform cynodont from the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence (Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone, Middle/Upper Triassic) of the Santa Maria Supersequence, Brazil.
The material includes three presacral isolated vertebrae, the proximal region of the left humerus, the proximal region of the left ulna, right and left femora.
Anatomical traits suggest affinities with traversodontids.
Abstract
The Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence (Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone, Middle/Upper Triassic) of the Santa Maria Supersequence in Brazil is renowned for its rich fossil record of traversodontid and probainognathian cynodonts (Therapsida: Eucynodontia). However, despite this diversity, their postcranial anatomy remains poorly studied. In this study, we describe new postcranial remains assigned to an eucynodont from this sequence. The specimen includes three presacral vertebrae, the proximal region of the left humerus, the proximal region of the left ulna, right and left femora. The absence of associated cranial material limits a definitive taxonomic assignment. Nonetheless, the combination of distinct femoral characteristics—(i) the femoral head positioned well above the greater trochanter, (ii) a laterally protruding greater trochanter with a distal projection (forming a “hook”), and (iii) a slender diaphysis—suggests affinities with traversodontids. Future discoveries of cranial material associated with similar postcranial remains could provide critical insights, helping to clarify the taxonomic identification of this specimen.
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Free pdf:
Kévin Le Verger, Charlène Letenneur, Valentin Fischer, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra, Sandrine Ladevèze & Floréal Solé (2025)
Cranial osteology of Cynodictis (Amphicyonidae), the oldest European carnivoran
Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 144: 15
doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00350-z
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13358-025-00350-z
The amphicyonids, colloquially called ‘beardogs’, are one of the oldest known groups of caniformians, taking part in the initial radiation of this carnivoran clade. While the oldest American occurrences from the Middle Eocene have been investigated in detail, the European material remains understudied. The oldest European occurrences suggest an appearance of caniformians in the Priabonian of southern France and a diversification during the Oligocene, after a major faunal turnover following drastic climatic and environmental changes, the ‘Grande Coupure’. Their first representative is the amphicyonid Cynodictis lacustris, the cranial osteology of which is of much relevance for the systematics of Caniformia. A well-preserved cranium of Cynodictis lacustris was collected in the Phosphorites of Quercy (Lot, France) in the late 1960s. The exceptional preservation of the specimen allows us to describe the osteology, make substantial comparative observations and propose biological interpretations, leading to a partial reconstruction of the cranial vascularization, innervation, and musculature. We also reconstruct the ecological evolution of the European amphicyonids from the Paleogene based on their body masses and diets, leading to identify three different faunas: (1) the oldest one (Priabonian) is characterized by body mass around 10 kg, well-exemplified by Cynodictis lacustris; (2) the second (Rupelian) groups taxa from 30 to 50 kg; (3) the last one (Chattian) differs from the two others by the presence of large amphicyonids (ca. 140 kg) and the low number of hypercarnivorous amphicyonids. The in-depth investigation of this exceptional specimen provides new material for the systematic and paleoecological understanding of Paleogene amphicyonids.
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