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10 June 2024 A New Lizard-Like Reptile with Unusual Mandibular Neurovasculature from the Upper Triassic of Virginia
Ben T. Kligman, Hans-Dieter Sues, Keegan M. Melstrom
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Abstract

Here, we report a new small-bodied reptile taxon, Idiosaura virginiensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) Vinita Formation of the Richmond basin (Newark Supergroup) in east-central Virginia, U.S.A. The material consists of a fragmentary dentary bearing numerous tall cylindrical teeth implanted in a pleurodont fashion into spongy alveolar tissue. Micro-CT scan data reveal an unusual and complex network of interconnected neurovascular canals within the dentary with connections to the alveolar tissue and pulp cavities of the teeth. The external anatomy of the dentary is consistent with that of Triassic kuehneosaurid reptiles, suggesting affinities to that group; the results of a phylogenetic analysis were inconclusive but do not exclude kuehneosaurid relationships. Alongside the recently described Micromenodon pitti (Rhynchocephalia) and Vinitasaura lizae (Lepidosauromorpha), the new taxon adds to the relatively diverse assemblage of small-bodied reptiles known from the Tomahawk microvertebrate bonebed (USNM locality 39981). Relative tooth complexities of I. virginiensis and V. lizae were analyzed using the Orientation Patch Count Rotated method, and results suggest that the rise of lepidosauromorph ecomorphologies specializing for feeding on invertebrates occurred in Triassic communities alongside non-lepidosauromorph taxa with similar mandibulo-dental features, as in kuehneosaurs.

Ben T. Kligman, Hans-Dieter Sues, and Keegan M. Melstrom "A New Lizard-Like Reptile with Unusual Mandibular Neurovasculature from the Upper Triassic of Virginia," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 43(6), (10 June 2024). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2353636
Received: 27 December 2023; Accepted: 6 May 2024; Published: 10 June 2024
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