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قراءة كتاب Two New Pelycosaurs from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma

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Two New Pelycosaurs from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma

Two New Pelycosaurs from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
الصفحة رقم: 4

base, KU 11120.

Referred specimens.—Fragmentary ?left maxilla, having two teeth, KU 11121; fragmentary left dentary having two teeth, KU 11122.

Horizon and locality.—From the early Permian fissure deposits in the Arbuckle limestone of the Dolese Brothers Limestone Quarry, approximately 6 miles north of Fort Sill, in sec. 31, T. 4N, R. 11 W, Comanche County, Oklahoma.

Diagnosis.—Small; teeth thecodont, compressed laterally, recurved distally, and bearing anterior and posterior cutting edges; anterior serrations limited to recurved portions of teeth, posterior serrations extending nearly entire length of teeth; lateral compression of teeth more pronounced medially than laterally; bases of teeth expanded.

Description.—The type specimen is 16 mm. long. It bears five teeth that are implanted in a straight row. Empty sockets are present between the first and second teeth, and the third and fourth teeth. The first tooth is 3.0 mm. long, the middle two are each 2.5 mm. long, and the fourth tooth is 2.0 mm. long. The fifth tooth is broken off at its base.

The empty sockets are large. The mouth of each is circular and approximately 2.0 mm. in diameter. Both sockets are 1.25 mm. deep. The bases of the teeth are expanded to fill the sockets, although the blades of the teeth arise from only the lateral portions of the bases. The edge of the dentary rises above the bases of the teeth medially, thereby producing a small depression at the junction of each base with the dentary bone.

The lateral compression of the teeth is pronounced but asymmetrical, in that the lateral surface of each blade is more convex than the medial surface.

Figures 4-6.

The recurvature of the anterior cutting edges is much more severe than that of the posterior edges, but the recurvature of both is limited to the distal half of each tooth.

The serrations of the cutting edges are not visible to the naked eye and are limited on the anterior edges of the teeth to those portions of the blades that are recurved. The posterior serrations extend nearly to the junction of the blade of each tooth with its base. The serrations tend to be more nearly crenulate than cuspidate.

A portion of the lateral wall of the dentary surrounding the Meckelian canal is present. The external surface of the wall is gently convex and smooth, without sculpturing. The internal surfaces of the canal are unmarked either by muscle scars or foramina.

The fragment is a piece from the posterior portion of the dentary, since the decrease in height from the first tooth to the fourth is pronounced.

KU 11122, a fragment of the left dentary bearing two teeth, is 7.5 mm. long. The anterior tooth is 3.0 mm. long; the posterior tooth is 3.5 mm. long. The shape of the teeth and their implantation conform to the description of the type specimen. The lateral surface of the fragment is smooth and gently convex. What little is present of the surface bordering the Meckelian canal is unmarked.

The ?maxillary fragment bears two teeth which are 3.0 mm. long, and which conform in their characters to the type. The lateral, medial and ventral surfaces of the fragment have been sheared off, so that an exact identification of the bone is impossible. Presumably the fragment is too deep dorsoventrally to be a piece of the dentary, and no sign of the Meckelian canal is present.

Discussion.—The implantation, lateral compression, recurvature and cutting edges of the teeth borne by these fragments make clear their sphenacodontid nature. The characters of the fragments are too few to determine subfamilial affinities, however. That the fragments are the remains of adult animals can be only surmised from the

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