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Palaeospheniscus patagonicus

Reptilia

Taxonomy
Palaeospheniscus patagonicus was named by Moreno and Mercerat (1891). Its type specimen is Museo de La Plata, a set of limb elements (humerus, radius, femur, tibia, tarsometatarsus), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Cerro del Castillo, Trelew, which is in an Aquitanian/Burdigalian shallow subtidal sandstone in the Gaiman Formation of Argentina.

It was recombined as Paraptenodytes patagonicus by Acosta Hospitaleche (2005).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1891Palaeospheniscus menzbieri Ameghino p. 447
1891Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Ameghino p. 447
1891Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Moreno and Mercerat p. 16 figs. Plate I, Fig. 7-9, 12-13, 15-16, 21, 25, 27, Plate II, Fig. 5
1891Palaeospheniscus menzbieri Moreno and Mercerat p. 17 figs. Plate I, Fig. 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 17, 22, 24: Plate II, Fig. 6
1891Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Moreno and Mercerat p. 33
1905Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Ameghino p. 99
1905Palaeospheniscus menzbieri Ameghino p. 103
1905Palaeospheniscus interruptus Ameghino p. 104 figs. Plate 1, Fig. 4
1905Palaeospheniscus intermedius Ameghino p. 113 figs. Plate 2, Fig. 10a
1905Palaeospheniscus affinis Ameghino p. 114 figs. Plate 2, Fig. 11a
1933Palaeospheniscus menzbieri Lambrecht p. 226
1933Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Lambrecht p. 226
1933Palaeospheniscus intermedius Lambrecht p. 227
1933Palaeospheniscus interruptus Lambrecht p. 227
1933Palaeospheniscus affinis Lambrecht p. 228
1946Palaeospheniscus affinis Simpson p. 27
1946Palaeospheniscus intermedius Simpson p. 27
1946Palaeospheniscus interruptus Simpson p. 27
1946Palaeospheniscus menzbieri Simpson p. 27
1946Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Simpson p. 28
1963Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Brodkorb p. 236
1963Palaeospheniscus menzbieri Brodkorb p. 237
1972Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Simpson p. 7
2005Paraptenodytes patagonicus Acosta Hospitaleche p. 407
2007Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Acosta Hospitaleche
2008Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Acosta Hospitaleche et al. p. 568 figs. Figure 3-4
2008Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi p. 117
2023Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Tambussi et al. p. 273

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
RankNameAuthor
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Theropoda()
—Neotheropoda
—AverostraPaul 2002
—Tetanurae
—Coelurosauria()
—Maniraptora
—Paraves
classAves
subclassNeornithesGadow 1893
—Aequornithes
—Feraequornithes
superorderProcellariimorphae
—Sphenisciformes(Sharpe 1891)
subfamilyPalaeospheniscinae
genusPalaeospheniscus
speciespatagonicus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Moreno and Mercerat 1891
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Invalid names: Palaeospheniscus affinis Ameghino 1905 [synonym], Palaeospheniscus intermedius Ameghino 1905 [synonym], Palaeospheniscus interruptus Ameghino 1905 [synonym], Palaeospheniscus menzbieri Moreno and Mercerat 1891 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
C. Acosta Hospitaleche and C. Tambussi 2008Tarsometatarsus. Intermediate in robustness and size between P. bergi and P. biloculata, with a total length between 38 and 40 mm. Development of the hypotarsus just larger than in P. bergi.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Entire body: yeso
Adult length: 10 to < 100o
Adult width: 1.0 to < 10o
Adult height: 1.0 to < 10o
Architecture: compact or denseo
Ontogeny: accretion, modification of partso
Grouping: solitaryo
Environment: marineo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: ground dwellingo
Diet: carnivoresubo
Reproduction: oviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalo
Dispersal 2: mobileo
Created: 2017-04-17 10:40:01
Modified: 2017-04-17 10:40:01
Source: subo = suborder, o = order
References: Bush and Bambach 2015, Marsh 1875, Benton 1983

Age range: base of the Aquitanian to the top of the Burdigalian or 23.03000 to 15.97000 Ma

Collections (3 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Aquitanian - Burdigalian23.03 - 15.97Argentina (Chubut) Palaeospheniscus affinis, Palaeospheniscus menzbieri, Palaeospheniscus interruptus, Palaeospheniscus patagonicus (type locality: 47303)
Early/Lower Miocene23.03 - 15.97Argentina Palaeospheniscus intermedius (74645)
Early/Lower Miocene23.03 - 15.97Argentina (Chubut) Palaeospheniscus patagonicus (80914)