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Hyperodapedon
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Hyperodapedon
Hyperodapedon (from Greek: ῠ̔πέρ hupér, 'above' and Greek: δάπεδον dápedon, 'pavement') is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur reptiles which lived during Late Triassic period. Like other rhynchosaurs, it was a heavily built archosauromorph, distantly related to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Hyperodapedon in particular was part of the subfamily Hyperodapedontinae, a specialized rhynchosaurian subgroup with broad skulls, beaked snouts, and crushing tooth plates on the roof of the mouth.
Hyperodapedon remains one of the most widespread and well-understood rhynchosaurs due to its abundance of fossils on several continents. It was named and discovered by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1859, based on H. gordoni, a species from Scotland. It has also been reported from Africa, Asia (India), and North and South America, though some species were later split off into their own genera. An Indian species, H. huxleyi, is also known by the genus name Paradapedon. Some of the early South American finds were described under the name Scaphonyx, which is often considered a junior synonym of Hyperodapedon. Hyperodapedon fossils are abundant and biostratigraphically significant in strata of the late Carnian stage, such as the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina and the Upper Santa Maria Formation of Brazil. It is generally considered a herbivore that used its beaked premaxilla and hindlimbs to dig for plants on land.
The first species of Hyperodapedon to be named and discovered was H. gordoni, from the Lossiemouth Sandstone near Elgin, Scotland. This species was named by Thomas Henry Huxley in honor of Rev. Dr. Gordon, the man who discovered the initial skeleton. Huxley initially named the species at an 1858 Geological Society of London conference. Huxley's correspondence was added as a postscript to Roderick Murchison's broader discussion on the age of the Elgin area sandstones. Hyperodapedon was the third reptile to be discovered in the area, behind Stagonolepis and "Telerpeton" (Leptopleuron), and reinforced Huxley's new hypothesis that the Lossiemouth Sandstone was Mesozoic in age, rather than Paleozoic. Both Murchison's talk and Huxley's postscript were published in print in 1859. Huxley described Hyperodapedon gordoni in further detail in 1869 and 1887. Additional specimens were listed or described by Lydekker (1888) and Burckhardt (1900). A complete redescription of all H. gordoni material was undertaken by Michael Benton in 1983.
T.H. Huxley found many series of subcylindrical palatal teeth which was the main trait of Hyperodapedon. Huxley was able to distinguish Hyperodapedon from Rhynchosaurus articeps by the maxillary tooth rows. Later on, Lydekker realized that Hyperodapedon have more than two rows of teeth in both the maxilla and palatine.
Hyperodapedon huxleyi was named by English naturalist Richard Lydekker in 1881 based on fossils from the Lower Maleri Formation of India. It was described in more detail by the same author in 1885. Lydekker used the genus Hyperodapedon for the species, but German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene was of the opinion that it constituted a new genus closely related to Hyperodapedon. In 1938, von Huene established the new genus Paradapedon for the species. All fossils referred to Paradapedon were redescribed by Indian-American paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee in 1974.
For much of the 20th century, Paradapedon huxleyi was entangled with debates over the validity of Parasuchus hislopi, a species which was first mentioned by Huxley (1870) and formally described by Lydekker (1885). One of the syntype fossils of Parasuchus hislopi was a collection of bones including a partial braincase, osteoderms (bony scutes), teeth, and other associated material. The braincase was later identified as belonging to a rhynchosaur, but the other bones in the syntype are from a carnivorous phytosaur. This would make the syntype a chimera, comprising fossil material from two unrelated animal species.
To remedy this issue, von Huene (1940) elected to abandon the name Parasuchus hislopi, as he considered the name to apply to the rhynchosaur braincase first and foremost, which was certainly referrable to Paradapedon huxleyi. Chatterjee (1974) disagreed, noting that the braincase had no special status relative to the other fossils, as it was merely a syntype rather than a holotype. He separated the braincase from Parasuchus hislopi and named a phytosaur snout fragment as a new lectotype for the species. Assisted by the discovery of new complete skeletons, Parasuchus hislopi is still considered a valid phytosaur taxon to the present day.
Benton (1983) concluded that "Paradapedon" huxleyi should once again be considered a species of Hyperodapedon, thus rendering Paradapedon a junior synonym of Hyperodapedon.
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Hyperodapedon
Hyperodapedon (from Greek: ῠ̔πέρ hupér, 'above' and Greek: δάπεδον dápedon, 'pavement') is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur reptiles which lived during Late Triassic period. Like other rhynchosaurs, it was a heavily built archosauromorph, distantly related to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Hyperodapedon in particular was part of the subfamily Hyperodapedontinae, a specialized rhynchosaurian subgroup with broad skulls, beaked snouts, and crushing tooth plates on the roof of the mouth.
Hyperodapedon remains one of the most widespread and well-understood rhynchosaurs due to its abundance of fossils on several continents. It was named and discovered by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1859, based on H. gordoni, a species from Scotland. It has also been reported from Africa, Asia (India), and North and South America, though some species were later split off into their own genera. An Indian species, H. huxleyi, is also known by the genus name Paradapedon. Some of the early South American finds were described under the name Scaphonyx, which is often considered a junior synonym of Hyperodapedon. Hyperodapedon fossils are abundant and biostratigraphically significant in strata of the late Carnian stage, such as the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina and the Upper Santa Maria Formation of Brazil. It is generally considered a herbivore that used its beaked premaxilla and hindlimbs to dig for plants on land.
The first species of Hyperodapedon to be named and discovered was H. gordoni, from the Lossiemouth Sandstone near Elgin, Scotland. This species was named by Thomas Henry Huxley in honor of Rev. Dr. Gordon, the man who discovered the initial skeleton. Huxley initially named the species at an 1858 Geological Society of London conference. Huxley's correspondence was added as a postscript to Roderick Murchison's broader discussion on the age of the Elgin area sandstones. Hyperodapedon was the third reptile to be discovered in the area, behind Stagonolepis and "Telerpeton" (Leptopleuron), and reinforced Huxley's new hypothesis that the Lossiemouth Sandstone was Mesozoic in age, rather than Paleozoic. Both Murchison's talk and Huxley's postscript were published in print in 1859. Huxley described Hyperodapedon gordoni in further detail in 1869 and 1887. Additional specimens were listed or described by Lydekker (1888) and Burckhardt (1900). A complete redescription of all H. gordoni material was undertaken by Michael Benton in 1983.
T.H. Huxley found many series of subcylindrical palatal teeth which was the main trait of Hyperodapedon. Huxley was able to distinguish Hyperodapedon from Rhynchosaurus articeps by the maxillary tooth rows. Later on, Lydekker realized that Hyperodapedon have more than two rows of teeth in both the maxilla and palatine.
Hyperodapedon huxleyi was named by English naturalist Richard Lydekker in 1881 based on fossils from the Lower Maleri Formation of India. It was described in more detail by the same author in 1885. Lydekker used the genus Hyperodapedon for the species, but German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene was of the opinion that it constituted a new genus closely related to Hyperodapedon. In 1938, von Huene established the new genus Paradapedon for the species. All fossils referred to Paradapedon were redescribed by Indian-American paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee in 1974.
For much of the 20th century, Paradapedon huxleyi was entangled with debates over the validity of Parasuchus hislopi, a species which was first mentioned by Huxley (1870) and formally described by Lydekker (1885). One of the syntype fossils of Parasuchus hislopi was a collection of bones including a partial braincase, osteoderms (bony scutes), teeth, and other associated material. The braincase was later identified as belonging to a rhynchosaur, but the other bones in the syntype are from a carnivorous phytosaur. This would make the syntype a chimera, comprising fossil material from two unrelated animal species.
To remedy this issue, von Huene (1940) elected to abandon the name Parasuchus hislopi, as he considered the name to apply to the rhynchosaur braincase first and foremost, which was certainly referrable to Paradapedon huxleyi. Chatterjee (1974) disagreed, noting that the braincase had no special status relative to the other fossils, as it was merely a syntype rather than a holotype. He separated the braincase from Parasuchus hislopi and named a phytosaur snout fragment as a new lectotype for the species. Assisted by the discovery of new complete skeletons, Parasuchus hislopi is still considered a valid phytosaur taxon to the present day.
Benton (1983) concluded that "Paradapedon" huxleyi should once again be considered a species of Hyperodapedon, thus rendering Paradapedon a junior synonym of Hyperodapedon.
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