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Aerosaurus
Aerosaurus (meaning "copper lizard") is an extinct genus within Varanopidae, a family of non-mammalian synapsids. It lived between 252-299 million years ago during the Early Permian in North America. The name comes from Latin aes (aeris) (combining stem: aer-) “copper” and Greek sauros “lizard,” for El Cobre Canyon (from Spanish cobre “copper”) in northern New Mexico, where the type fossil was found and the site of former copper mines. Aerosaurus was a small to medium-bodied carnivorous synapsid characterized by its recurved teeth, triangular lateral temporal fenestra, and extended teeth row. Two species are recognized: A. greenleeorum (1937) and A. wellesi (1981).
Aerosaurus was a taxon named by American paleontologist and biologist Alfred Romer in 1937. There have only been two species named: A. greenleeorum (1937) and A. wellesi (1981), both discovered in New Mexico. A. greenleeorum Romer, 1937, is based on bone fragments assumed from a single individual collected by Romer in El Cobre Canyon near the Abo/Cutler Formation of the Arroyo del Agua. Cross-examination of the fragmentary holotype of A. greenleeorum Romer with the Camp Quarry skeleton with its expanded tooth-bearing parasphenoidal plate matches it to Aerosaurus taxa.
The discovery of A. wellesi came from a team led in 1935 by Dr. Samuel P. Welles, who excavated blocks of red siltstone measuring thirty square feet in the Lower Permian Abo/Cutler Formation in near the Arroyo del Aqua settlement. The blocks of siltstone contained two incomplete skulls of Oedaleops campi Langston, 1965, and the two nearly complete articulated skeletons of a varanopseid pelycosaur.
Aerosaurus has been recognized as a basal member of the Synapsida, a clade that ultimately produced mammals. Relative to the skull, the body was much larger and the ribs were deeper. The tail was unusually long for a synapsid. Overall varanopseid pelycosaurs measure about one meter long with fewer maxillary and dentary teeth compared to other Varanops. In Aerosaurus, the teeth were more laterally compressed creating a strong recurved shape. Aerosaurus cranial morphology is distinguishable with its extremely long tooth row, recurved teeth, and triangular lateral temporal fenestra. The teeth were so highly curved and compressed that they may have had difficulty penetrating flesh, and the tooth row extended far behind the orbit. The lower teeth were also relatively tiny and such an arrangement suggests Aerosaurus was a carnivore. Their limbs were long, and skeleton built lightly suggests they were active and agile. A long low skull and dentition extended far back to lie below the temporal fenestra. Aerosaurus had other general features found in ‘pelycosaurs’, like a slanted occiput, a lateral temporal fenestra, a septomaxilla bone that contacting the nasal and a maxilla bone contacting the quadrojugal.
The skull is 1/4 of the precaudal length of the skeleton with a jaw articulation far back seen in Varanops. The snout is long and low with an lessen inclined occiput. The dermal bones are shallow, irregular with pits and grooves and below the orbit we find a saw-like serration that hasn't been seen in other 'pelycosaurs'. The skull roof has large round orbits and an undetermined laterally expanded prefrontal process. The postorbital is incomplete, but the postorbital and suborbital bars are thinly shaped. The pineal foramen is larger compared to non-varanopseid sphenacodonts and is positioned in the back of the skull. The lateral temporal fenestra of Aerosaurus is larger than other pelycosaurs with its trademark triangular shape. No septomaxilla is evident, but the premaxilla is fragile in comparison to the large naris. The maxilla contains specimens largest teeth and is extended posterior to the center of the triangular lateral temporal fenestra. The maxilla, which is longer compared to other 'pelycosaurs' contacts the quadratojugal in this specimen. The lacrimal is a sheet of bone that covers most of the anterior orbital margin and constricts the front of the orbit.
The jugal has a unique lateral serration and narrow postorbital ramus similar to Varanops. The quadtrojugal has a slender ramus that meets the jugal and the maxilla. The nasal is also long and slender, but has extensive fragmentation, so an exact length is undetermined. The frontal is long and slender with the posterior end not extending into the margins of the orbit. The Postfrontal is small due to the size of the frontal. The squamosal is long and narrow and even more so compared to Varanops. The parietal is large with shallow grooves in the supratemporal element. The braincase is well preserved with only the cultriform process missing in all of its external surfaces. The parasphenoid is the largest part of the braincase with some overlap into the basiooccipital to form the "fenestra ovalis". The presence of the many strong, pointed, and recurved teeth is a distinguishing feature of the bottom side of the braincase. The teeth are arranged in a pattern of three groups to form a U-shaped band. There is trouble distinguishing between the basisphenoid and the parasphenoid due to the co-ossification creating a vague suture line. The basisphenoid has a large basipterygoid process that extend from the base of the cultriform process.
The mandible has a long and slender shape with grooves and pits like on the skull roof. The dentary is long with a posterodorsal process that extends into the lower jaw and overlapping the surangular. The angular and prearticular bones are long with the splenial almost as long as the dentary. The coronoid was unidentifiable in this specimen. A foramen intermandibularis caudalis is on the medial surface of the mandible similar to the related Varannops and Ophiacodon species.
The skull of Aerosaurus had 16 marginal teeth, less than in Varanops (44) and the upper teeth were longer. Most of the teeth were recurved more than other 'pelycosaurs' with a triangular depression near the base. The size of each teeth varied with some teeth-sized gap spaces. There largest teeth (7) were on the maxilla and decreased in length posterior to the orbit. There is additional six long recurved teeth located ventral to the postorbital bar, but the function of them are a mystery. The mandibular teeth are smaller, closely spaced, uniform in its recurved shape compared to the maxilla.
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Aerosaurus AI simulator
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Aerosaurus
Aerosaurus (meaning "copper lizard") is an extinct genus within Varanopidae, a family of non-mammalian synapsids. It lived between 252-299 million years ago during the Early Permian in North America. The name comes from Latin aes (aeris) (combining stem: aer-) “copper” and Greek sauros “lizard,” for El Cobre Canyon (from Spanish cobre “copper”) in northern New Mexico, where the type fossil was found and the site of former copper mines. Aerosaurus was a small to medium-bodied carnivorous synapsid characterized by its recurved teeth, triangular lateral temporal fenestra, and extended teeth row. Two species are recognized: A. greenleeorum (1937) and A. wellesi (1981).
Aerosaurus was a taxon named by American paleontologist and biologist Alfred Romer in 1937. There have only been two species named: A. greenleeorum (1937) and A. wellesi (1981), both discovered in New Mexico. A. greenleeorum Romer, 1937, is based on bone fragments assumed from a single individual collected by Romer in El Cobre Canyon near the Abo/Cutler Formation of the Arroyo del Agua. Cross-examination of the fragmentary holotype of A. greenleeorum Romer with the Camp Quarry skeleton with its expanded tooth-bearing parasphenoidal plate matches it to Aerosaurus taxa.
The discovery of A. wellesi came from a team led in 1935 by Dr. Samuel P. Welles, who excavated blocks of red siltstone measuring thirty square feet in the Lower Permian Abo/Cutler Formation in near the Arroyo del Aqua settlement. The blocks of siltstone contained two incomplete skulls of Oedaleops campi Langston, 1965, and the two nearly complete articulated skeletons of a varanopseid pelycosaur.
Aerosaurus has been recognized as a basal member of the Synapsida, a clade that ultimately produced mammals. Relative to the skull, the body was much larger and the ribs were deeper. The tail was unusually long for a synapsid. Overall varanopseid pelycosaurs measure about one meter long with fewer maxillary and dentary teeth compared to other Varanops. In Aerosaurus, the teeth were more laterally compressed creating a strong recurved shape. Aerosaurus cranial morphology is distinguishable with its extremely long tooth row, recurved teeth, and triangular lateral temporal fenestra. The teeth were so highly curved and compressed that they may have had difficulty penetrating flesh, and the tooth row extended far behind the orbit. The lower teeth were also relatively tiny and such an arrangement suggests Aerosaurus was a carnivore. Their limbs were long, and skeleton built lightly suggests they were active and agile. A long low skull and dentition extended far back to lie below the temporal fenestra. Aerosaurus had other general features found in ‘pelycosaurs’, like a slanted occiput, a lateral temporal fenestra, a septomaxilla bone that contacting the nasal and a maxilla bone contacting the quadrojugal.
The skull is 1/4 of the precaudal length of the skeleton with a jaw articulation far back seen in Varanops. The snout is long and low with an lessen inclined occiput. The dermal bones are shallow, irregular with pits and grooves and below the orbit we find a saw-like serration that hasn't been seen in other 'pelycosaurs'. The skull roof has large round orbits and an undetermined laterally expanded prefrontal process. The postorbital is incomplete, but the postorbital and suborbital bars are thinly shaped. The pineal foramen is larger compared to non-varanopseid sphenacodonts and is positioned in the back of the skull. The lateral temporal fenestra of Aerosaurus is larger than other pelycosaurs with its trademark triangular shape. No septomaxilla is evident, but the premaxilla is fragile in comparison to the large naris. The maxilla contains specimens largest teeth and is extended posterior to the center of the triangular lateral temporal fenestra. The maxilla, which is longer compared to other 'pelycosaurs' contacts the quadratojugal in this specimen. The lacrimal is a sheet of bone that covers most of the anterior orbital margin and constricts the front of the orbit.
The jugal has a unique lateral serration and narrow postorbital ramus similar to Varanops. The quadtrojugal has a slender ramus that meets the jugal and the maxilla. The nasal is also long and slender, but has extensive fragmentation, so an exact length is undetermined. The frontal is long and slender with the posterior end not extending into the margins of the orbit. The Postfrontal is small due to the size of the frontal. The squamosal is long and narrow and even more so compared to Varanops. The parietal is large with shallow grooves in the supratemporal element. The braincase is well preserved with only the cultriform process missing in all of its external surfaces. The parasphenoid is the largest part of the braincase with some overlap into the basiooccipital to form the "fenestra ovalis". The presence of the many strong, pointed, and recurved teeth is a distinguishing feature of the bottom side of the braincase. The teeth are arranged in a pattern of three groups to form a U-shaped band. There is trouble distinguishing between the basisphenoid and the parasphenoid due to the co-ossification creating a vague suture line. The basisphenoid has a large basipterygoid process that extend from the base of the cultriform process.
The mandible has a long and slender shape with grooves and pits like on the skull roof. The dentary is long with a posterodorsal process that extends into the lower jaw and overlapping the surangular. The angular and prearticular bones are long with the splenial almost as long as the dentary. The coronoid was unidentifiable in this specimen. A foramen intermandibularis caudalis is on the medial surface of the mandible similar to the related Varannops and Ophiacodon species.
The skull of Aerosaurus had 16 marginal teeth, less than in Varanops (44) and the upper teeth were longer. Most of the teeth were recurved more than other 'pelycosaurs' with a triangular depression near the base. The size of each teeth varied with some teeth-sized gap spaces. There largest teeth (7) were on the maxilla and decreased in length posterior to the orbit. There is additional six long recurved teeth located ventral to the postorbital bar, but the function of them are a mystery. The mandibular teeth are smaller, closely spaced, uniform in its recurved shape compared to the maxilla.