A new species of cyclotosaurid amphibian, Eocyclotosaurus appetolatus, is based on excellent, three-dimensionally preserved material from New Mexico Museum of Natural History locality 5193 in the Middle Triassic (Perovkan) Anton Chico Member of the Moenkopi Formation near Tecolotito, New Mexico, U.S.A. The locality is a monodominant bonebed, with E. appetolatus representing the vast majority of the fossil material. E. appetolatus shares a long, narrow snout and slightly concave lateral skull margin with other members of the genus, but differs from all others in that the skull is relatively narrower at its widest point and the orbits are larger, more elliptical, and placed more anteriorly. The snout is relatively broader and more robust, the choana shorter and more rounded, and the palatal tusks are proportionately larger than in other species. Premaxillary apertures, larger than those of E. woschmidti, penetrate the skull roof anterior to and separate from the external nares. E. appetolatus forms the sister taxon of the more gracile E. wellesi from Arizona, with which it shares the wide separation of postorbital and prefrontal. The size range of material from the locality is represented by skulls 227–472 mm in midline length. Preliminary allometric study indicates that the preorbital snout grows relatively longer and the orbits migrate posteriorly throughout ontogeny. The snout is relatively slender in young animals and grows wider and more robust throughout life. Application of beam mechanics shows mediolateral strengthening of the anterior teeth, which probably implies a preference for side-strike prey capture.
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1 May 2015
Eocyclotosaurus appetolatus, a New Cyclotosaurid Amphibian from the Middle Triassic (Perovkan) Moenkopi Formation of New Mexico, U.S.A.
Larry F. Rinehart,
Spencer G. Lucas,
Rainer R. Schoch
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Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Vol. 35 • No. 3
May 2015
Vol. 35 • No. 3
May 2015