A sphenodontine (Rhynchocephalia) from the Miocene of New Zealand and palaeobiogeography of the tuatara (Sphenodon) - PubMed (original) (raw)

A sphenodontine (Rhynchocephalia) from the Miocene of New Zealand and palaeobiogeography of the tuatara (Sphenodon)

Marc E H Jones et al. Proc Biol Sci. 2009.

Abstract

Jaws and dentition closely resembling those of the extant tuatara (Sphenodon) are described from the Manuherikia Group (Early Miocene; 19-16 million years ago, Mya) of Central Otago, New Zealand. This material is significant in bridging a gap of nearly 70 million years in the rhynchocephalian fossil record between the Late Pleistocene of New Zealand and the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. It provides the first pre-Pleistocene record of Rhynchocephalia in New Zealand, a finding consistent with the view that the ancestors of Sphenodon have been on the landmass since it separated from the rest of Gondwana 82-60 Mya. However, if New Zealand was completely submerged near the Oligo-Miocene boundary (25-22 Mya), as recently suggested, an ancestral sphenodontine would need to have colonized the re-emergent landmass via ocean rafting from a currently unrecorded and now extinct Miocene population. Although an Early Miocene record does not preclude that possibility, it substantially reduces the temporal window of opportunity. Irrespective of pre-Miocene biogeographic history, this material also provides the first direct evidence that the ancestors of the tuatara, an animal often perceived as unsophisticated, survived in New Zealand despite substantial local climatic and environmental changes.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Rhynchocephalian localities. (a) Global map showing fossil localities (see the electronic supplementary material). (b) New Zealand, redrawn from Hay et al. (2003). Triangles, Triassic; squares, Jurassic; filled circles, Cretaceous; diamonds, Palaeocene?; asterisk, Miocene; pluses, Pleistocene; open circles, Holocene; down triangles, extant populations. Scale bar, 200 km. 175×73 mm (600×600 dpi).

Figure 2

Figure 2

Partial sphenodontine dentaries from the Miocene Bannockburn Formation of New Zealand. (a,e) Specimen NMNZ S42282 and (f,i) specimen NMNZ S43075; (a,f) labial views, (b,g) lingual views, (c,h) anterior views, (d) posterior view, and (e,i) apical views. bre, breakage; fla, flange; for, foramen; mat, matrix; mg, meckelian groove; sbs, secondary bone skirt; wf, wear facet. Scale bar, 1 mm. 175×82 mm (600×600 dpi).

Figure 3

Figure 3

Dentaries. Specimen NMNZ S50860 in (a) labial, (b) posterior and (c) lingual view. (d) A Holocene Sphenodon left dentary (CMC Rep35 from Marfell's Beach, Lake Grassmere, Marlborough, northern South Island) in lingual view indicating the parts of the dentary preserved by NMNZ S42282 and NMNZ S50860. bre, breakage; can, caniniform; cpd, coronoid process of the dentary; mg, Meckelian groove; sym, symphysis. Scale bar (a_–_c), 1 mm; scale bar (d), 5 mm. 83×57 mm (600×600 dpi).

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