The hyposphene-hypantrum articulation is an accessory joint found in the vertebrae of several fossil reptiles of the group Archosauromorpha. It consists of a process on the backside of the vertebrae, the hyposphene, that fits in a depression in the front side of the next vertebrae, the hypantrum. Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations occur in the dorsal vertebrae and sometimes also in the posteriormost cervical and anteriormost caudal vertebrae.[1]
In most tetrapods including the human, the vertebrae are connected with each other only via the centrum and the zygapophysis joints. Additional joints like the hyposphene-hypantrum articulations, which add rigidity to the vertebral column, are found in several different reptile lineages; a known example are the zygosphene-zygantrum articulations found in snakes.[1]
Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations are found in several unrelated groups within the Archosauromorpha. They occur especially in large forms, for example in rauisuchids and in silesaurids[2] and – within the Dinosauria – in saurischians. They evolved to make the vertebral column more rigid and stable and probably had supported the gigantism in sauropod dinosaurs.[1][3]
Early Dinosauromorphs (early ancestors of dinosaurs) like Marasuchus, Lagosuchus and Euparkeria as well as ornithischian dinosaurs lack hyposphene-hypantrum articulations. Because these articulations are absent in both saurischian ancestors and all non-saurischian dinosaurs, they are considered a synapomorphy (a distinctive feature) of the Saurischia, as proposed by Gauthier (1986).[4] Hyposphene-hypantrum articulations are found in all the basal members of the Saurischia.[5] However, they became lost in several saurischian lineages. They were present in the derived and birdlike dromaeosauridRahonavis, but are lost in modern day's birds, probably due to their highly modified vertebrae.[4] Within the Sauropodomorpha, they were present in prosauropods and most sauropods, but became independently lost in two cretaceous sauropod lineages, the Titanosauria and the Rebbachisauridae.[1][3]
The hyposphene usually consists of a vertical ridge and is situated below the postzygapophysis, whereas the hypantrum is situated between the prezygapophysis. In sauropods, this joint is extremely variable.[1][3]
References
^ abcdeApesteguía, Sebastián (2005). "Evolution of the Hyposphene-Hypantrum Complex within Sauropoda". In Virginia Tidwell; Kenneth Carpenter (eds.). Thunder-Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press. ISBN978-0-253-34542-4.
^Piechowski, Rafal; Jerzy Dzik (2010). "The axial skeleton of Silesaurus opolensis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (4): 1127–1141. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.483547. S2CID86296113.
^ abcRauhut, Oliver W.M. (2003). The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. Special Papers in Palaeontology. Vol. 69. pp. 1–213. ISBN978-0-901702-79-1.
^ abGauthier, Jacques (1986). "Saurischian monophyly and the origin of birds". Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences. 8 (1): 16–17.