New information on Riograndia guaibensis Bonaparte, Ferigolo & Ribeiro, 2001 (Eucynodontia, Tritheledontidae) from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil: anatomical and biostratigraphic implications.

The tritheledontid Riograndia guaibensis was the first cynodont described for the "Caturrita Formation" fauna from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil (Santa Maria 2 Sequence). The type materials did not preserve anatomical information regarding braincase, occiput, basicranium, zygomatic arch, postdentary bones and craniomandibular joint. Here new materials are described and supply the missing information. Riograndia shows a suite of important anatomical features quite derived among the non-mammaliaform eucynodonts, such as the partial closure of the medial orbital wall and braincase, extensive secondary osseous palate, wide primary palate, basicranium with jugular foramen separated from the periphery of fenestra rotunda, narrow zygomatic arch and much reduced postdentary bones. Many of these features constitute synapomorphies shared only with the other members of mammaliamorpha. Thus, the almost complete cranial, mandibular and dental information from the new fossils of Riograndia can bring a significant improve in the understanding of the anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of the tritheledontids and help to elucidate the transformational steps involved in the cynodont-mammal transition. Additionally, Riograndia is a key taxon in refining the "Caturrita Formation" biostratigraphy, enabling the connection of several fossiliferous outcrops that have a rich tetrapod fauna that can be correlated with other Triassic faunas from Gondwana and Laurasia.

The "χ" of the Matter: Testing the Relationship between Paleoenvironments and Three Theropod Clades.

The view of spinosaurs as dinosaurs of semi-aquatic habits and strongly associated with marginal and coastal habitats are deeply rooted in both scientific and popular knowledge, but it was never statistically tested. Inspired by a previous analysis of other dinosaur clades and major paleoenvironmental categories, here we present our own statistical evaluation of the association between coastal and terrestrial paleoenvironments and spinosaurids, along with other two theropod taxa: abelisaurids and carcharodontosaurids. We also included a taphonomic perspective and classified the occurrences in categories related to potential biases in order to better address our interpretations. Our main results can be summarized as follows: 1) the taxon with the largest amount of statistical evidence showing it positively associated to coastal paleoenvironments is Spinosauridae; 2) abelisaurids and carcharodontosaurids had more statistical evidence showing them positively associated with terrestrial paleoenvironments; 3) it is likely that spinosaurids also occupied spatially inland areas in a way somehow comparable at least to carcharodontosaurids; 4) abelisaurids may have been more common than the other two taxa in inland habitats.

Tapeworm eggs in a 270 million-year-old shark coprolite.

Remains of parasites in vertebrates are rare from the Mesozoic and Paleozoic. Once most parasites that live in - or pass through - the gastrointestinal tract of vertebrates, fossil feces (coprolites) or even intestinal contents (enterolites) can eventually preserve their remains. Here we announce the discovery of a spiral shark coprolite from the Paleozoic bearing a cluster of 93 small oval-elliptical smooth-shelled structures, interpreted as eggs of a tapeworm.The eggs were found in a thin section of an elasmobranch coprolite. Most of the eggs are filled by pyrite and some have a special polar swelling (operculum), suggesting they are non-erupted eggs. One of the eggs contains a probable developing larva. The eggs are approximately 145-155 µm in length and 88-100 µm in width and vary little in size within the cluster. The depositional and morphological features of the eggs closely resemble those of cestodes. Not only do the individual eggs have features of extant tapeworms, but their deposition all together in an elongate segment is typical to modern tapeworm eggs deposited in mature segments (proglottids). This is the earliest fossil record of tapeworm parasitism of vertebrates and establishes a timeline for the evolution of cestodes. This discovery shows that the fossil record of vertebrate intestinal parasites is much older than was hitherto known and that the interaction between tapeworms and vertebrates occurred at least since the Middle-Late Permian.

New information on Riograndia guaibensis Bonaparte, Ferigolo & Ribeiro, 2001 (Eucynodontia, Tritheledontidae) from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil: anatomical and biostratigraphic implications

The tritheledontid Riograndia guaibensis was the first cynodont described for the "Caturrita Formation" fauna from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil (Santa Maria 2 Sequence). The type materials did not preserve anatomical information regarding braincase, occiput, basicranium, zygomatic arch, postdentary bones and craniomandibular joint. Here new materials are described and supply the missing information. Riograndia shows a suite of important anatomical features quite derived among the non-mammaliaform eucynodonts, such as the partial closure of the medial orbital wall and braincase, extensive secondary osseous palate, wide primary palate, basicranium with jugular foramen separated from the periphery of fenestra rotunda, narrow zygomatic arch and much reduced postdentary bones. Many of these features constitute synapomorphies shared only with the other members of mammaliamorpha. Thus, the almost complete cranial, mandibular and dental information from the new fossils of Riograndia can bring a significant improve in the understanding of the anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of the tritheledontids and help to elucidate the transformational steps involved in the cynodont-mammal transition. Additionally, Riograndia is a key taxon in refining the "Caturrita Formation" biostratigraphy, enabling the connection of several fossiliferous outcrops that have a rich tetrapod fauna that can be correlated with other Triassic faunas from Gondwana and Laurasia.

O triteledontídeo Riograndia guiabensis foi o primeiro cinodonte descrito para a fauna da "Formação Caturrita" do Triássico Superior do sul do Brasil (Sequência Santa Maria 2). Os materiais da série-tipo não forneceram informações anatômicas relativas à caixa craniana, ociput, basicrânio, arco zigomático, ossos pós-dentários e articulação crânio-mandibular. Neste artigo são descritos novos materiais que suprem as informações anatômicas não contempladas anteriormente. Riograndia apresenta um conjunto de importantes aspectos anatômicos derivados dentre os eucinodontes não-mammaliaformes, tais como fechamento parcial da parede orbital medial e da caixa craniana, extenso palato ósseo secundário, palato primário alargado, basicrânio com separação do forame jugular e da fenestra rotunda, arco zigomático estreito e ossos pós-dentários extremamente reduzidos. Muitas destas feições constituem sinapomorfias compartilhadas somente com os demais membros do clado Mammaliamorpha. Assim, as praticamente completas informações crânio-mandibulares e dentárias de Riograndia trazem uma significante contribuição ao conhecimento da anatomia dos triteledontídeos e suas relações filogenéticas e auxiliam na elucidação sobre os passos transformacionais envolvidos na transição cinodonte-mamífero. Adicionalmente, Riograndia figura como um táxon-chave no refinamento bioestratigráfico da "Formação Caturrita", através da integração de vários afloramentos fossilíferos os quais apresentam uma rica fauna de tetrápodes que pode ser correlacionada com outras faunas triássicas do Gondwana e da Laurásia.