Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T15:43:48.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The tibia and tarsus in Herrerasauridae (Dinosauria, incertae sedis) and the origin and evolution of the dinosaurian tarsus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2016

Fernando E. Novas
Fernando E. Novas*
Affiliation:
Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia,” Av. Angel Gallardo 470, Buenos Aires (1405), Argentina
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The tarsus and distal end of the tibia are described in Herrerasauridae, a family that includes the oldest known dinosaurs. This tarsal configuration is compared to those of more advanced dinosaurs and to other archosaurs. Through phylogenetic analysis of the morphological characters, a picture emerges of the evolutionary changes in the ankles of early dinosaurs.

The tibia of the herrerasaurids has a quadrangular distal articular surface, with a shallow ventrolateral notch. This morphology is strikingly similar to that of the lagosuchid thecodonts Pseudolagosuchus and Lagosuchus and represents the most primitive tibial condition known for Dinosauria.

Aside from the derived states possessed by Theropoda, Sauropodomorpha, and Ornithischia, respectively, it was impossible to recognize synapomorphies in tibiotarsal anatomy shared by these groups exclusive of Herrerasauridae. The transverse broadening of the distal end of the tibia seems to have been attained independently by ornithischians, theropods, and sauropodomorphs.

The tarsus of herrerasaurids is characterized by an astragalus with a small but conspicuous lateroventral depression, by a pyramidal calcaneum with a ventromedial projection that articulates into the cavity of the astragalus just mentioned, and by a posterolaterally directed calcaneal tuber. These characters are also seen in Lagosuchus (a close relative of dinosaurs), in the prosauropod Riojasaurus and, insofar as the astragalus is concerned, in the primitive dinosaur Walkeria, which suggests that dinosaurs of different lineages shared the same tarsal condition.

By definition, this type of articulation between the astragalus and calcaneum follows the “crocodile-reversed” tarsal condition, suggesting that the tarsus in lagosuchids and dinosaurs could be derived from the “crocodile-reversed” pattern present in Ornithosuchidae and Euparkeria. In contrast, the mesotarsal ankle of lagosuchids and dinosaurs lacks the synapomorphies of the “crocodile-normal” ankle present in Crocodylia, Rauisuchidae, Aetosauria, and other archosaurs.

It is concluded that Herrerasauridae retained the primitive tibiotarsal condition for Dinosauria, from which those of the Ornithischia, Sauropodomorpha, and Theropoda were derived. Furthermore, tibiotarsal anatomy supports monophyly of Dinosauria.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 63 , Issue 5 , September 1989 , pp. 677 - 690
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arcucci, A. 1986. Nuevos materiales y reinterpretación de Lagerpeton chanarensis Romer (Thecodontia, Lagerpetonidae nov.) del Triásico medio de La Rioja, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 23:223–242.Google Scholar
Arcucci, A. 1987. Un nuevo Lagosuchidae (Thecodontia–Pseudosuchia) de la Fauna de los Chañares (Edad Reptil Chañarense, Triásico medio) La Rioja, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 24:89–94.Google Scholar
Barker, R., and Galton, P. 1974. Dinosaur monophyly and a new class of vertebrates. Nature, 248:168–172.Google Scholar
Barberena, M. C., Araujo, D. C., and Lavina, E. L. 1985. Late Permian and Triassic tetrapods of Southern Brazil. National Geographic Research, 1(1):5–20.Google Scholar
Benedetto, J. 1973. Herrerasauridae, nueva familia de saurisquios triásicos. Ameghiniana, 3:89–102.Google Scholar
Bonaparte, J. 1969. Comments on early saurischians. Zoological Journal Linnaean Society, 48:471–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonaparte, J. 1971. Los tetrápodos del sector superior de la Formation Los Colorados, La Rioja, Argentina. Opera Lilloana, 22:1–183.Google Scholar
Bonaparte, J. 1975a. The family Ornithosuchidae (Archosauria: Thecodontia). Colloque International du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 218:485–502.Google Scholar
Bonaparte, J. 1975b. Nuevos materiales de Lagosuchus talampayensis Romer y su significado en el origen de los Saurischia. Acta Geológica Lilloana, 13:5–87.Google Scholar
Bonaparte, J. 1976. Pisanosaurus mertii Casamiquela and the origin of the Ornithischia. Journal of Paleontology, 50:808–820.Google Scholar
Bonaparte, J. 1982. Classification of the Thecodontia. Geobios, Memoire Spécial, 6:99–112.Google Scholar
Brinkman, D. 1981. The origin of the crocodiloid tarsi and the interrelationships of thecodontian archosaurs. Breviora, 464:1–23.Google Scholar
Brinkman, D., and Sues, H.-D. 1987. A staurikosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina and the relationships of the Staurikosauridae. Palaeontology, 30:493–503.Google Scholar
Chatterjee, S. 1982. Phylogeny and classification of thecodontian reptiles. Nature, 295:317–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chatterjee, S. 1985. Postosuchus, a new thecodontian reptile from the Triassic of Texas and the origin of tyrannosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, B, 309:395–460.Google Scholar
Chatterjee, S. 1987. A new theropod dinosaur from India with remarks on the Gondwana–Laurasia connection in the Late Triassic, p. 183–189. In McKenzie, G., Elliot, D., and Collison, J. (eds.), Gondwana Six. American Geophysical Union.Google Scholar
Colbert, E. 1970. A saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil. American Museum Novitates, 2405:1–39.Google Scholar
Colbert, E. 1981. A primitive ornithischian dinosaur from the Kayenta Formation of Arizona. Bulletin of the Museum of Northern Arizona, 53:1–61.Google Scholar
Cooper, M. 1980. The prosauropod ankle and dinosaur phylogeny. South African Journal of Science, 76:176–178.Google Scholar
Cooper, M. 1981. The prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus carinatus Owen from Zimbabwe: its biology, mode of life and phylogenetic significance. Occasional Papers of the National Museum of Rhodesia, 6:689–840.Google Scholar
Cooper, M. 1984. A reassessment of Vulcanodon karibaensis Raath (Dinosauria: Saurischia) and the origin of the Sauropoda. Paleontologia africana, 25:203–231.Google Scholar
Cruickshank, A. 1979. The ankle joint in some early archosaurs. South African Journal of Science, 75:168–178.Google Scholar
Cruickshank, A. 1981. Archosaur ankles: interpretations of the evidence. South African Journal of Science, 77:307–309.Google Scholar
Cruickshank, A., and Benton, M. 1985. Archosaur ankles and the relationships of the thecodontian and dinosaurian reptiles. Nature, 317:715–717.Google Scholar
Cruickshank, A., and Benton, M. 1988. Joints of crocodile-reversed archosaurs. Scientific correspondence. Nature, 331:218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ewer, R. F. 1965. The anatomy of the thecodont reptile Euparkeria capensis Broom. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, B, 248:379–435.Google Scholar
Galton, P. 1974. The ornithischian dinosaur Hypsilophodon from the Wealden of the Isle of Wight. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology, 25:1–152.Google Scholar
Galton, P. 1977. On Staurikosaurus pricei, an early saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil, with notes on the Herrerasauridae and Poposauridae. Palaeontologische Zeitschrift, 51:234–245.Google Scholar
Galton, P. 1985. The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus v. Meyer, plus referred specimens mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs, from the Middle Stubensandstein (Upper Triassic) of Nord-wurttemberg. Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde, B, 116:1–29.Google Scholar
Gauthier, J. 1986. Saurischian monophyly and the origin of birds, p. 1–55. In Padian, K. (ed.), The Origin of Birds and the Evolution of Flight. California Academy of Sciences, Memoir 8.Google Scholar
Gauthier, J., and Padian, K. 1985. Phylogenetic, functional, and aerodynamic analyses of the origin of birds, p. 185–197. In Hecht, M. K., Ostrom, J. H., Viohl, G., and Wellnhofer, P. (eds.), The Beginnings of Birds. Proceedings of the International Archaeopteryx Conference, Eichstatt, 1984.Google Scholar
Gilmore, C. 1936. Osteology of Apatosaurus with special reference to specimens in the Carnegie Museum. Carnegie Museum, Memoir, 11:175–300.Google Scholar
Hopson, J. 1984. Late Triassic traversodont cynodonts from Nova Scotia and southern Africa. Palaeontologia africana, 25:181–201.Google Scholar
Huene, F. von. 1908. Die Dinosaurier der europaischen Triasformation mit Berucksichtigung der aussereuropaischen Vorkommnisse. Geologische und Palaeontologische Abhandlungen, Supplement-Band 1:1–419.Google Scholar
Huene, F. von. 1926. Vollstandige Osteologie eines Plateosauriden aus dem Schwabischen Keuper. Geologische und Palaeontologische Abhandlungen, Neue Folge, 15:139–180.Google Scholar
Huene, F. von. 1934. Eine neue Coelurosaurier in der thuringischen Trias. Palaeontologische Zeitschrift, 16:145–170.Google Scholar
Novas, F. E. 1985. Tibia y astrágalo de los Herrerasauridae (Saurischia incertae sedis). II Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontologia de Vertebrados Tucumán, Mayo 1985, Resúmenes, p. 14.Google Scholar
Padian, K. 1983. A functional analysis of flying and walking in pterosaurs. Paleobiology, 9:218–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Padian, K. 1984. The origin of pterosaurs, p. 163–168. In Reif, W. E. and Westphal, F. (eds.), Third Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems. Tubingen.Google Scholar
Padian, K. 1986. On the type material of Coelophysis Cope (Saurischia: Theropoda) and a new specimen from the Petrified Forest of Arizona (Late Triassic: Chinle Formation), p. 45–60. In Padian, K. (ed.), The Beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Parrish, M. J. 1986. Locomotor adaptations in the hindlimb and pelvis of the Thecodontia. Hunteria, 1(2):1–35.Google Scholar
Parrish, M. J. 1987. The origin of crocodilian locomotion. Paleobiology, 13:396–414.Google Scholar
Parrish, M. J. 1988. Joints of the crocodile-reversed archosaurs. Scientific correspondence. Nature, 331:217.Google Scholar
Paul, G. 1984a. The archosaurs: a phylogenetic study, p. 175–180. In Reif, W. and Westphal, F. (eds.), Third Symposium on Terrestrial Ecosystems. Tubingen.Google Scholar
Paul, G. 1984b. The segnosaurian dinosaurs: relics of the prosauropod-ornithischian transition? Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 4:507–515.Google Scholar
Raath, M. 1969. A new coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Forest Sandstone of Rhodesia. Arnoldia, 4:1–25.Google Scholar
Raath, M. 1977. The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology. Unpubl. , Rhodes University, 233 p.Google Scholar
Reig, O. 1963. La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los “Estratos de Ischigualasto” (Mesotriásico superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (República Argentina). Ameghiniana, 3:3–20.Google Scholar
Russell, D. A. 1969. A new specimen of Stenonychosaurus from the Oldman Formation (Cretaceous) of Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 6:595–612.Google Scholar
Schaeffer, B. 1941. The morphological and functional evolution of the tarsus in the amphibians and reptiles. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 78:395–472.Google Scholar
Tarsitano, S. 1982a. The crocodilian tarsus and the evolution of the Archosauria. Neue Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie, Abhandlungen, 164:199–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarsitano, S. 1982b. The evolution of bipedality in dinosaurs. Neue Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie, Abhandlungen, 164:203–205.Google Scholar
Tarsitano, S. 1983. Stance and gait in the theropod dinosaurs, p. 133–136. In Kielan-Jaworowska, Z. and Osmolska, H. (eds.), Second International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems, Jadwisin, 1981. Acta Paleontologia Polonica, 28:1–2.Google Scholar
Thulborn, R. 1972. The post-cranial skeleton of the Triassic ornithischian dinosaur Fabrosaurus australis. Palaeontology, 15:29–60.Google Scholar
Thulborn, R. 1975. Dinosaur polyphyly and the classification of archosaurs and birds. Australian Journal of Zoology, 23:249–270.Google Scholar
Thulborn, R. 1980. The ankle joints of archosaurs. Alcheringa, 4:241–261.Google Scholar
Welles, S. P. 1983. Two centers of ossification in a theropod astragalus. Journal of Paleontology, 57:401.Google Scholar
Welles, S. P. 1984. Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda): osteology and comparisons. Paleontographica, 185:85–180.Google Scholar
Welles, S. P. and Long, R. 1974. The tarsus of theropod dinosaurs. Annals South African Museum, 64:191–218.Google Scholar
Wild, R. 1978. Die Flugsaurier (Reptilia, Pterosauria) aus der Oberen Trias von Cene bei Bergamo, Italien. Bollettino Societa Paleontologica Italiana, 17:176–256.Google Scholar