Nodosaurid teeth from the Early Cretaceous of southern England.

The Nodosaurids were a group of Ankylosaurid Dinosaurs that differed from other members of the group in having spines, rather than boney clubs, on the ends of their tails, and additional large spines on their shoulders. Most known Nodosaurids have been discovered in North America, but specimens are known from China, Antarctica and England.

In a provisional paper to be published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica and available online from 13 March 2013, William Blows of the Department of Applied Biological Sciences at City University London and Kerri Honeysett of Bexhill on Sea in East Sussex describe four Nodosaurid teeth from the Isle of Wight and Bexhill on Sea. 

These are distinctive enough to state that they are from a Nodosaurid, but are not assigned to species level, since none of the Nodosaurid specimens known from England has preserved teeth, making it impossible to assign the teeth with confidence to any previously described species, or to say with confidence that they belong to a new species.

The first specimen comes from a plant dedris bed within the the Sudmore Point Sandstone at Sudmore Point east of Brook Chine on the Isle of Wight. It is Barremian in age (between 125 and 129.4 million years old). The Sudmore Point Sandstone is interpreted as having formed on a flat floodplain, with the debris bed representing a flood event. It contains large amounts of disarticulated plant and animal remains. The tooth is nearly complete, comprising both the crown and root, with a total length of 17 mm, 6 mm of which is the crown. 

The Isle of Wight specimen in (A) labial(?) view, (B) distal view and (C) lingual(?) view. Scale bar is 4 mm. Blows and Honeysett (2013).

The other three teeth come from Ashdown Quarry at Bexhill on Sea, where they were located by David Brockhurst, a noted amateur palaeontologist employed at the quarry. They were located within a conglomerate within the Wadhurst Clay Formation, of Valanginian age, making them between 132.9 and 139.8 million years old. 

The first of these is a 20.5 mm tooth with both crown and root, the crown comprising 7 mm of the total. The second is a partial crown 5 mm in heigh, without any root. The third is a 17 mm tooth of which 5 mm is the crown and the remainder is the root; the crown of this tooth appears somewhat worn down.

The first Bexhill on Sea specimen, complete tooth in (A1) lingual(?) view and  (A2) labial(?) view. Blows and Honeysett (2013).

The second and third Bexhil on Sea specimens. Partial tooth in shown in opposite views (B1 and B2), and complete tooth in (C1) lingual(?) view, (C2) distal view, (C3) labial(?) view. Blows and Honeysett (2013).

See also A new species of Ankylosaurid Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Montana, New description of an Ankylosaurid Dinosaur from Mongolia and The Ashdown Maniraptoran. 

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A new species of Tapejarid Pterodactyl from the Early Cretaceous Las Hoyas Lagerstätte of eastern Spain.

The Tapejarid Pterodactyls are a group of bizarre, toothless Pterosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian stages, 125–99 million years ago) of Brazil and China, with a single possible Late Cretaceous specimen from Morocco. The Tapejarids sported large, distinctive crests that varied a great deal between species. The lifestyle and diet of the Tapejarids is unclear, but it has been noted that a number of groups of Pterosaurs independently evolved toothless forms in the Early Cretaceous, implying that a new ecological niche had become available. It has further been suggested that this coincided with the expansion of the Angiosperms (flowering plants), and that this might be connected, possibly implying that these toothless Pterosaurs may have been among the first frugivores. However there is at this time no actual evidence to confirm or contradict this theory, and it is unlikely that it could be resolved without finding Pterosaurs with preserved stomach contents, which is quite a hard requirement.

In a paper published in the journal PLoS One on 3 July 2012, a team of scientists led by Romain Vullo of the Laboratoire Géosciences Rennes at the Université de Rennes 1 and the Unidad de Paleontología at the Departamento de Biología at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid describe a new species of Tapejarid Pterodactyl from the Early Cretaceous Las Hoyas Lagerstätte of eastern Spain.

The Las Hoyas is a Konservat-Lagerstätten (deposit producing numerous excellently preserved fossils) of Barremian age (125-130 million years old) formed in a stagnant, microbe rich lake. It is noted for its excellently preserved vertebrate fossils, including Fish, Crocodiles, Dinosaurs and Birds.

The new species is named from a single, incomplete, skull and lower jaw from the Las Hoyas deposits. It is named as Europejara olcadesorum, where Europejara is a combination of Europe and Tapejara, the first described genus of Tapejarid Pterodactyls, and olcadesorum derives from the Olcades, a Celtic tribe who inhabited the region in ancient times. It is not well enough preserved to resolve its exact taxonomic position within the group, though it clearly is a Tapejarid, and being Barremian in age it is the earliest known member of the group, and indeed the earliest known toothless Pterosaur from any group, suggesting that whatever ecological niche these Pterosaurs filled had arisen by this time.

Skull of Europejara olcadesorum. (A) Close-up of the crushed left post-orbital region of the skull (acid-prepared counterslab) in lateral view showing the narrowness of the lower temporal fenestra (ltf), the mandibular condyle of the quadrate (cq) and the distal extremities of the hyoid apparatus (hy). (B) Close-up of the posterior area of the palate (main slab under ultraviolet light) in dorsal view showing the thin, elongated vomer (v) septum separating the two choanae (ch). Note the medial surface of the left dentary (ld) and the hyoid apparatus (hy), adjacent to the ventral margin of the mandible. (C) Detail of the posterior area of the palate (acid-prepared counterslab) in dorsal view showing the pterygoid (pt), the ectopterygoid (ec), and the right maxilla (rm). Note the robustness of right mandibular ramus (in lateral view) and its thin, edentulous dorsal edge (arrow). ch, choanae; cq, mandibular condyle of the quadrate; ec, ectopterygoid; hy, hyoid apparatus; j, jugal; lbd, lingual bulge of the dentary; ld, left dentary; lft, lower temporal fenestra; po, postorbital; pt, pterygoid; q, quadrate; rd, right dentary; rm, right maxilla; sq, squamosal; v, vomer. Scale bars: 10 mm. Vullo et al. (2012).

Lower jaw of Europejara olcadesorum. (A) Close-up of the symphyseal area (acid-prepared counterslab) in right lateral view showing the typical step-like dorsal margin of the dentary in tapejarines (arrow). Note the strong lateral compression of the mandible and the trabecular structure of the sagittal crest of the dentary (scd). (B) Close-up of the best preserved margin of the dentary crest (main slab). Note the concave posterior border (arrow) giving the peculiar recurved aspect of the dentary crest of Europejara. scd, sagittal crest of the dentary. Scale bars: 10 mm. Vullo et al. (2012).

Reconstructions of Europejara olcadesorum. (A) Interpretative line drawing of the skull as observed on the acid-prepared counterslab. (B) Reconstruction of the skull (based in part on Tapejara) showing preserved parts in red. Life restoration of the head of Europejara in lateral (C) and frontal (D) views. apj, anterior process of the jugal; aprj, anterior process of the right jugal; d, dentary; ec, ectopterygoid; hy, hyoids; j, jugal; l, lacrimal; ld, left dentary; lj, left jugal; lm, left maxilla; lpo, left postorbital; lq, left quadrate; lsa, left surangular; lsq, left squamosal; ltf, lower temporal fenestra; m, maxilla; naof, nasoantorbital fenestra; o, orbit; pf, postfrontal; po, postorbital; pt, pterygoid; q, quadrate; rap, retroarticular process; rd, right dentary; rm, right maxilla; scd, sagittal crest of the dentary; scp, scleral plates; sq, squamosal. Scale bar: 50 mm. Vullo et al. (2012).

See also An Eucryptodiran Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Spain, Skull shape and diet in an Ornithocheiroid Pterodactyl, A new Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil and A Pterosaur from the Jurassic of Dorset, England.

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An Eucryptodiran Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Spain

The Eucryptodiran Turtles are capable of retracting their heads completely into their shells; all modern Turtles and Tortoises fall into this group, with the exception of the Side-Necked Turtles (Pleurodira). The group originated In Europe during the Jurassic, and expanded into Asia in the Early Cretaceous, eventually spreading across the globe.

In a paper published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica on 11 May 2012, Adán Pérez−García of the Departamento de Paleontología at the Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Marcelo de la Fuente of the Departamento de Paleontología at the Museo de Historia Natural de San Rafael, and Francisco Ortega of the Grupo de Biología at the Facultad de Ciencias at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, describe a new, basal (i.e. from before the modern groups separated from one another) Eucryptodiran Turtle from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Las Hoyas Limestone of Cuenca, Spain.

Map showing the location where the new Turtle was discovered (star). Pérez−García et al. (2012).

The new turtle is named as Hoyasemys jimenezi, Jiménez's Hoya-Turtle, after Emiliano Jiménez Fuentes, an expert on Spanish fossil Turtles. In is a small (~80 mm) turtle preserved on two slabs; it is more-or-less complete, lacking only the upper portion of the skull. The deposits it comes from are interpreted as finely laminated freshwater limestones; suggesting a low energy, freshwater environment, such as a lake.

Hoyasemys jimenezi in ventral view. (A) Photograph. (B) Interpretive drawing. Pérez−García et al. (2012).

Hoyasemys jimenezi detail of skull in ventral view. (A) Photograph. (B) Interpretive drawing. Pérez−García et al. (2012).

Hoyasemys jimenezi in ventral view. (A) Photograph. (B) Interpretive drawing. Pérez−García et al. (2012).

See also A new species of Giant Side-Necked Turtle from the Palaeocene of Columbia and Reptiles on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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