Jozef Klembara

Comenius University Bratislava · Department of Ecology

Ophisaurus (Anguidae) was widely distributed throughout the Miocene of Europe, but quite rarely occurred in the Pliocene, and almost absent in the Pliocene of Eastern Europe. Here we describe two new remains of Ophisaurus from the Moldavian Faunal Complex of the Early Pliocene of Moldova. Both records are represented by parietal bones and are assig...

Presented for the first time is a reconstruction of the skull of Diadectes (Diadectomorpha) based on several specimens of a single species Diadectes absitus from the early Permian of central Germany. Since its first discovery at the end of the 19th century the only reconstructions of the skull of Diadectes were without specific designation, despite...

We present a detailed anatomy of the pectoral girdles, pelvic girdles, and hindlimbs of adult and juvenile specimens of Pseudopus apodus (Pallas, 1775). We compared the individual bones of the appendicular skeleton of P. apodus with those of Anguis fragilis and species of Ophisaurus living in North America, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. We foun...

Background In vertebrates, the skull evolves from a complex network of dermal bones and cartilage – the latter forming the pharyngeal apparatus and the chondrocranium. Squamates are particularly important in this regard as they maintain at least part of the chondrocranium throughout their whole ontogeny until adulthood. Anguid lizards represent a u...

The braincase anatomy of the Pennsylvanian diadectomorph Limnoscelis dynatis is described in detail, based upon high-resolution X-ray microcomputed tomography. Both supraoccipitals and most of the prootics and opisthotics are preserved. The known portions of the left prootic, opisthotic, and supraoccipital enclose complete sections of the endosseou...

A long-forgotten, old collection of lizards from the Phosphorites du Quercy in southern France, housed in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna (NHMW), is described in detail in this paper. The material, consisting of several almost complete cranial and postcranial disarticulated elements, originates from different, imprecisely known localities. N...

The production of blood cells (haematopoiesis) occurs in the limb bones of most tetrapods but is absent in the fin bones of ray-finned fish. When did long bones start producing blood cells? Recent hypotheses suggested that haematopoiesis migrated into long bones prior to the water-to-land transition and protected newly-produced blood cells from har...

The anguine species Ophisaurus acuminatus Jörg, 1965 is known on the basis of only one specimen consisting of skull bones and osteoderms from the late Miocene (MN 9) Höwenegg/Hegau locality in Germany. Since its first description, several other new species of Ophisaurus Daudin, 1803 have been described from various Miocene localities in Europe. The...

Tetrapod life on land was the result of a lengthy process, the final steps of which resulted in full independence of amniotic tetrapods from the aquatic environment. Developmental strategies, including growth rate and the attainment of sexual maturity, played a major role in this transition. Early amniotes, such as Ophiacodon, tended to reach sexua...

A detailed anatomy of the braincase and stapes of the subadult specimen of Diadectes absitus from early Permian sediments of Germany are described for the first time based on the high‐resolution X‐ray microcomputed tomography. In contrast to previous studies of Diadectes, the bones of the braincase (opisthotic, prootic, supraoccipital, basioccipita...

The first record of the seymouriamorph stem amniote Discosauriscus from the Krkonoše Piedmont Basin (the Czech Republic) is described. The specimen is identified as D. pulcherrimus on the basis of the following features which are absent in D. austriacus: 1) the pointed tip of the ventrolateral process of the postorbital lies anteriorly to the tip o...

The origin of amniotes was a key event in vertebrate evolution, enabling tetrapods to break their ties with water and invade terrestrial environments. Two pivotal clades of early tetrapods, the diadectomorphs and the seymouriamorphs, have played an unsurpassed role in debates about the ancestry of amniotes for over a century, but their skeletal mor...

The paper reports on the first detailed vertebral and rib morphology of anguine taxon Pseudopus apodus using micro‐computed tomography. A comparison shows significant morphological differences of vertebrae of Pseudopus relative to those of Anguis and Ophisaurus. Usually, there are 55 presacral vertebrae, two sacral and 95–97 caudal vertebrae. Pseud...

We describe four newly discovered and three-dimensionally preserved specimens of the discosauriscid seymouriamorph Discosauriscus pulcherrimus from the Lower Permian lacustrine sediments of the Boskovice Basin (Czech Republic). Their excellent preservation revealed new cranial features that allowed us to present a new skull reconstruction of middle...

The first fossil anguine material from the lower Miocene (MN 2) locality Ulm – Westtangente in Germany is described. The parietal and compound bone of the lower jaw can be attributed to Ophisaurus holeci, previously known only from younger age (MN 3–MN 7). Moreover, the parietal represents the largest parietal of this species. In other disarticulat...

Skeletal remains of a new early Miocene (Ottnangian, MN 4 mammal zone) monitor lizard, Varanus mokrensis sp. nov., are described from two karst fissures in the Mokrá-Western Quarry (1/2001 Turtle Joint; 2/2003 Reptile Joint), Czech Republic, providing the first documented example of a European varanid for which osteological data permit a well-support...

Skeletal remains of a new early Miocene (Ottnangian, MN 4 mammal zone) monitor lizard, Varanus mokrensis sp. nov., are described from two karst fissures in the Mokrá-Western Quarry (1/2001 Turtle Joint; 2/2003 Reptile Joint), Czech Republic, providing the first documented example of a European varanid for which osteological data permit a well-suppo...

We describe the first partially articulated specimen of Ophisaurus (Anguimorpha, Anguinae) from the middle Miocene (MN 7) locality Öhningen, in Germany. This is the first time that the preservation of a specimen of Ophisaurus allows cranial and postcranial elements to be allocated to the same species. High-resolution X-ray computed tomography revea...

Fossil anguine lizard specimens from several Turkish localities are described in this paper. The material comes from ten different localities, spanning a large geographic area consisting of both parts of the European Turkey and Anatolia, and ranging in age from the Oligocene to the Late Miocene. In certain cases, the generic determination was possi...

Pseudopus apodus (Pallas, 1775) is the largest extant legless species of the subfamily Anguinae (Anguimorpha, Anguidae) living mostly in the sub-arid territories ranging from the Balkan area in Europe to Kazakhstan in Asia. The species of other two genera live in North America, South-East Asia and North Africa (Ophisaurus) and Europe and South-West...

Citation for this article: Vasilyan, D., M. Böhme, and J. Klembara. 2016. First record of fossil Ophisaurus (Anguimorpha, Anguidae) from Asia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1219739.

With respect to its large size and abundance, Eryops is an important representative of Permo-Carboniferous basal tetrapods and one of the best-known large temnospondyl amphibians of this period. This taxon forms a significant component of the Early Permian tetrapod fauna of Texas and New Mexico and here we described a new record of skull remains, t...

There have been only a few studies on squamates from the late Oligocene of Europe, resulting in significant gaps in our knowledge of the reptile faunas from the latest Paleogene. Here, we report on new late Oligocene fossil material from two German localities, Herrlingen 11 (MP 28) and Herrlingen 9 (MP 29). The material can be assigned to the follo...

With respect to its large size and abundance, Eryops is an important representative of Permo-Carboniferous basal tetrapods and one of the best-known large temnospondyl amphibians of this period. This taxon forms a significant component of the Early Permian tetrapod fauna of Texas and New Mexico and here we describe a new record of skull remains, th...

The endemic Canary Island lizard clade Gallotia, which includes the largest members of Europe's dominant reptile group, Lacertidae, is one of the classic examples of insular gigantism. For the first time we use fossil data to test the evolutionary reasons for the association between gigantism and herbivory. We describe an almost completely preserve...

The basipterygoid (or basitrabecular) process in lizards arises in ontogeny as an outgrowth from the posterior portion of the trabecle. The separate origin of the basipterygoid process has been currently recorded only in one lizard, the chamaeleonid Bradypodion pumilum. Herein, we describe the ontogeny of the basipterygoid process in two species of...

The course of the medial ridge in the lizard jugal shows considerable morphological variation. There are four basic configurations: (1) the medial ridge is located ventral to mid-height on the suborbital process and anterior to mid-length on the postorbital process; (2) the medial ridge is located ventrally on the suborbital process (as above), but...

We review the cranial morphology of the Late Carboniferous terrestrial tetrapod Gephyrostegus bohemicus from the coal deposits of the Nýřany Basin in the Czech Republic. Gephyrostegus is known from several skulls ranging in length from about 25 mm to about 58 mm (holotype). The narrow skull is about twice as long as wide and shows a well-ossified q...

New material on anguines is described from two Lower Miocene localities in Northwest Bohemia in the Czech Republic: Merkur (MN 3) and Dolnice (MN 4). Although the material is disarticulated, it was possible to assign several elements to one species based on similar ornamentation of the skull roof bones and similar morphology of the teeth. Two new s...

Squamate faunas from the MN 1–3 interval (earliest Miocene) are poorly known in Europe and worldwide. Our research brings the first report on a complete squamate fauna from the MN 2 zone in Europe. It comprises a relatively large number of specimens from Wiesbaden-Amöneburg in western Germany. MN 2 is part of a time interval (MP 29–MN 2) covering t...

The morphology of the lower jaw and teeth of the legless lizard Pseudopus apodus (Anguimorpha, Anguidae, Anguinae) from Eurasia are described in detail and compared with those of other species of the subfamily Anguinae. The lower jaw anatomy of Pseudopus, especially the dentary and teeth, clearly differs from the genera Ophisaurus and Anguis. Even...

In the embryogenesis of the chondrocranium in most lizards, the basipterygoid process first appears as a lateral extension of the posterior end of the trabecle and articulates with the pterygoquadrate cartilage. However, in Lacerta agilis the basipterygoid process first appears as an independent nodule of cartilage positioned close to the posterior...

Three species of the genus Pseudopus are recognized in the Cenozoic of Eurasia: P. laurillardi (early–middle Miocene of Europe), P. pannonicus (late Miocene–middle Pleistocene of Central and Eastern Europe), and P. apodus (late Pleistocene–Recent, from Eastern Europe to Central Asia). Here, a new and oldest species of the genus Pseudopus, P. ahniko...

A new species of the temnospondyl tetrapod, Sclerocephalus stambergi n. sp., is described from the early Permian deposits of the Boskovice Basin in Moravia (Czech Republic). The length of the skull of the only known specimen is about 50 mm. Characters including the well-ossified quadrate, septomaxilla and scapulocoracoid, presence of the maxilla-na...

A new species of the temnospondyl tetrapod, Sclerocephalus stambergi n. sp., is described from the early Permian deposits of the Boskovice Basin in Moravia (Czech Republic). The length of the skull of the only known specimen is about 50 mm. Characters including the well-ossified quadrate, septomaxilla and scapulocoracoid, presence of the maxilla-na...

The Upper Permian seymouriamorph tetrapod Karpinskiosaurus from European Russia includes two species: Karpinskiosaurus secundus and Karpinskiosaurus ultimus. Karpinskiosaurus secundus is represented by two specimens with skull lengths of about 75 mm. All specimens of K. ultimus are smaller than those of K. secundus. Revision of the cranial anatomy...

  This article presents a detailed description and reconstruction of the palate of Chroniosaurus dongusensis, a chroniosuchid tetrapod from the Upper Permian of Russia, based on a new, chemically prepared specimen representing a juvenile animal with skull length of about 70 mm. It provides new information on this poorly known portion of the skull....

The Hampshire Basin in southern England is the only sequence virtually spanning the Eocene-Oligocene boundary in western Europe. It has provided an opportunity to observe changes in populations across the Grande Coupure event, as an overturn in the squamate assemblage of continental Europe has also been noted. Five Tertiary formations have yielded...

A revision of the Early-Middle Miocene anguine, Pseudopus laurillardi (Lartet, 1851), is presented based on a detailed anatomical analysis of one newly discovered articulated specimen and numerous disarticulated cranial and postcranial elements from several localities in Germany, as well as on the restudy of the original skeletal material of Lartet...

A new genus and species of seymouriamorph tetrapod from the Lower Permian deposits of the Boskovice Furrow in Moravia (Czech Republic), Spinarerpeton brevicephalum, new genus, new species, is described in detail, and its cranial reconstruction and phylogenetic position within seymouriamorphs is presented. The skeletal anatomy of Spinarerpeton allow...

The Bromacker locality in the Tambach Sandstone of Germany represents the first significant Lower Permian assemblage of terrestrial tetrapods outside of North America. The left forelimb (humerus, radius, ulna, carpus, metacarpals, and digits) and serveral vertebrae of subadult Seymouria sanjuanensis are described. The manus phalangeal formula is 2-...

Similarly sized skulls of juvenile specimens of the seymouriid and discosauriscid seymouriamorph tetrapods Seymouria and Discosauriscus are compared for the first time. Comparisons are based on a single juvenile skull of Seymouria sanjuanensis from the Lower Permian Bromacker locality, Germany, measuring 56 mm in length and several skulls of Discos...

Skulls of two specimens of the Lower Permian seymouriamorph tetrapod Seymouria, referred to Seymouria sanjuanensis Vaughn, 1966, with midline skull lengths of about 19.0 and 20.0 mm, respectively, and probably representing an early juvenile ontogenetic stage, are described from the Lower Permian Tambach Formation, lowermost formation of the Upper R...

Two new cranial and dental features of the Lower Permian discosauriscid seymouriamorph Discosauriscus austriacus are described. First, further mechanical preparation of the largest known specimen [skull length (SL) about 62 mm] has exposed the quadrate and articular, both documented for the first time. Second, the largest chemically prepared specim...

The amniotes generally lay eggs on land and are thereby differentiated from lissamphibians (salamanders, frogs and caecilians) by their developmental pattern. Although a number of 330-300-Myr old fossils are regarded as early tetrapods placed close to amniotes on the basis of anatomical data, we still do not know whether their developmental pattern...

The anatomy of the palatoquadrate ossifications of the Lower Triassic archosauromorph Proterosuchus fergusi from South Africa is described. It consists of two ossifications, the epipterygoid and the quadrate, which were joined by cartilage in life. The margins of the cartilage are clearly indicated by ridges and grooves on the dorsal surface of the...

Two genera and four species of discosauriscids, Discosauriscus potamites, D. pulcherrimus, Letoverpeton austriacum and L. moravicum, have previously been described from the Boskovice Furrow in Moravia. These laxa were differentiated primarily on the basis of proportional differences of the skull together with other morphological characters. Excavat...

  The cranial remains of a new Lower Miocene anguimorph, Merkurosaurus ornatus gen. et sp. nov., are described from north-west Bohemia (Czech Republic). The animal is morphologically very similar to the Recent Shinisaurus crocodilurus, but it differs in several ways. The distinctive features of Merkurosaurus are: the nasal process of premaxilla is...

Sutures between ornamented bones of Discosauriscus austriacus are mostly simple, but there are also more complicated, rarely serrated, sutures between some bones. In small individuals, the sutures are simple, but the same sutures also occur in the largest specimens. The character of the sutures and the incomplete ossification of bones around the pi...

We analyze the relationships between the altitude as an ecological factor and the length of limbs in two closely related species of newts, Triturus cristatus and Triturus dobrogicus. We mainly focused on changes in the length of limbs that are important variables in classification using Wolterstorff index. Finding that the values of Wolterstorff in...

Several cranial structures are described for the first time in the Lower Permian seymouriamorph tetrapod Seymouria sanjuanensis: 1) septomaxilla, 2) suborbital fenestra, 3) small denticles on the palate densely spaced in compact rows radiating from a point near the midwidth of the posterior margin of the palatal ramus of the pterygoid, 4) long cult...

The ontogeny of the posterior otic and anterior occipital portions of the neural endocranium of prehatching Alligator mississippiensis was investigated by reconstruction from sectioned material. In Stage 6 of this species, in which the endochondral ossification of the otoccipital region of the neural endocranium is only in its very early stage, two...

The postcranial skeleton of Ariekanerpeton sigalovi (Seymouriamorpha: Discosauriscidae; Lower Permian, Tadzhikistan) differs from that of like-sized Discosauriscus specimens in showing: wider interclavicle anterior plate with smaller, rhomboidal sculptured field on its ventral surface not reaching plate posteromedial margins; broader interclavicle...

Choristoderan material from a microvertebrate horizon in the Czech Republic extends the history of the group into the early-middle Miocene. On cranial and vertebral morphology, the new Czech material most closely resembles Lazarussuchus inexpectatus from the Upper Oligocene of France. The morphological similarity supports attribution of the Czech m...

Redescription of the cranial anatomy of Ariekanerpeton sigalovi (Seymouriamorpha: Discosauriscidae; Lower Permian, Tadzhikistan) highlights new diagnostic features which permit a new skull reconstruction and revised diagnosis. The largest Ariekanerpeton specimens differ from like-sized Discosauriscus, a second member of Discosauriscidae, in showing...

A new genus and species, Makowskia laticephala gen. et sp. nov., of seymouriamorph tetrapod from the Lower Permian deposits of the Boskovice Furrow in Moravia (Czech Republic) is described in detail, and its cranial reconstruction is presented. It is placed in the family Discosauriscidae (together with Discosauriscus and Ariekanerpeton) on the foll...

The purpose of this article is to gain insight into the ossification sequence of the palatoquadrate and the adjacent lateral cranial wall of prehatching Alligator mississippiensis, a process about which there is almost no published information. Results were obtained by studying serial histological sections of the series of ontogenetic stages and en...

In one specimen of Bombina bombina, the right nasal is subdivided into five bones (N1-5) which are interconnected via membrane. The right frontoparietal is subdivided into the anterior narrow portion (FP1) and broader posterior portion (FP2); the posterior portion being slightly longer. The posterior end of FP1 is rounded, and the anterior end of t...

The skull roof, palate and lower jaw of the seymouriamorph Utegenia shpinari (?Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian; Kurgalin Formation, Kazakhstan) are described in detail, and a new cranial reconstruction is presented. Important features include: skull slightly longer than broad; elongate nasals; deep, elongate posterior cheek region; long, dorsoven...

The postcranial skeleton of the seymouriamorph Utegenia shpinari (?Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian, Kurgalin Formation, Kazakhstan) is redescribed. Features that distinguish it from other Lower Permian seymouriamorphs (Discosauriscus, Ariekanerpeton, Seymouria) are: broad anterior portion of the interclavicle stem, merging indistinctly into the i...

The first record of the postparietal bone of Alligator mississippiensis, documented by transverse histological sections, is presented. It is the first evidence of the presence of this bone within Recent reptiles. The postparietal is present in a specimen with a head length of 32.3 mm. The bone is a small dermal plate lying ventrally and posteriorly...

A detailed description is given of the cranial anatomy of the Lower Permian tetrapod Discosauriscus. This material is three-dimensionally preserved and represents one of the best known seymouriamorph tetrapods. Two species, D. austriacus and D. pulcherrimus, are distinguished in the material from the Boskovice Furrow. D. austriacus is abundant, D....

An example of a parietal fused with an intertemporal and an example of concrescence of a parietal with an extraintertemporal in the metamorphic stages of the Lower Permian seymouriamorph are described. It is concluded that it is necessary to take account of phylogenetic fusion of two or more original components in the formation of the skull roofing...

Two genera and four species of discosauriscids, Discosauriscus potamites, D. pulcherrimus, Letoverpeton austriacum and L. moravicum, have previously been described from the Boskovice Furrow in Moravia. These laxa were differentiated primarily on the basis of proportional differences of the skull together with other morphological characters.Excavati...

The remains of an embolomerous amphibian, Carbonoherpeton canolli, gen. et sp. n., were found in an upright Sigillaria stump from the Westphalian D of Florence, Nova Scotia. Carbonoherpeton is similar in most features of the skeleton to Palaeoherpeton, Proterogyrinus, Eogyrinus and Archeria. The configuration of the orbit and the more gracile femur...

In the years 1998-2000, a herpetological research in the Gidra ba-sin was made. On the investigated area, at 20 localities, 8 amphibian and 4 reptilian species were recorded. The most species diversity occurs in the up-per part of the Gidra River. The most common species were Bufo bufo and Lacerta agilis. ÚVOD Predložená práca bola vykonaná v rámci...