Bone deformations in Triassic marine reptiles

The Vossenveld Formation cropping out near Winterswijk in the Netherlands is well known because of its rich Middle Triassic marine reptile fauna assemblage. The aim of the study was to detect and examine bones with unusual shapes in order to identify the causes of their deformation, i.e., taphonomic, traumatic, or related to illness. The unusual, kinked shape of a sauropterygian humerus appears to result from taphonomic processes. Pathological changes were identified on a sauropterygian rib (osteofibrous dysplasia), large bone of uncertain identity (unusual coossification), and on the mandible of cf. Notosaurus marchicus (healed fracture). Despite hundreds of fossilized bones of marine reptiles found in Winterswijk, only few of them preserve pathologies, what may mean that sick or wounded individuals were quickly eliminated from the population.
The illustration shows the eosauropterygian cf. Notosaurus marchicus with mandible which bears signs of healed fracture. Despite the broken jaw, the animal lived on, what is indicated by the fact that the fracture healed. Below, a photograph of the fossilized mandible, the helaed fracture is marked. Illustration by Jakub Zalewski

PUBLICATION: Surmik, D., Szczygielski, T., Słowiak-Morkovina, J., Sander, M., Rothschild, B., Duda, P., & Klein, N. (2023). Bone abnormalities in the middle Anisian marine sauropsids from Winterswijk. Journal of Morphology, 284, e21550. doi:10.1002/jmor.21550

Cookies preferences

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

Necessary

Necessary
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.