Project 3656: A. C. Pritchard, H. Sues, D. Scott, R. R. Reisz. 2021. Osteology, relationships and functional morphology of Weigeltisaurus jaekeli (Diapsida, Weigeltisauridae) based on a complete skeleton from the Upper Permian Kupferschiefer of Germany. PeerJ. 9:e11413.
Abstract
Background. Weigeltisauridae is a clade of small-bodied diapsids characterized by a horned cranial frill, slender trunk and limbs, and a patagium supported by elongated bony rods. Partial skeletons and fragments are definitively known only from upper Permian (Lopingian) rocks in England, Germany, Madagascar, and Russia. Despite these discoveries, there have been few detailed descriptions of weigeltisaurid skeletons, and the homologies of many skeletal elements—especially the rods supporting the patagium—remain the subject of controversy.Materials & Methods. Here, we provide a detailed description of a nearly complete skeleton of Weigeltisaurus jaekeli from the upper Permian (Lopingian: ?Wuchiapingian) Kupferschiefer of Lower Saxony, Germany. Briefly addressed by past authors, the skeleton preserves a nearly complete skull, postcranial axial skeleton, appendicular skeleton, and patagial supports. Through comparisons with extant and fossil diapsids, we examine the hypotheses for the homologies of the patagial rods. To examine the phylogenetic position of Weigeltisauridae and characterize the morphology of the clade, we integrate the material and other weigeltisaurids into a parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis focused on Permo-Triassic non-saurian Diapsida and early Sauria (61 taxa, 339 characters).Results. We recognize a number of intriguing anatomical features in the weigeltisaurid skeleton described here, including hollow horns on the post-temporal arch, lanceolate teeth in the posterior portion of the maxilla, the absence of a bony arch connecting the postorbital and squamosal bones, elongate and slender phalanges that resemble those of extant arboreal squamates, and patagial rods that are positioned superficial to the lateral one third of the gastral basket. Our phylogenetic study recovers a monophyletic Weigeltisauridae including Coelurosauravus elivensis, Weigeltisaurus jaekeli, and Rautiania spp. The clade is recovered as the sister taxon to Drepanosauromorpha outside of Sauria (=Lepidosauria + Archosauria).Conclusions. Our anatomical observations and phylogenetic analysis show variety of plesiomorphic diapsid characters and apomorphies of Weigeltisauridae in the specimen described here. We corroborate the hypothesis that the patagial ossifications are dermal bones unrelated to the axial skeleton. The gliding apparatus of weigeltisaurids was constructed from dermal elements unknown in other known gliding diapsids. SMNK 2882 and other weigeltisaurid specimens highlight the high morphological disparity of Paleozoic diapsids already prior to their radiation in the early Mesozoic.Read the article »
Article DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11413
Project DOI: 10.7934/P3656, http://dx.doi.org/10.7934/P3656
This project contains | Matrices |
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Download Project SDD File ![]() | Total scored cells: 13076 Total media associated with cells: 0 Total labels associated with cell media: 0 |
Characters | |
Total characters: 339 Total characters with associated media: 0 Total characters with media with labels: 0 Total character states: 725 Total character states with associated media: 0 Total character states with media with labels:0 Total unordered/ordered characters:313/26 |
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MorphoBank Project 3656
MorphoBank Project 3656
- Creation Date:
10 March 2020 - Publication Date:
20 April 2021 - Project views: 12026
- Matrix downloads: 13
Authors' Institutions
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
- Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville
- Jilin University
- University of Toronto
Members
member name | taxa ![]() |
specimens ![]() |
media ![]() | chars ![]() | character
| cell scorings (scored, NPA, "-") | cell
| rules ![]() | ||||||
Adam Pritchard Project Administrator | 61 | 3 | 2 | 339 | 0 | 0 | 13076 (12522, 0, 554) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Taxonomic Overview for Matrix 'M26502' (61 Taxa)
taxon | unscored cells |
scored cells ![]() |
no cell support ![]() |
NPA cells |
"-" cells | cell images | labels on cell images |
member access |
[1] † Petrolacosaurus kansensis Last Modified in 11/19/20 | 26 | 293 | 291 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[2] † Orovenator mayorum Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 227 | 109 | 108 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[3] † Hypuronector limnaios Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 262 | 73 | 73 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[4] † Vallesaurus cenensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 208 | 124 | 124 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[5] † Megalancosaurus preonensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 188 | 148 | 148 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[6] † Drepanosaurus unguicaudatus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 239 | 95 | 95 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[7] † Dolabrosaurus aquatilis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 292 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[8] † Avicranium renestoi Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 228 | 98 | 98 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[9] † Coelurosauravus elivensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 164 | 165 | 165 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[10] † Weigeltisaurus jaekeli Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 186 | 148 | 148 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[11] † Rautiania spp. Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 246 | 85 | 85 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[12] † Claudiosaurus germaini Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 77 | 257 | 255 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[13] † Acerosodontosaurus piveteaui Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 223 | 110 | 110 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[14] † Hovasaurus boulei Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 128 | 208 | 206 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[15] † Thadeosaurus colcanapi Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 183 | 149 | 149 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[16] † TropidostomaZone_Youngina Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 134 | 202 | 202 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[17] † Youngina capensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 38 | 287 | 287 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[18] † Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 150 | 187 | 187 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[19] Shinisaurus crocodilurus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 19 | 298 | 297 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[20] Iguana iguana Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 16 | 311 | 311 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[21] Uromastyx acanthinura Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 27 | 296 | 296 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[22] † Gephyrosaurus bridensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 80 | 242 | 242 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[23] † Diphydontosaurus avonis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 114 | 228 | 223 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[24] † Planocephalosaurus robinsonae Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 109 | 231 | 228 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[25] † Sphenotitan leyesi Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 256 | 78 | 77 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[26] † Clevosaurus brasiliensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 210 | 129 | 127 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[27] † Clevosaurus hudsoni Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 22 | 302 | 299 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[28] Sphenodon punctatum Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 12 | 309 | 307 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[29] † Colobops noviportensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 287 | 53 | 51 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[30] † Protorosaurus speneri Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 73 | 255 | 255 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[31] † Macrocnemus bassanii Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 88 | 244 | 243 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[32] † Macrocnemus fuyuanensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 114 | 219 | 218 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[33] † Amotosaurus rotfeldensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 159 | 177 | 176 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[34] † Tanystropheus longobardicus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 28 | 306 | 301 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[35] † Ozimek volans Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 187 | 152 | 152 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[36] Langobardisaurus pandoflii concatenation Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 156 | 180 | 180 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[37] † Tanytrachelos ahynis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 140 | 194 | 194 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[38] † Mesosuchus browni Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 27 | 302 | 300 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[39] † Howesia browni Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 212 | 123 | 122 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[40] † Eohyosaurus wolvaardti Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 271 | 69 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[41] † Rhynchosaurus articeps Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 64 | 257 | 256 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[42] † Teyumbaita sulcognathus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 121 | 200 | 200 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[43] † Hyperodapedon gordoni Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 90 | 231 | 230 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[44] † Boreopricea funerea Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 124 | 208 | 208 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[45] † Teraterpeton hrynewichorum full codings Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 132 | 206 | 204 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[46] † Trilophosaurus buettneri Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 13 | 307 | 306 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[47] † Spinosuchus caseanus (combined) Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 145 | 196 | 193 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[48] † Icarosaurus siefkeri Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 163 | 173 | 173 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[49] † Kuehneosaurus latus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 59 | 281 | 275 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[50] † Pamelaria dolichotrachela Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 83 | 252 | 248 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[51] † Shringasaurus indicus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 141 | 197 | 195 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[52] † Azendohsaurus madagaskarensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 15 | 312 | 312 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[53] † Azendohsaurus laaroussi Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 296 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[54] † Prolacerta broomi Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 19 | 315 | 310 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[55] † Proterosuchus fergusi Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 40 | 295 | 292 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[56] † Proterosuchus yuani Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 91 | 241 | 241 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[57] † Erythrosuchus africanus Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 52 | 279 | 279 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[58] † Euparkeria capensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 65 | 266 | 265 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[59] † Batrachotomus kupferzellensis Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 50 | 274 | 272 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[60] † Coelophysis bauri Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 59 | 252 | 248 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
[61] † Plateosaurus engelhardti Last Modified in 06/03/18 | 49 | 260 | 258 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 1 ![]() |
Project views 
type | number of views | Individual items viewed (where applicable) |
Total project views | 12026 | |
Project overview | 735 | |
Matrix views | 585 | Archosauromorph phylogeny (62 views); Matrix landing page (523 views); |
Taxon list | 5423 | |
Views for media list | 1147 | |
Media views | 1972 | Media search (1469 views); M686897 (247 views); M687026 (256 views); |
Specimen list | 1834 | |
Bibliography | 327 | |
Documents list | 3 |
Project downloads 
type | number of downloads | Individual items downloaded (where applicable) |
Total downloads from project | 71 | |
Project downloads | 58 | |
Matrix downloads | 13 | Archosauromorph phylogeny (13 downloads); |