Clepsysaurus

Clepsysaurus is a dubious genus of extinct archosaur described by Isaac Lea in 1851[1] from remains discovered in the Carnian[2] Passaic Formation of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.[1] Two species are known: C. pennsylvanicus (the type species)[1] and C. veatleianus.[3] The holotype of C. pennsylvanicus, ANSP 9526, 9555-71, 9594-5, consists of teeth, ribs and vertebrae,[4] while the holotype of C. veatleianus, AMNH 2331, consists of a single tooth, with AMNH 2330, a tooth, as a referred specimen.[3] Other specimens of C. pennsylvanicus are known, including ANSP 15071 (a left anterior dentary with 23 teeth, a right dentary with 30 teeth and a portion of the right temporal region) and AMNH 2337 (a single tooth).[5]

Clepsysaurus
Temporal range: Late Triassic, 219–201.7 Ma
Holotype tooth (AMNH 2331) of C. veatleianus seen from two different angles
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Sauropsida
(unranked):
Archosauria
Genus:
†Clepsysaurus

Lea, 1851
Type species
†Clepsysaurus pennsylvanicus
Lea, 1851
Other species
  • †C. veatleianus Cope, 1877
Synonyms

Clepsysaurus was traditionally classed as a sauropodomorph,[3][4] but more recent studies indicate that it was either a dubious basal archosaur[6] or a member of the Phytosauria.[7] Clepsysaurus was eventually seen as a synonym of either the dubious archosaur Palaeosaurus or the sauropodomorph Anchisaurus, but Clepsysaurus was eventually resurrected as a valid, but dubious, genus.[4][7][8]

  • AMNH 2330, a tooth referred to C. veatleianus
  • C. pennsylvanicus tooth AMNH 3227 seen from two different angles

References
  1. Lea, I. (1851). "Remarks on Clepsysaurus pennsylvanicus". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 18 (205).
  2. Berg, T.M.; et al. (1983). "Stratigraphic Correlation Chart of Pennsylvania: G75". Pennsylvania Geologic Survey, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
  3. Cope, E. D. (1877). "Descriptions of extinct Vertebrata from the Permian and Triassic formations of the United States". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 17 (100): 182–193. JSTOR 982295.
  4. Spamer, Earle E.; Daeschler, Edward; Vostreys-Shapiro, L. Gay (1995). A Study of Fossil Vertebrate Types in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia: Taxonomic, Systematic, and Historical Perspectives. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. ISBN 978-0-910006-51-4.
  5. von Huene, F. (1921). "Reptilian and stegocephalian remains from the Triassic of Pennsylvania in the Cope Collection". Bulletin of the AMNH. 44. article 19.
  6. Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Desojo, Julia B.; Irmis, Randall B. (2013). "Anatomy, phylogeny and palaeobiology of early archosaurs and their kin". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 379 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1144/sp379.21. ISSN 0305-8719. S2CID 85154302.
  7. Stocker, M. R.; Butler, R. J. (2013). "Phytosauria". In Nesitt, S. J.; Desojo, J. B.; Irmis, R. B. (eds.). Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and their Kin. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. p. 379.
  8. "Clepsysaurus". Paleofile. Retrieved 2 November 2020.


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