Megapnosaurus

''Megapnosaurus'' (meaning "big dead lizard", from Greek μεγα = "big", 'απνοος = "not breathing", "dead", σαυρος = "lizard") is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 188 million years ago during the early part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Africa. The species was a small to medium-sized, lightly built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore, that could grow up to long and weigh up to . It was originally given the genus name ''Syntarsus'', but that name was later determined to be preoccupied by a beetle. The species was subsequently given a new genus name, ''Megapnosaurus'', by Ivie, Ślipiński & Węgrzynowicz in 2001. Some studies have classified it as a species within the genus ''Coelophysis,'' but this interpretation has been challenged by more subsequent studies and the genus ''Megapnosaurus'' is now considered valid.

Discovery and history

The first fossils of ''Megapnosaurus'' were found in 1963 by a group of students from Northlea School on Southcote Farm in Nyamandhlovu, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). Michael A. Raath, the describer, was shown the fossils by school staff in 1964 and over several weeks, was excavated from the Forest Sandstone, the layers dating to the early Jurassic. The type specimen (QG 1) consisted of a well preserved postcranial skeleton, missing only the skull and cervical vertebrae.Raath, M. A. (1978). The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology. In another sandstone block, a few fossils of another specimen intermixed with the bones of a prosauropod, likely ''Massospondylus''. Later in 1968, Raath and D. F. Lovemore discovered additional Jurassic rock layers northeast of the type locality of Southcote Farm.Raath, M. A. (1978). The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology. These rock layers were then known as the Maura River Beds, but due to the strata bearing fossils of ''Massospondylus'', the beds were determined to be the same age as those of the Forest Sandstone.Raath, M. A. (1978). The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology. This second locality produced many articulated partial skeletons of ''Massospondylus'', but only fragmentary postcranial remains of ''Megapnosaurus''.Raath, M. A. (1978). The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology. Raath would name ''Megapnosaurus'' in 1969, dubbing it ''Syntarsus rhodesiensis'', after the fused tarsal bones in its foot.

Still in search of complete ''Megapnosaurus'' skeletons, Raath continued searching in the Jurassic rocks of Zimbabwe until finding what would become the most productive ''Megapnosaurus''-bearing locality near the Chitake River in 1972.Raath, M. A. (1978). The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology. The quarry contained hundreds of bones of at least 26 individuals from many growth stages, making it one of the most productive quarries for African Theropods. The quarry contained several skulls and cervical vertebrae, elements missing in previously collected specimens, and some specimens even preserved gastralia, sexual dimorphism, and gut contents.Raath, M. A. (1978). The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology. The fossils were described in detail by Raath in his thesis in 1977, including skeletal and musculoskeletal reconstructions of ''Megapnosaurus''. All specimens collected from Southcote, Maura River, and Chitake River now reside at the Queen Victoria Museum.Raath, M. A. (1978). The anatomy of the Triassic theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a consideration of its biology.

Possible & reclassified ''Megapnosaurus'' remains

In 1989, a second species of "''Syntarsus"'' was proposed as ''Syntarsus kayentakatae'', a description by Timothy Rowe of a well preserved skull and partial remains of postcranial skeleton.Rowe, T. (1989). A new species of the theropod dinosaur Syntarsus from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'', ''9''(2), 125-136. The fossils came from the early Jurassic strata of the Kayenta Formation in Arizona, USA. The phylogenetic position of "''Syntarsus" kayentakatae'' is debated, with a position in ''Megapnosaurus'',Rowe, T. (1989). A new species of the theropod dinosaur Syntarsus from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'', ''9''(2), 125-136. ''Coelophysis'', or a making a new genus being proposed.

The next year Darlington Munyikwa and Raath described a partial snout of ''Megapnosaurus'' from the Elliot Formation in South Africa, but the material has been referred to ''Dracovenator''. A “''Syntarsus”'' specimen was discovered in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and consisted of several postcranial elements. The specimen have now been referred to a new genus and species, '' Pendraig milnerae'' in 2021. A partial coelophysoid sacrum and several additional elements from the Early Jurassic of Mexico were described as a new species of "''Syntarsus''", ''"Syntarsus"'' "mexicanum", in 2004. The remains were not given proper description in their naming and are likely from an indeterminate coelophysoid. The referral of fragmentary coelophysid fossils from the Lufeng Formation of southern China extended the possible range to Asia.

Description

''Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis'' measured up to long from nose to tail and weighed up to . It was a lean, elongated species of theropod dinosaur with an S-shaped neck, long hind limbs that resembled the legs of large birds such as the secretarybird, shorter forelimbs with four digits on each hand unlike most later theropods, and a long tail. While still lean, it sported a more robust frame than other members of Coelophysoidea. Its lithe and superifically bird-like body lead to ''M. rhodesiensis'' being one of the first dinosaurs to be portrayed with feathers, though there is no direct evidence that it actually had feathers.

The bones of at least 30 ''M. rhodesiensis'' individuals were found together in a fossil bed in Zimbabwe, so paleontologists think it may have hunted in packs. The various fossils attributed to this species have been dated over a relatively large time span – the Hettangian, Sinemurian, and Pliensbachian stages of the Early Jurassic – meaning the fossils represent either a highly successful genus or a few closely related animals all currently assigned to ''Coelophysis''.

Specimen UCMP V128659 was discovered in 1982 and referred to ''Megapnosaurus kayentakatae'' by Rowe (1989), as a subadult gracile individual and later, Tykoski (1998) agreed. Gay (2010) described the specimen as the new tetanurine taxon '' Kayentavenator elysiae'', but Mortimer (2010) pointed out that there was no published evidence that ''Kayentavenator'' is the same taxon as ''M. kayentakatae''.

Classification

The cladogram below was recovered in a study by Ezcurra ''et al''. (2021).

''"Syntarsus" rhodesiensis'' was first described by Raath (1969) and assigned to Podokesauridae.Raath, (1969). "A new Coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Forest Sandstone of Rhodesia." Arnoldia Rhodesia. 4 (28): 1-25. The taxon "Podokesauridae", was abandoned since its type specimen was destroyed in a fire and can no longer be compared to new finds. Over the years paleontologists assigned this genus to Ceratosauridae (Welles, 1984), Procompsognathidae (Parrish and Carpenter, 1986) and Ceratosauria (Gauthier, 1986). Most recently, it has been assigned to Coelophysidae by Tykoski and Rowe (2004), Ezcurra and Novas (2007) and Ezcurra (2007), which is the current scientific consensus.Tykoski, R. S. and Rowe, T., 2004, Ceratosauria, Chapter Three: In: The Dinosauria, Second Edition, edited by Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., and Osmolska, H., California University Press, p. 47-70.

According to Tykoski and Rowe (2004) ''Coelophysis rhodesiensis'' can be distinguished based on the following characteristics: it differs from ''Coelophysis bauri'' in the pit at the base of the nasal process of the premaxilla; it differs from ''C.? kayentakatae'' because the promaxillary fenestra is absent and the nasal crests are absent; the frontal bones on the skull are not separated by a midline anterior extension of the parietal bones; the anterior astragalar surface is flat; metacarpal I has a reduced distal medial condyle (noted by Ezcurra, 2006); the anterior margin of antorbital fossa is blunt and squared (noted by Carrano ''et al''., 2012); the base of lacrimal vertical ramus width is less than 30% its height (noted by Carrano ''et al''., 2012); the maxillary and dentary tooth rows end posteriorly at the anterior rim of the lacrimal bone (noted by Carrano ''et al''., 2012)

Marsh and Rowe (2020) retain the generic name ''Syntarsus'' for both QG 1 and MNA V2623, and the respective specimens assigned to these taxa, as opposed to ''Coelophysis'' or ''Megapnosaurus'', due to systematic relationships within Coelophysoidea in flux. As such, congenericity or the need for ''Megapnosaurus'' would not be supported if ''Coelophysis bauri'', ''Syntarsus rhodesiensis'', and ''Syntarsus kayentakatae'' do not form respective clades, as evidenced by their phylogenetic analyses.

Ezcurra ''et al''. (2021) found ''Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis'' to have been quite distant from both ''Coelophysis bauri'' (currently the only undisputed species in genus ''Coelophysis'') and "Syntarsus" ''kayentakatae'' (not currently classified in a valid genus). In this analysis, the closest relatives of ''M. rhodesiensis'' are ''Camposaurus'', '' Segisaurus'' and ''Lucianovenator''. Similar results were found in analyses years before, supporting this position.

Paleoecology

Provenance and occurrence

The holotype of ''M. rhodesiensis'' (QG1) has been recovered in Upper Elliot Formation in South Africa, as well as the Chitake River bonebed quarry at the Forest Sandstone Formation in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe). In South Africa, several individuals were collected in 1985 from mudstone deposited during the Hettangian stage of the Jurassic period, approximately 201 to 199 million years ago. In Zimbabwe, twenty-six individuals were collected in 1963, 1968 and 1972 from yellow sandstone deposited during the Hettangian stage of the Jurassic period, approximately 201 to 199 million years ago.

Fauna and habitat

The Upper Elliot Formation is thought to have been an ancient floodplain. Fossils of the prosauropod dinosaur ''Massospondylus'' and '' Ignavusaurus'' have been recovered from the Upper Elliot Formation, which boasts the world's most diverse fauna of early Jurassic ornithischian dinosaurs, including ''Abrictosaurus'', ''Fabrosaurus'', ''Heterodontosaurus'', and ''Lesothosaurus'', among others. The Forest Sandstone Formation was the paleoenvironment of protosuchid crocodiles, sphenodonts, the dinosaur ''Massospondylus'' and indeterminate remains of a prosauropod. Paul (1988) argued that members of the species lived among desert dunes and oases and hunted juvenile and adult prosauropods.Paul, G. S., 1988, Predatory Dinosaurs of the World, a complete Illustrated guide: New York Academy of sciences book, 464pp.

Paleobiology

Growth

Age determination studies using growth ring counts suggest that the longevity of ''M. rhodesiensis'' was approximately seven years. Recent research has found that ''M. rhodesiensis'' had highly variable growth between individuals, with some specimens being larger in their immature phase than smaller adults were when completely mature; this indicates that the supposed presence of distinct morphs is simply the result of individual variation. This highly variable growth was likely ancestral to dinosaurs but later lost, and may have given such early dinosaurs an evolutionary advantage in surviving harsh environmental challenges.

Feeding and diet

The supposed "weak joint" in the jaw, led to the early hypothesis that dinosaurs such as these were scavengers, as the front teeth and bone structure of the jaw were thought to be too weak to take down and hold struggling prey. ''M. rhodesiensis'' was one of the first dinosaurs to be portrayed with feathers, though there is no direct evidence that it actually had feathers. Paul (1988) suggested that members of the species may have hunted in packs, preying upon "prosauropods" (basal sauropodomorphs) and early lizards.

Comparisons between the scleral rings of ''M. rhodesiensis'' and modern birds and non-avian reptiles indicate that it may have been nocturnal.

Paleopathology

In ''M. rhodesiensis'', healed fractures of the tibia and metatarsus have been observed, but are very rare. " e supporting butresses of the second sacral rib" in one specimen of ''Syntarsus rhodesiensis'' showed signs of fluctuating asymmetry. Fluctuating asymmetry results from developmental disturbances and is more common in populations under stress and can therefore be informative about the quality of conditions a dinosaur lived under.Molnar, R. E., 2001, Theropod paleopathology: a literature survey: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, p. 337-363.

Ichnology

Dinosaur footprints that were later attributed to ''M. rhodesiensis'' were discovered in Rhodesia in 1915. These tracks were discovered at the Nyamandhlovu Sandstones Formation, in eolian red sandstone that was deposited in the Late Triassic, approximately 235 to 201 million years ago.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q277277, from2=Q15930907

Coelophysoids
Hettangian life
Pliensbachian life
Sinemurian life
Early Jurassic dinosaurs of Africa
Jurassic South Africa
Fossils of South Africa
Fossil taxa described in 1969