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A new genus and species of a non-cyamodontoid placodont is described on the basis of an incomplete and disarticulated skeleton from Winterswijk, the Netherlands, dated as early Anisian (Lower Muschelkalk). The new taxon is unique in a ventrolateral expansion of the neural arches of the posterior presacral and sacral vertebrae, in which the transverse process is incorporated. It has a round, plate-like pubis and ischium, and the only preserved long bone indicates elongated limbs. The holotype, which is relatively large (>1.35 m) for a basal sauropterygian, has still un-fused halves of neural arches and no distinct neural spine developed yet. The new taxon is assigned to non-cyamodontoid placodonts based on its round girdle elements, the morphology of dorsal-, sacral-, and caudal ribs, the straight medial and mediolateral elements of gastral ribs, and the presence of un-sutured armour plates. In spite of the large size of the holotype, there is evidence that the animal was not yet fully grown, based on the paired neural arches, and general poor ossification of the bones. The un-fused halves of neural arches are interpreted as skeletal paedomorphosis, which is typical for vertebrates with a secondary marine life style. The sacral region seems to be highly flexible.
Stupendemys geographicus (Pleurodira: Pelomedusoides: Podocnemidae) is a giant turtle from the Miocene of Venezuela and Brazil. The bone histology of the carapace of two adult specimens from the Urumaco Formation is described herein, one of which is the largest of this species ever found. In order to determine phylogenetic versus scaling factors influencing bone histology, S. geographicus is compared with related podocnemid Podocnemis erythrocephala, and with fossil and Recent pelomedusoides taxa Bothremys barberi, Taphrosphys sulcatus, “Foxemys cf. F. mechinorum”, and Pelomedusa subrufa. Potential scaling effects on bone histology were further investigated by comparison to the Pleistocene giant tortoise Hesperotestudo (Caudochelys) crassiscutata and the Late Cretaceous marine protostegid turtle Archelon ischyros. A diploe structure of the shell with well developed external and internal cortices framing interior cancellous bone is plesiomorphic for all sampled taxa. Similarly, the occurrence of growth marks in the shell elements is interpreted as plesiomorphic, with the sampled neural elements providing the most extensive record of growth marks. The assignment of S. geographicus to the Podocnemidae was neither strengthened nor refuted by the bone histology. A reduced thickness of the internal cortex of the shell elements constitutes a potential synapomorphy of the Bothremydidae. S. geographicus and H. crassiscutata both express extensive weight−reduction through lightweightconstruction while retaining form stability of the shell. The bone histology of A. ischyros presents features likely related to an open marine lifestyle.
Sauropterygia, one of the main clades of Mesozoic marine reptiles, diversified shortly after the Permo-Triassic biotic crisis and afterwards remained one of the major components of Early Triassic and later Mesozoic marine ecosystems. On the other hand, actual specimens of marine reptiles of Olenekian age are still rare in the fossil record, coming only from a few localities worldwide. Here we describe associated remains of a larger marine reptile of around 4 m body length, with nothosauroidean affinities from the Sulphur Mountain Formation exposed at the L cirque locality of Wapiti Lake area in British Columbia. Although the specimen records only scattered parts of the posterior vertebral column, some gastral ribs and most notably, the proximal portion of one hind limb together with a fan-shaped ischium, it represents one of the oldest records of Sauropterygia and larger representatives of aff. Nothosauroidea specifically, as well as the northernmost occurrence of such animals in the Triassic. As such, the new specimen is important for understanding the biogeography and early evolution of the group and that of Sauropterygia, in general.
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Function and evolution of ankylosaur dermal armor

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Ankylosaurs have spike−, plate−, and club−shaped osteoderms probably used as defensive and/or offensive weapons. Previous studies have proposed the evolution and function of small ankylosaur osteoderms, but histological variations in their defensive weapons are little known. Here, we provide comparisons of the internal structures in defensive weapons of ankylosaurs, which shed light on understanding their evolutionary history and function. Histological features of spikes, plates, and clubs are similar to those of small osteoderms in having thin compact bone, thick cancellous bone with large vascular canals, and abundant collagen fibers. A previous study demonstrated that each of the three groups of ankylosaurs (the Polacanthidae, Nodosauridae, and Ankylosauridae) have distinct arrangements of collagen fibers in small osteoderms. This study shows that spikes and clubs of ankylosaurs maintain the same characteristic features for each group despite the differences in shapes and sizes. These histological similarities suggest that various types of osteoderms in ankylosaurs retained the thin compact bone and abundant fiber structures of the small osteoderms during their evolution. Polacanthid spikes show thin compact bone, with less collagen fibers than in spikes of nodosaurids and spikes and clubs of ankylosaurids. Also, ankylosaurid plates with hollow bases are very thin in morphology and show thin compact bone. These results imply that the bone strengths of polacanthid spikes and ankylosaurid plates are lower than spikes and clubs of other ankylosaurs, indicating that they may be used more probably as display and/or thermoregulation rather than as weapons. It is thus probable that ankylosaur armor in general played more than just a defensive role.
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