MOSCOW, May 2. Structure and intended behavior SSU scientists as part of an international scientific group managed to find out the ancient pliosaurus. According to university specialists, they carried out a complete reconstruction of the reptile's skeleton and compiled its description. The study was published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
In the Ulyanovsk region in 2002, scientists discovered the most complete skeleton of an Early Cretaceous pliosaurus, 130 million years old. The reptile that lived in sea water was called Luskhan itilsky (Luskhan itilensis). According to paleontologists, it can be considered as a representative of the most advanced group of pliosaurs of the Brachaucheninae subfamily.
Representatives of the family of extinct reptiles, pliosaurs, have been found almost all over the globe, except for Antarctica. Before Lushan, complete skeletons of Early Cretaceous pliosaurs have been found in Australia and the Americas. They were first described through studies of the Jurassic deposits in Western Europe.
The name «pliosaurus», meaning «more lizard», was coined by Richard Owen in 1841. Very few Early Cretaceous pliosaurs have been found in the world. Among them is a ferocious predator with dagger-toothed mahaira (Makhaira rossica) — the opposite of the fish-eating luskhan. By describing such pliosaurs as luskhan and mahaira, scientists have filled in the «Early Cretaceous gap» in their history. Lushan is closely related to the Colombian stenorhynchosaurus. width=»600″ data-crop-height=»338″ data-source-sid=»not_rian_photo» class=»» />
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On the territory of Russia, the remains of pliosaurs were often found, but mostly separate bones. A rather complete skeleton of a Jurassic pliosaurus was found in the Saratov region in the 40s of the XX century.
In 2017, a scientific team of paleontologists explained the name of the Itil pliosaurus by the fact that «Itil» is translated from the Turkic language as «Volga». In the Turkic and Mongolian languages, «luus» is the spirits and owners of water, and «khan» is the head (the Volga region was the center of the Golden Horde. — Note ed.).
Luskhan abandoned the role of a super predator, switching to feeding on small fish and squid. The length of the animal was estimated by scientists from the preserved parts of the skeleton at 6.5 meters. Its torso was barrel-shaped, and its limbs resembled flippers. Pliosaurus also had a short neck and a large, elongated snout, similar to a dolphin, scientists from the Saratov National Research State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky (SGU).
Most of the known type materials from which Early Cretaceous pliosaurs are described are incomplete skeletons, sometimes small associations of bones, the authors of the study explained. The integrity of the luskhan's skeleton made it possible to make a detailed anatomical description, accompanied by a huge number of photographs and drawings.
A virtual copy of the pliosaurus was created using a high-precision 3D scanner. In this way, three-dimensional images of each bone of his skeleton were obtained, SSU scientists drew attention. The well-known Russian paleosculptor Vlad Konstantinov recreated the Luskhan's skeleton, virtually straightening out the deformities and completing the missing bone fragments.
«»The Russian pliosaurus luskhan is now the most detailed description of the Early Cretaceous pliosaurus in the world and the only one completely virtually restored. The 3D model of luskhan is the only digitally restored pliosaurus skeleton in the world. The quality of this model is very high,» said one of the authors of the scientific project, associate professor of the Department of General Geology and Mineral Resources SSU Maxim Arkhangelsky.
In the future, experts plan to describe another Early Cretaceous pliosaurus found in the Ulyanovsk region, as well as to make digital reconstructions of other marine reptiles described in Russia. At the moment SSU scientists have accumulated significant material on the Jurassic and Cretaceous marine reptiles of the Volga region — ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs.
Researchers are preparing a description of a number of new taxa, genera and species. In the near future, they plan to do a computed tomography of the skulls. This will provide a more detailed picture of the anatomy of marine reptiles, clarify their evolution and family ties.
The University of Liege (Laboratory of Dynamics of Evolution and Diversity), Oxford University (Department of Sciences of Zemlya), Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saratov State University (Department of General Geology and Mineral Resources), Institute of Ecology and Evolution named after A.N. Severtsov RAS, Undorovsky Paleontological Museum, Ulyanovsk Natural Science Museum.