Saurosphargid

Saurosphargidae is an extinct family of marine reptiles known from the early Middle Triassic (Anisian stage) of Europe and China.

The type species of the family is ''Saurosphargis volzi'', named by Friedrich von Huene in 1936 based on a single specimen collected from the lower Anisian Lower Muschelkalk of Gogolin, Poland - a section of 12 incomplete back vertebrae with ribs. The generic name of ''Saurosphargis'' is derived from Greek ''sauros'', "lizard", and ''sphargis'', the old genus name for the leatherback turtle, in reference to the dorsal osteoderm "body armor" and broadened ribs forming a closed chest rib basket, traits that are seemingly transitional between turtles and other reptiles. However, due to the only known specimen' destruction during World War II, many authors considered ''Saurosphargis'' to be a ''nomen dubium''. Nevertheless, even based on surviving descriptions alone, many differences were noted even from its closest known relative at the time, ''Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi'' from the Anisian-Ladinian boundary of the southern Alps. Various hypotheses existed for the affinities of these species, and together with ''Helveticosaurus'', they were originally thought to be placodonts, but later studies suggested relatedness to other sauropterygians and / or ichthyopterygians.

It wasn't until nearly a century after the discovery of ''Saurosphargis'', that other specimens closely related to it were found in China. In 2011, Li ''et al.'' described and named three of these specimens, ''Sinosaurosphargis yunguiensis'', referring to this species being the Chinese version of ''Saurosphargis''. The specimens of ''Sinosaurosphargis'' were collected from Member II of the Guanling Formation, dating to the Pelsonian (mid-late Anisian). Based on very detailed descriptions and figures of ''Saurosphargis'' in Huene (1936), and based on comparisons with the well-preserved ''Sinosauropshargis'', Li ''et al.'' (2011) resurrected ''Saurosphargis volzi'' as a valid species, and erected the family Saurosphargidae to contain the two. Furthermore, they reported the discovery of material referable to ''Saurosphargis'' from the Lower Muschelkalk of Winterswijk, Netherlands, that is under preparation. ''Saurosphargis'' and ''Sinosaurosphargis'' were included in a phylogenetic analysis, and were recovered in a monophyletic Saurosphargidae which was found to be the sister taxon of Thalattosauriformes. Sauropterygia was recovered as the sister taxon of their combined group, with a clade formed by ''Eusaurosphargis'' and ''Helveticosaurus'' in a position basal to it.

In 2014, Li ''et al.'' described a second species of ''Largocephalosaurus'', that was initially interpreted as an eosauropterygian due to the limited preparation of the holotype of its type species ''L. polycarpon''. The second species ''L. qianensis'', known from three specimens, and the newly prepared portions of ''L. polycarpon'' postcranial skeleton, revealed the same osteoderm "body armor" and broadened rib basket that are unique to saurosphargids. Thus, ''Largocephalosaurus'' was reinterpreted as a saurosphargid and a phylogenetic analysis recovered both species, forming a monophyletic ''Largocephalosaurus'', as basal to the clade formed by ''Saurosphargis'' and ''Sinosaurosphargis''. All four known specimens of ''Largocephalosaurus'' came from the Luoping Biota, from Member II of the Guanling Formation, that yielded ''Sinosaurosphargis'', alongside various invertebrates, fish, basal ichthyosaurs, ''Atopodentatus'', and several species of eosauropterygian, including both pachypleurosaurs and nothosaurids.

Phylogeny

The following cladogram is simplified after Li ''et al.'' (2014) phylogenetic analysis, showing interrelationships of all known Saurosphargidae species, and the placement of the clade within Sauria. ''Saurosphargis'' was coded solely based on the holotype. The removal / inclusion of Ichthyopterygia was found to affect the topology the most - switching the positions of the ''Eusaurosphargis''+''Helveticosaurus'' and Thalattosauriformes clades, and altering the positions of several taxa within Eosauropterygia, which are not shown. The Saurosphargiformes are sometimes grouped together with Sauropterygia in a clade called Sauropterygomorpha.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20984193

Middle Triassic reptiles
Fossils of China
Middle Triassic first appearances
Middle Triassic extinctions
Prehistoric reptile families