Extinct genus of tanystropheid reptiles
Luxisaurus (meaning "Luxi lizard") is anextinct genus oftanystropheidarchosauromorph reptile from theMiddle Triassic (Anisian)Guanling Formation of China. The genus contains asingle species,L. terrestris, known from an articulated partial skeleton.Luxisaurus is hypothesized to have lived a more terrestrial lifestyle than many other tanystropheids, which may have been aquatic.[1]
Discovery and naming
[edit]TheLuxisaurusholotype specimen,HFUT SML-21-08-001, was discovered in sediments of theGuanling Formation (Upper Member), dated to theAnisian age (Pelsonian substage) of the middleTriassic period, nearSuomeiluo inLuxi County,Yunnan Province, China. Thearticulated incomplete specimen consists of most of both forelimbs (missing theirproximal ends), most of both hindlimbs (missing part of the right femur),gastralia, elements of thepelvic girdle, part of the lastdorsal vertebra, twosacral vertebrae with sacral ribs, and several proximalcaudal vertebrae.[1]
In 2023, Lu & LiudescribedLuxisaurus terrestris as a new genus and species of tanystropheid archosauromorph based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name, "''Luxisaurus", combines a reference to thetype locality in Luxi County with theGreek "saurus", meaning "lizard". Thespecific name, "terrestris", references the hypothesizedterrestrial lifestyle ofLuxisaurus.[1]
Lu & Liu (2023) recoveredLuxisaurus as abasal tanystropheid member of the Archosauromorpha, as thesister taxon to all other tanystropheids besidesFuyuansaurus, which is the basalmost member of the clade. They further hypothesized that, since the basalmost members of the Tanystropheidae have been found in South China, the clade may have originated here before dispersing globally. The results of theirphylogenetic analyses are shown in thecladogram below:[1]
- ^abcdLu, Yu-Ting; Liu, Jun (2023-10-02). "A new tanystropheid (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the Middle Triassic of SW China and the biogeographical origin of Tanystropheidae".Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.21 (1).doi:10.1080/14772019.2023.2250778.ISSN 1477-2019.
