New data on the dentition of the scincomorphan lizard Polyglyphanodon sternbergi

• Autorzy: Nydam R L , Cifelli R.L.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Polyglyphanodon sternbergi Gilmore, 1940 is a large−bodied lizard from the Late Cretaceous of North America distinguished by its transversely oriented, interlocking teeth. Initially the teeth of P. sternbergi were described as smooth and blade−like, but recent discoveries of new specimens from the type locality and re−examination of the original material indicate that the chisel−like teeth of P. sternbergi have small, irregular serrations along the blades. These serrations are similar in size to those found on the teeth of the modern herbivorous lizard Iguana iguana and were likely used in a similar manner to crop vegetation, but was also capable of a degree of oral food processing due to the transverse orientation and interlocking arrangement of the dentition of P. sternbergi. Additionally, the presence of transversely oriented teeth with V−shaped blades in the anterior portion of the tooth row of P. sternbergi represents an additional shared characteristic in tooth structure between P. sternbergi and Dicothodon moorensis, Bicuspidon numerosus, and Peneteius aquilonoius; all transversely−tooth polyglyphandontine lizards from the Cretaceous of North America. It appears that the unique dentitions of Polyglyphanodon sternbergi (large teeth with transverse, serrated blades) and Peneteius aquilonius (small teeth with mammal−like specializations) present by the end of the Cretaceous were derived from a bicuspid, transversely oriented precursor tooth with a V−shaped blade.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Polyglyphanodontinae; dentition; Polyglyphanodon sternbergi; Late Cretaceous; scincomorphan lizard; Squamata; lizard; North America; paleontology

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
• Rocznik: 2005
• Tom: 50
• Numer: 1
• Opis fizyczny: p.73-78,fig.,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Nydam R L

• Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85308, USA

autor

Cifelli R.L.

Bibliografia

• Alifanov, V.R. 1993. New lizards of the family Macrocephalosauridae (Sauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia, critical remarks on the systematics of Teiidae (sensu Estes, 1983) [in Russian]. Paleontologičeskij žurnal 27: 70–90.
• Alifanov, V.R. 2000. The fossil record of Cretaceous lizards from Mongolia. In: M.J. Benton, M.A. Shishkin, D.M. Unwin, and E.N. Kurochkin (eds.), The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia, 368–389. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Durtsche, R.D. 1999. The Ontogeny of Diet in the Mexican Spiny−Tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura pectinata: Physiological Mechanisms and Ecological Consequences. 157 pp. Unpublished dissertation, University of Oklahoma.
• Estes, R. 1969. Relationships of two lizards (Sauria, Teiidae). Breviora 317: 1–8.
• Estes, R. 1983. Sauria Terrestria, Amphisbaenia. In: P. Wellnhofer (ed.), Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie 10A. 249 pp. Gustav Fisher Verlag, Stuttgart.
• Frost, D.R. and Etheridge, R. 1989. A Phylogenetic Analysis and Taxonomy of Iguanian Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata). University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publications 81: 1–65.
• Gao, K. and Fox, R.C. 1991. New teiid lizards from the Upper Cretaceous Oldman Formation (Judithian) of southwestern Alberta, Canada, with a review of the Cretaceous record of teiids. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 60: 145–162.
• Gao, K. and Fox, R.C. 1996. Taxonomy and evolution of Late Cretaceous lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) from western Canada. Bulletin of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History 33: 1–107.
• Gilmore, C.W. 1940. New fossil lizards from the Upper Cretaceous of Utah. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 99: 1–3.
• Gilmore, C.W. 1942. Osteology of Polyglyphanodon, an Upper Cretaceous Lizard from Utah. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 92: 229: 265.
• Gilmore, C. W. 1943a. Fossil lizards of Mongolia. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 81: 361–384.
• Gilmore, C. W. 1943b. Osteology of Upper Cretaceous lizards from Utah, with a description of a new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 93: 209–214.
• McCord, R.D. 1998. A new genus and species of Cretaceous polyglyphanodontine lizard (Squamata, Teiidae) from the Kaiparowits Plateau, Utah. In: Y. Tomida, L.J. Flynn, and L.L. Jacobs (eds.), Advances in Vertebrate Paleontology and Geochronology, 281–292. National Science Museum, Tokyo, Japan.
• Montanucci, R.R. 1968. Comparative dentition in four iguanid lizards. Herpetologica 24: 305–315.
• Nydam, R.L. 1999. Polyglyphanodontinae (Squamata: Teiidae) from the medial and Late Cretaceous: new records from Utah, U.S.A. and Baja California del Norte, Mexico. In: D.D. Gillette (ed.), Vertebrate Paleontology in Utah. Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 99–1: 303–317.
• Nydam, R.L. and Cifelli, R.L. 2002. A new teiid lizard from the Cedar Mountain Formation (Albian–Cenomanian boundary) of Utah. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22: 276–285.
• Nydam, R. L., Gauthier, J.A., and Chiment, J.J. 2000. The mammal−like teeth of the Late Cretaceous lizard Peneteius aquilonius Estes 1969 (Squamata, Teiidae). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20: 628–631.
• Sulimski, A. 1975. Macrocephalosauridae and Polyglyphanodontidae (Sauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Palaeontologia Polonica 33: 25–102.
• Sulimski, A. 1978. New data on the genus Adamisaurus Sulimski 1972 (Sauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. Palaeontologia Polonica 58: 43–56.
• Throckmorton, G.S. 1976. Oral food processing in two herbivorous lizards, Iguana iguana (Iguanidae) and Uromastix aegyptius(Agamidae). Journal of Morphology 148: 363–390.
• Wu, X.−C., Brinkman, D.B., and Russell, A.P. 1996. Sineoamphisbaena hexatabularis, an amphisbaenian (Diapsida: Squamata) from the Upper Cretaceous redbeds at Bayan Mandahu (Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China), and comments on the phylogenetic relationships of the Amphisbaenia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 33: 541–577.