Varanopid

Revealing secrets of Varanopids, by Bryan Gee and Sigi Maho (Reisz Lab)

Maho S, Gee BM, Reisz RR. 2019 A new varanopid synapsid from the early Permian of Oklahoma and the evolutionary stasis in this clade. R. Soc. open sci. 6: 191297.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191297

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.191297

 

Varanopids are a clade of early predatory synapsids and ancestors of mammals. This study describes a new varanopid taxon found near Richards Spur Oklahoma from the early Permian that bears great morphological similarity to one from the middle Permian of northern Russia. These results reveal an unexpected extension of the geographical and temporal range of the varanopid genus Mesenosaurus and contributes to our understanding of varanopid dispersal. The extended persistence of varanopids, underscored by the apparent evolutionary stasis of this genus, is unusual among Palaeozoic tetrapods and implies a high degree of ecological resilience across Palaeozoic transitions.

 

February 18, 2020

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