Wumengosaurus

Wumengosaurus Temporal range: Anisian, 247.2–242 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Clade:	†Eosauropterygia
Genus:	†Wumengosaurus Jiang et al., 2008
Type species
†Wumengosaurus delicatomandibularis Jiang et al., 2008
Other species
†W. rotundicarpus Qin et al. 2021

Wumengosaurus is an extinct aquatic reptile from the Middle Triassic (late Anisian stage) Guanling Formation of Guizhou, southwestern China. It was originally described as a basal eosauropterygian and usually is recovered as such by phylogenetic analyses,^[1][2][3] although one phylogeny has placed it as the sister taxon to Ichthyosauromorpha while refraining from a formal re-positioning.^[4] It was a relatively small reptile, measuring 95.5–130.5 cm (3.13–4.28 ft) in total body length.^[1]

In 2021, Qin et al. described an additional specimen from Guizhou (Panzhou District) as a new species of Wumengosaurus, W. rotundicarpus.^[5]

Classification

In the 2023 description of Luopingosaurus, Xu et al. recovered Wumengosaurus as a derived pachypleurosaurid, as the sister taxon to the clade formed by Luopingosaurus and Honghesaurus. The results of their phylogenetic analyses are shown in the cladogram below:^[6]

Sauropterygia	Placodontia Hanosaurus Eosauropterygia Pachypleurosauroidea Majiashanosaurus Diandongosaurus Dianmeisaurus Dawazisaurus Panzhousaurus Keichousauridae Dianopachysaurus Keichousaurus Pachypleurosauridae Dactylosaurus Anarosaurus Odoiporosaurus Serpianosaurus Neusticosaurus Prosantosaurus Qianxisaurus Wumengosaurus Luopingosaurus Honghesaurus Eusauropterygia Nothosauroidea Pistosauroidea

References

1. Jiang, Da-Yong; Rieppel, Olivier; Motani, Ryosuke; Hao, Wei-Cheng; Sun, Yuan-Lin; Schmitz, Lars; Sun, Zuo-Yu (2008). "A New Middle Triassic Eosauropterygian (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from Southwestern China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (4): 1055–1062. Bibcode:2008JVPal..28.1055J. doi:10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.1055. S2CID 83909484.
2. Cheng, Y. N.; Wu, X. C.; Sato, T.; Shan, H. Y. (2012). "A new eosauropterygian (Diapsida, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic of China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (6): 1335. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32.1335C. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.695983. S2CID 85253142.
3. Da-Yong Jiang; Ryosuke Motani; Andrea Tintori; Olivier Rieppel; Guan-Bao Chen; Jian-Dong Huang; Rong Zhang; Zuo-Yu Sun & Cheng Ji (2014). "The Early Triassic eosauropterygian Majiashanosaurus discocoracoidis, gen. et sp. nov. (Reptilia, Sauropterygia), from Chaohu, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (5): 1044–1052. Bibcode:2014JVPal..34.1044J. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.846264. S2CID 129828376.
4. Chen, Xiao-hong; Motani, Ryosuke; Long, Chen; Jiang, Da-Yong; Rieppel, Olivier (2014). "The enigmatic marine reptile Nanchangosaurus from the Lower Triassic of Hubei, China and the phylogenetic affinities of Hupehsuchia". PLOS ONE. 9 (7): e102361. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j2361C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102361. PMC 4094528. PMID 25014493.
5. Qin, Yanjiao; He, Xiao; Luo, Yongming; Hu, Xinrui; Jiang, Liangbing; Deng, Xiaojie; Shi, Zhenhua; Ran, Weiyu (2021). "A New Species of Wumengosaurus from Panxian Fauna in Middle Triassic of Guizhou Province". Guizhou Geology (in Literary Chinese). 38 (4): 373–381. ISSN 1000-5943.
6. Xu, G.-H.; Shang, Q.-H.; Wang, W.; Ren, Y.; Lei, H.; Liao, J.-L.; Zhao, L.-J.; Li, C. (2023). "A new long-snouted marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of China illuminates pachypleurosauroid evolution". Scientific Reports. 13 (1). 16. Bibcode:2023NatSR..13...16X. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-24930-y. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 9816097. PMID 36604433.