244-Million-Year-Old Fossil Reveals Early Reptile Aquatic Transition in China

Chinese paleontologists have identified a 244-million-year-old reptile fossil from Yunnan province as the earliest known archosauromorph highly adapted to aquatic life. The discovery of the species, named Luopingosaurus, provides the first clear evidence of this transition for the group, according to reporting from China Daily.

The fossil was recovered from Luoping county in Southwest China. Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences describe Luopingosaurus as a lizard-like marine reptile belonging to the pachypleurosaur group. The specimen reached more than half a meter in length, according to China Daily.

Physical adaptations of Luopingosaurus

The reptile featured a long, pointed snout that accounted for over half of its head. Shang Qinghua, a researcher from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, stated that this anatomy allowed the reptile to reduce resistance during underwater chases to catch prey, according to China Daily.

Analysis of the skeletal structure revealed that the reptile’s forelegs contained multiple phalanges. This anatomical feature made its flippers more flexible when changing direction in the water, China Daily reports. The study identifies this as the oldest fossil evidence of Sauropterygia possessing multiple phalanges.

Evolutionary impact on hunting efficiency

The research indicates a shift in how these reptiles interacted with their environment over time. According to the study published in Scientific Reports, the lateral grasping ability of pachypleurosaurs for small fish and other prey increased during their evolutionary process. However, the efficiency of swallowing prey after it was grasped gradually decreased, according to China Daily.

This finding adds to the history of marine reptile discovery in the region. China Daily notes that the first named marine reptile found in China was also a pachypleurosaur, the Keichousaurus, which was discovered in 1957.

The study’s results were published in the journal Scientific Reports, according to source materials from China Daily.