A temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotion

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dc.contributor.authorMarsicano, Claudia Aen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWilson, Jeffrey Aen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Roger M Hen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-18T07:08:17Z
dc.date.available2015-11-18T07:08:17Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Temnospondyls are one of the earliest radiations of limbed vertebrates. Skeletal remains of more than 190 genera have been identified from late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic rocks. Paleozoic temnospondyls comprise mainly small to medium sized forms of diverse habits ranging from fully aquatic to fully terrestrial. Accordingly, their ichnological record includes tracks described from many Laurasian localities. Mesozoic temnospondyls, in contrast, include mostly medium to large aquatic or semi-aquatic forms. Exceedingly few fossil tracks or trackways have been attributed to Mesozoic temnospondyls, and as a consequence very little is known of their locomotor capabilities on land. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report a ca. 200 Ma trackway, Episcopopus ventrosus , from Lesotho, southern Africa that was made by a 3.5 m-long animal. This relatively long trackway records the trackmaker dragging its body along a wet substrate using only the tips of its digits, which in the manus left characteristic drag marks. Based on detailed mapping, casting, and laser scanning of the best-preserved part of the trackway, we identified synapomorphies (e.g., tetradactyl manus, pentadactyl pes) and symplesiomorphies (e.g., absence of claws) in the Episcopopus trackway that indicate a temnospondyl trackmaker. Conclusions/Significance Our analysis shows that the Episcopopus trackmaker progressed with a sprawling posture, using a lateral-sequence walk. Its forelimbs were the major propulsive elements and there was little lateral bending of the trunk. We suggest this locomotor style, which differs dramatically from the hindlimb-driven locomotion of salamanders and other extant terrestrial tetrapods can be explained by the forwardly shifted center of mass resulting from the relatively large heads and heavily pectoral girdles of temnospondyls.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMarsicano, C. A., Wilson, J. A., & Smith, R. M. H. (2014). A temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotion. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15131en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMarsicano, Claudia A, Jeffrey A Wilson, and Roger M H Smith "A temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotion." <i>PLoS One</i> (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15131en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMarsicano, C. A., Wilson, J. A., & Smith, R. M. (2013). A temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotion. PloS one, 9(8), e103255. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103255en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Marsicano, Claudia A AU - Wilson, Jeffrey A AU - Smith, Roger M H AB - BACKGROUND: Temnospondyls are one of the earliest radiations of limbed vertebrates. Skeletal remains of more than 190 genera have been identified from late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic rocks. Paleozoic temnospondyls comprise mainly small to medium sized forms of diverse habits ranging from fully aquatic to fully terrestrial. Accordingly, their ichnological record includes tracks described from many Laurasian localities. Mesozoic temnospondyls, in contrast, include mostly medium to large aquatic or semi-aquatic forms. Exceedingly few fossil tracks or trackways have been attributed to Mesozoic temnospondyls, and as a consequence very little is known of their locomotor capabilities on land. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report a ca. 200 Ma trackway, Episcopopus ventrosus , from Lesotho, southern Africa that was made by a 3.5 m-long animal. This relatively long trackway records the trackmaker dragging its body along a wet substrate using only the tips of its digits, which in the manus left characteristic drag marks. Based on detailed mapping, casting, and laser scanning of the best-preserved part of the trackway, we identified synapomorphies (e.g., tetradactyl manus, pentadactyl pes) and symplesiomorphies (e.g., absence of claws) in the Episcopopus trackway that indicate a temnospondyl trackmaker. Conclusions/Significance Our analysis shows that the Episcopopus trackmaker progressed with a sprawling posture, using a lateral-sequence walk. Its forelimbs were the major propulsive elements and there was little lateral bending of the trunk. We suggest this locomotor style, which differs dramatically from the hindlimb-driven locomotion of salamanders and other extant terrestrial tetrapods can be explained by the forwardly shifted center of mass resulting from the relatively large heads and heavily pectoral girdles of temnospondyls. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0103255 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - A temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotion TI - A temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotion UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15131 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15131
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0103255
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMarsicano CA, Wilson JA, Smith RMH. A temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotion. PLoS One. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15131.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Geological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2014 Marsicano et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBiological locomotionen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSalamandersen_ZA
dc.subject.otherMesozoic eraen_ZA
dc.subject.otherTailsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAmphibiansen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPaleozoic eraen_ZA
dc.subject.otherFossilsen_ZA
dc.titleA temnospondyl trackway from the early mesozoic of Western gondwana and its implications for Basal tetrapod locomotionen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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