Skip to content Skip to navigation

Article: Braincase, palatoquadrate and ear region of the plagiosaurid Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the Middle Triassic of Germany

Publication: Palaeontology
Volume: 55
Part: 1
Publication Date: January 2012
Page(s): 31 – 50
Author(s): Florian Witzmann, Rainer R. Schoch, André Hilger and Nikolay Kardjilov
Addition Information

How to Cite

WITZMANN, F., SCHOCH, R. R., HILGER, A., KARDJILOV, N. 2012. Braincase, palatoquadrate and ear region of the plagiosaurid Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the Middle Triassic of Germany. Palaeontology, 55, 1, 31–50.

Online Version Hosted By

Wiley Online Library
Get Article: Wiley Online Library [Pay-to-View Access] |

References

  • AHLBERG, P. E., CLACK, J. A. and LUKŠEVIČS, E. 1996. Rapid braincase evolution between Panderichthys and the earliest tetrapods. Nature, 381, 61–64.
  • BEAUMONT, E. 1977. Cranial morphology of the Loxommatidae (Amphibia: Labyrinthodontia). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 280, 29–101.
  • BOLT, J. R. and LOMBARD, R. E. 1985. Evolution of the amphibian tympanic ear and the origin of frogs. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 24, 83–99.
  • BOLT, J. R. and LOMBARD, R. E. 1992. Nature and quality of the fossil evidence for otic evolution in early tetrapods. 377–403. In WEBSTER, D. B., FAY, R. R. and POPPER, A. N. (eds). The evolutionary biology of hearing. Springer Verlag, New York and Berlin, 859 pp.
  • BOY, J. A. 1971. Ein bemerkenswerter Schdelrest eines unterpermischen Labyrinthodontiers (Amphibia) aus dem Saargebiet. Abhandlungen des Hessischen Landesamtes für Bodenforschung, 60, 31–43.
  • BOY, J. A. 1988. Über einige Vertreter der Eryopoidea (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) aus dem europischen Rotliegend (?höchstes Karbon – Perm). 1. Sclerocephalus. Palontologische Zeitschrift, 62, 107–132.
  • BOY, J. A. and SUES, H.-D. 2000. Branchiosaurs: larvae, metamorphosis and heterochrony in temnospondyls and seymouriamorphs. 1150–1197. In HEATWOLE, H. and CARROLL, R. L. (eds). Amphibian biology, volume 4: palaeontology. Surrey Beatty, Chipping Norton, 523 pp.
  • BYSTROW, A. P. 1938. Dvinosaurus als neotenische Form der Stegocephalen. Acta Zoologica (Stockholm), 19, 209–295.
  • BYSTROW, A. P. and EFREMOV, I. A. 1940. [Benthosuchus sushkini Efremov. A labyrinthodont from the Eotriassic of Sharzenga River]. Travaux de I’institut Paléontologique Académie de Sciences de l’USSR, 10, 1–152 [In Russian with English summary].
  • CARROLL, R. L. 1964. Early evolution of the dissorophid amphibians. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University, 131, 161–250.
  • CARROLL, R. L. 1998. Order Aïstopoda. 163–182. In WELLNHOFER, P. (ed.). Encyclopedia of paleoherpetology, vol. 1: lepospondyli. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, 216 pp.
  • CASTANET, J., FRANCILLON-VIEILLOT, H., RICQLÈS, A. D. E. and ZYLBERBERG, L. 2003. The skeletal histology of the Amphibia. 1598–1683. In HEATWOLE, H. and DAVIES, M. (eds). Amphibian biology, volume 5: osteology. Surrey Beatty, Chipping Norton, 536 pp.
  • CLACK, J. A. 1987. Pholiderpeton scutigerum Huxley, an amphibian from the Yorkshire Coal Measures. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 318, 1–107.
  • CLACK, J. A. 1998. The neurocranium of Acanthostega gunnari Jarvik and the evolution of the otic region in tetrapods. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society of London, 122, 61–97.
  • CLACK, J. A. 2002. A new baphetid (stem tetrapod) from the Upper Carboniferous of Tyne and Wear, U.K., and the evolution of the tetrapod occiput. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 40, 483–498.
  • CLACK, J. A. and HOLMES, R. R. 1988. The braincase of the anthracosaur Archeria crassidisca with comments on the interrelationships of primitive tetrapods. Palaeontology, 31, 85–107.
  • DAMIANI, R. J., SCHOCH, R. R., HELLRUNG, H., WERNEBURG, R. and GASTOU, S. 2009. The plagiosaurid temnospondyl Plagiosuchus pustuliferus from the Middle Triassic of Germany: anatomy and functional morphology of the skull. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 155, 348–373.
  • DIAS-DA-SILVA, S. and ILHA, A. L. R. 2009. On the presence of a pustulated temnospondyl in the Lower Triassic of southern Brazil. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 54, 609–614.
  • DIAS-DA-SILVA, S. and MILNER, A. R. 2010. The pustulated temnospondyl revisited – a plagiosternine plagiosaurid from the Lower Triassic of Brazil. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 55, 561–563.
  • FRAAS, E. 1913. Neue Labyrinthodonten aus der schwbischen Trias. Palaeontographica, 60, 275–294.
  • FRÖBISCH, N. B. and REISZ, R. R. 2008. A new Lower Permian amphibamid (Dissorophoidea, Temnospondyli) from the fissure fill deposits near Richards Spur, Oklahoma. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28, 1015–1030.
  • GASTOU, S. 2008. A revision of the plagiosaurid Plagiosternum granulosum Fraas (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) from the Middle Triassic of Germany. Unpublished DES Report, Université Paris 6, Paris, 76 pp.
  • GUBIN, Y. M. 1991. [Permian archegosauroid amphibians of the USSR]. Trudy Paleontologichesko Instituta Nauka SSSR, 249, 1–138 [In Russian].
  • HELLRUNG, H. 2003. Gerrothorax pustuloglomeratus, ein Temnospondyle (Amphibia) mit knöcherner Branchialkammer aus dem Unteren Keuper von Kupferzell (Süddeutschland). Stuttgarter Beitrge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Palontologie), 330, 1–130.
  • HOWIE, A. A. 1970. A new capitosaurid labyrinthodont from East Africa. Palaeontology, 13, 210–253.
  • JAEKEL, O. 1914. Über die Wirbeltierfunde in der oberen Trias von Halberstadt. Palontologische Zeitschrift, 1, 155–215.
  • JARVIK, E. 1980. Basic structure and evolution of vertebrates, Vol. 1. Academic Press, New York, xiv + 575 pp.
  • JENKINS, F. A. Jr, SHUBIN, N. H., GATESY, S. M. and WARREN, A. A. 2008. Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland and a Reassessment of Head Lifting in Temnospondyl Feeding. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28, 935–950.
  • MADDIN, H. C., REISZ, R. R. and ANDERSON, J. S. 2010. Evolutionary development of the neurocranium in Dissorophoidea (Tetrapoda: Temnospondyli), an integrative approach. Evolution and Development, 12, 393–403.
  • MEYER, H. von and PLIENINGER, T. 1844. Beitrge zur Palontologie Württemberg’s, enthaltend die fossilen Wirbelthierreste aus den Triasgebilden mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die Labyrinthodonten des Keupers. E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, 132 pp.
  • MILNER, A. R. and SEQUEIRA, S. E. K. 1994. The temnospondyl amphibians from the Viséan of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 84, 331–361.
  • NILSSON, T. 1934. Vorlufige Mitteilung über einen Stegocephalenfund aus dem Rht Schonens. Geologiska Föreningen Förhandlingen, 56, 428–442.
  • NILSSON, T. 1937. Ein Plagiosauride aus dem Rht Schonens. Beitrge zur Kenntnis der Organisation der Stegocephalengruppe Brachyopoidei. Lunds Universitets Årsskrift N.F., 34, 1–74.
  • NILSSON, T. 1946. A new find of Gerrothorax rhaeticus Nilsson, a plagiosaurid from the Rhaetic of Scania. Lunds Universitets Årsskrift N.F., 42, 1–41.
  • NOVIKOV, I. V. and SHISHKIN, M. A. 1992. New Middle Triassic labyrinthodonts from the Pechora Urals. Paleontological Journal, 26, 92–102.
  • OCHEV, V. G. 1972. [Capitosauroid labyrinthodonts from the southeastern European part of the USSR]. Saratov State University Press, Saratov, 269 pp. [In Russian].
  • PANCHEN, A. L. 1964. The cranial anatomy of two Coal Measure anthracosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 247, 593–637.
  • PANCHEN, A. L. 1972. The skull and skeleton of Eogyrinus attheyi (Amphibia: Labyrinthodontia). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 263, 279–326.
  • PANCHEN, A. L. 1985. On the amphibian Crassigyrinus scoticus Watson from the Carboniferous of Scotland. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 309, 505–568.
  • ROBINSON, J., AHLBERG, P. E. and KOENTGES, G. 2005. The braincase and middle ear region of Dendrerpeton acadianum (Tetrapoda: Temnospondyli). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 143, 577–597.
  • ROMER, A. S. and WITTER, R. V. 1942. Edops, a primitive rhachitomous amphibian from the Texas Red Beds. Journal of Geology, 50, 925–960.
  • RUTA, M., COATES, M. I. and QUICKE, D. L. J. 2003. Early tetrapod relationships revisited. Biological Reviews, 78, 251–345.
  • SÄVE-SÖDERBERGH, G. 1936. On the morphology of Triassic stegocephalians from Spitsbergen and the interpretation of the endocranium in the Labyrinthodontia. Kunglinga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar, (3), 16, 1–181.
  • SAWIN, H. J. 1941. The cranial anatomy of Eryops megacephalus. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University, 88, 407–463.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. 1999a. Studies on braincases of lower tetrapods: structure, morphological diversity, and phylogeny. 1. Trimerorhachis and other primitive temnospondyls. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Palontologie, Abhandlungen, 213, 233–259.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. 1999b. Studies on braincases of lower tetrapods: structure, morphological diversity, and phylogeny. 2. Dissorophoids, eryopids and stereospondyls. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Palontologie, Abhandlungen, 213, 289–312.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. 2000. The stapes of Mastodonsaurus giganteus (Jaeger, 1828) – structure, articulation, and functional implications. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie Palontologie, Abhandlungen, 214, 201–231.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. 2002a. The neurocranium of the stereospondyl Mastodonsaurus giganteus. Palaeontology, 45, 627–645.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. 2002b. The palatoquadrate of Mastodonsaurus giganteus (Jaeger, 1828). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Palontologie, Abhandlungen, 225, 401–423.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. 2002c. The stapes and middle ear of the Permo-Carboniferous tetrapod Sclerocephalus. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Palontologie, Monatshefte, 2002, 671–680.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. 2008. A new stereospondyl from the Middle Triassic of Germany, and the origin of the Metoposauridae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 152, 79–113.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. and MILNER, A. R. 2000. Stereospondyli. Handbuch der Paloherpetologie, Teil 3B. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, 220 pp.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. and WITZMANN, F. 2009. The temnospondyl Glanochthon from the Permian Meisenheim Formation of Germany. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 81, 121–136.
  • SCHOCH, R. R. and WITZMANN, F. 2011. Bystrow’s Paradox: gills, fossils, and the fish-to-tetrapod transition. Acta Zoologica, 92, 251–265.
  • SHISHKIN, M. A. 1967. [Plagiosauria in the Triassic of the USSR]. Paleontologiceskiy Zhurnal, 1967, 92–99. [In Russian].
  • SHISHKIN, M. A. 1968. On the cranial arterial system of the labyrinthodonts. Acta Zoologica (Stockholm), 49, 1–22.
  • SHISHKIN, M. A. 1973. [The morphology of the early Amphibia and some problems of lower tetrapod evolution]. Trudy Paleontologichesko Instituta Nauka SSSR, 137, 1–257. [In Russian].
  • SHISHKIN, M. A. 1986. [New data on plagiosaurs from the Triassic of the USSR]. Byulleten’ Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody, Otdel Geologicheskii, 61, 97–102. [In Russian].
  • SHISHKIN, M. A. 1987. [The evolution of early amphibians (Plagiosauroidea)]. Trudy Paleontologiceskogo Instituta Akademiya Nauk SSSR, 225, 1–143. [In Russian].
  • SIGURDSEN, T. 2008. The otic region of Doleserpeton (Temnospondyli) and its implications for the evolutionary origin of frogs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 154, 738–751.
  • SMITHSON, T. R. 1982. The cranial morphology of Greererpeton burkemorani Romer (Amphibia: Temnospondyli). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society of London, 76, 29–90.
  • SULEJ, T. 2007. Osteology, variability, and evolution of Metoposaurus, a temnospondyl from the Late Triassic of Poland. Palaeontologia Polonica, 64, 29–139.
  • SUSHKIN, P. P. 1927. On the modifications of the mandibular and hyoid arches and their relations to the brain-case of early Tetrapoda. Palontologische Zeitschrift, 8, 263–321.
  • SUTEETHORN, V., JANVIER, P. and MORALES, M. 1988. Evidence for a plagiosauroid amphibian in the Upper Triassic Huai Hin Lat Formation of Thailand. Journal of Southeast Asian Earth Sciences, 2, 185–187.
  • WARREN, A. A. 1985. A Triassic Australian plagiosaurid. Journal of Paleontology, 59, 236–241.
  • WARREN, A. A. 1995. Plagiosternum granulosum E. Fraas: a plagiosaurid temnospondyl from the Middle Triassic of Crailsheim, Germany. Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Palontologie), 229, 1–8.
  • WARREN, A. A. 2000. Secondarily aquatic temnospondyls of the Upper Permian and Mesozoic. 1121–1149. In HEATWOLE, H. and CARROLL, R. L. (eds). Amphibian biology, volume 4. Palaeontology. Surrey Beatty, Chipping Norton, 448 pp.
  • WARREN, A. A. and HUTCHINSON, M. N. 1983. The last labyrinthodont? A new brachyopoid (Amphibia, Temnospondyli) from the early Jurassic Evergreen Formation of Queensland, Australia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 303, 1–62.
  • WARREN, A. A. and MARSICANO, C. 2000. A phylogeny of Brachyopoidea (Temnospondyli, Stereospondyli). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 20, 462–483.
  • WATSON, D. M. S. 1956. The brachyopid labyrinthodonts. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, 2, 317–392.
  • WITZMANN, F. 2006. Cranial anatomy and ontogeny of the Permo-Carboniferous temnospondyl Archegosaurus decheni from the Saar-Nahe Basin, Germany. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 96, 131–162.
  • WITZMANN, F. and SCHOCH, R. R. 2006. The postcranium of Archegosaurus decheni, and a phylogenetic analysis of temnospondyl postcrania. Palaeontology, 49, 1211–1235.
  • WITZMANN, F. and SOLER-GIJÓN, R. 2010. The bone histology of osteoderms in temnospondyl amphibians and in the chroniosuchian Bystrowiella. Acta Zoologica, 91, 96–114.
  • WITZMANN, F., SCHOCH, R. R. and MILNER, A. R. 2007. The origin of the Dissorophoidea – an alternative perspective. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 27 (Suppl. 3, Abstract of papers), 167A.
  • YATES, A. M. and WARREN, A. A. 2000. The phylogeny of the “higher” temnospondyls (Vertebrata: Choanata) and its implications for the monophyly and origins of the Stereospondyli. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 128, 77–121.
PalAss Go! URL: http://go.palass.org/5il | Twitter: Share on Twitter | Facebook: Share on Facebook | Google+: Share on Google+