UN! °RSITY OF ILLIJIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN NATURAL HIST. SURVEY 7 ae 7a oe Saeed an FIELDIANA - GEOLOGY Published by CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Volume 10 JANUARY 238, 1947 No. 3 A NEW ANOSTEIRINE TURTLE FROM MANCHURIA RAINER ZANGERL CURATOR OF FossIL REPTILES The Department of Geology (Division of Vertebrate Paleon- tology) of Chicago Natural History Museum has acquired a small, fossil turtle through the courtesy of Mr. Tokumatsu Ito, formerly of the Department of Anthropology, who presented it to the Mu- seum in 1935 as a gift from the collector, Mr. K. Ogaki. The label states that the specimen came from the Fu-schun coal mine, near Fu-schun, province of Fengtien, Northeast Provinces (Manchuria). Although the extensive coal deposits, coaly shales, and oil shales of this mine have been the subject of several geological reports (see Uwatoko, 1930) and have furnished a considerable amount of fossil plant material, described by Palibin (1906), Florin (1922), and Endo (1934), I have failed to find any reference to vertebrate remains from this locality. The determination of the age of the coal deposits of Fu-schun apparently rests entirely on paleobotanical evidence. Florin tends to consider the beds as of Oligocene age, whereas Endé, on the basis of more material, concludes that they are of late Eocene age. The latter determination is strengthened by the recognition of an ano- steirine turtle that is morphologically close to Anosteira ornata and Anosteira mongoliensis, both of which are late Eocene forms. Order Testudinata Family Dermatemyidae Subfamily Anosteirinae Anosteira manchuriana sp. nov. Holotype.—Chicago Natural History Museum No. P15102, carapace and plastron. The specimen is somewhat flattened in the dorso-ventral direction. The costal plates of the left side of the shell presumably retain their original curvature, but, together with the No. 586 13 14 FIELDIANA: GEOLOGY, VOLUME 10 neurals, are thrust upon the proximal ends of the right costals. Considerable portions of the costal plates of both sides are broken away, but they have left sharp impressions in the matrix (fig. 7). All of the peripheral bones are missing. The plastron is beautifully preserved except for the distal ends of the hyo- and hypoplastra (fig. 8). The matrix is a fairly soft, bituminous shale (oil shale?) of exceedingly fine grain. The bones are well preserved, showing the finest details of surface sculpture. Horizon and locality —Late Eocene. Fu-schun coal mine, prov- ince of Fengtien, Northeast Provinces (Manchuria), probably from the oil shale horizon. Diagnosis.—Nuchal plate much wider than long, apparently convex in front, posteriorly excavated for the reception of the front end of the first neural. Epiplastra elliptical in outline; lateral edges of xiphiplastra converging caudad to form a sharp point. Small fontanelle between hyoplastra and entoplastron. With the exception of the over-all outline of the shell and the structure of the peripherals, the morphology can be made out satis- factorily (figs. 5and 6). On the whole, this species strongly resembles Anosteira ornata Leidy from the Bridger Eocene of North America, of which a good shell was figured and described by Hay (1908). The similarity is particularly great in the surface sculpture, on the basis of which the two forms could scarcely be distinguished. The nuchal plate is only partially preserved; its general shape, however, can be determined by a clear impression left on the matrix. Its anterior margin appears to be curved ventrad, and its outline, in dorsal aspect, is that of a yoke. Neurals 1-6 are hexagonal, Nos. 1, 4, and 6 being the widest. The posterior sutural delimitation of the seventh neural is uncertain. An almost circular eighth neural is located between the seventh and eighth pairs of costals. The seventh costal plates are exceptionally wide. This entire region of the shell is very different from any other anosteirine turtle so far described, but the frequency of anomalies in the posterior (particularly the sacral) region of shells of recent pond turtles (e.g. Chrysemys picta) strongly suggests caution in the interpretation and evaluation of differences of this kind. For this reason these ‘‘distinguishing”’ characters were omitted from the diagnosis of the present species. The shield furrows are delicate but clearly visible under suitable lighting. In the specimen (fig. 7), these scale imprints are not con- tinuous across adjoining plates, because of a moderate disarrange- ment of the latter. On costal plates Nos. 2 to 6 the ornamentation ~“+_-- Se 4 / - / / N 4 ‘ ¢ \ ' / ; ‘ / i : , ’ P A a ee ee / —— / ‘ / ae / \ | pene eet 4 \ / Va ' 4 \ ‘ \ — \ ’ ene n \ ! \ ‘i \ | \ i y a t t l = ae es sane eon nen oat aoe oe / , \ ¢ \ A \ va ¢ ¢ 4 y rh Fic. 5. Partially reconstructed carapace of Anosteira manchuriana sp. nov. > a 15 16 FIELDIANA: GEOLOGY, VOLUME 10 Fic. 6. Reconstruction of plastron of A. manchuriana sp. nov. X 1.8. consists of longitudinal, irregular ridges and valleys, the larger ones lying next to the neurals. Costals Nos. 1, 7, and 8, the nuchal and suprapygal, are covered with fine pustules and depressions. The neurals are fairly smooth. All elements of the plastron are present. The left epiplastron could not be brought to view entirely without destruction of the imprint of the costal plates on the opposite side of the specimen. The ZANGERL: ANOSTEIRINE TURTLE FROM MANCHURIA 17 left postero-lateral corner of the entoplastron is hidden below the hyoplastron and the lateral half of the latter lies buried below the hypoplastron. As in the American Museum specimen (No. 6132) of Anosteira ornata (Hay, 1908) and in A. mongoliensis Gilmore, the sutures between the plastral elements are not (or are very weakly) serrated, in contrast to those of Psewdanosteira pulchra Clark. MEASUREMENTS (In millimeters) Greatest length OF specimen a oo oo ccs ooh nas SR Lae aa ees 85 Greatest width of specimen (at level of third costal plates)............ 57 Widthiofinuchal plate <2. oe cette sotitee rte dee iret renee ceili 24+ Length or HucHal Mate ta GMs lc + Ooi Siecle Oy hr nee alee e iicas 9 NEURAL PLATES Greatest Width at anterior No. Length width suture 5.0 5.0 5.4 +5.0 5.8 4.0 5.0 WIDTHS OF COSTAL PLATES AT PROXIMAL ENDS* No. Left side Right side I ae re Mere N cated oe eas aur eyy 12.0 13.0 Hie a erg arin eee REE he 9.4 9.4 5 IPRS te tine ie Sis tater 9.2 9.2 Be pccia arte rere rane 29.2 9.2 Bie te eine a itch alerts Meio ae 9.3 Cee eee aa ae 8.0 8.0 Mee en eacavinte iets seh: Seales t 12.8 12.5 Siete cere creetrieame namie tary 4.5 4.5 * The exact lengths of the costal plates cannot be determined, but costals Nos. 3 and 4 may be estimated at about 37 mm. PLASTRON PSGREL OF COOP ONG i seek acta ee ee Pees 80.0 Greatest: width of epiplastroni.. © ois. eee eae een: 11.4 LGROCH-OF CNUODISSUPON. co. oo Lc ee eR er ee ee 17.0 Width of entoplastron at posterior end.................... 10.5 (est.) Length of hyo- and hypoplastra along suture.............. 28+ Greatest: width‘ot-hyoplastron< = son «pei hos etna bins 10.5 Least: width ot nvoplastroni. -2 ot od) sot Oa ee 4.0 Greatest width of hypoplastron (excluding posterior ‘‘teeth’’) 17.0 LSOKt WiKtH- OF UO PODIOSIION 5 Sse eo oe was ee Width of hypoplastron along medial suture................ Length of xiphiplastron along midline..................... Greatest: width of Siphiplastron 0s 5. 6225506545 sce eanaes 8. Width of posterior plastral lobe at base................... 17 Nore Non: fo oR) 18 FIELDIANA: GEOLOGY, VOLUME 10 Comparison with other species—To date, the following closely related anosteirine turtles have been described: Anosteira ornata Leidy, A. radulina Cope, A. anglica Lydekker, A. mongoliensis Gilmore, and Pseudanosteira pulchra Clark. To this list should possibly be added Pseudotrionyx pulchra Dollo.! Anosteira ornata, A. mongoliensis, and Pseudanosteira pulchra are known either from complete shells or large portions of shells; the rest are based on isolated fragments. On the basis of what is known in all three of the better-known forms (the nuchal, hyo-, hypo-, and xiphiplastra), Anosteira manchuriana and A. ornata appear to be closer to each other morphologically than either is to A. mongoli- ensis. However, we have only incomplete knowledge of the Mon- golian species. A. manchuriana differs from the other two forms in the apparently convex anterior rim of the nuchal plate. A comparison of A. ornata, A. manchuriana, and Pseudanosteira pulchra is of considerable interest. The most peculiar feature of the genus Anosteira is the extreme reduction or fusion of the vertebral shields. The first appears to be paired, and extends from the middle of the nuchal bone back to the second or third pair of costal plates. The second, third, and fourth vertebral shields are fused into one long and slender scute wedged anteriorly between the paired first shields and reaching forward to the first neural plate. The fifth vertebral shield is normal. Psewdanosteira represents a more primi- tive condition, since vertebral shields 2, 3, and 4 are separate ele- ments, though greatly different in size. In A. ornata, the furrow of vertebral shield 2+3+4 is broadly rounded in front and does not touch neural plate No. 2. In Pseud- anosteira, vertebral shield No. 2 is anteriorly pointed and its margin touches the antero-lateral corners of neural plate No. 2. A. man- churiana holds an intermediate position; the fused shield 2+3-+4 is acutely rounded in front, and the furrow crosses the antero-lateral corners of the second neural plate. The paired vertebral shields No. 1 do not reach back to the third costal plates, as they do in A. ornata and Pseudanosteira pulchra, but only to the second. Also, the fused vertebral shield 2+3-+4 is wider than in A. ornata, particularly in its anterior third. The hind margin of costal shield No. 4 lies on costal plate No. 7 in the Chinese species, whereas it is situated, for the most part, on the eighth costal plate in A. ornata and entirely 1Hay (1908) thinks that Pseudotrionyx might belong to the Anosteirinae, although a re-examination of the type material will be necessary to decide the matter. Fic. 7. Unretouched photograph of carapace of A. manchuriana sp. nov. X 1.8. 19 Fig. 8. Unretouched photograph of plastron of A. manchuriana sp. nov. X 1.8. 20 ZANGERL: ANOSTEIRINE TURTLE FROM MANCHURIA 21 on this plate in Pseudanosteira. This difference, however, is per- haps of little importance, for it may be correlated with the probable regional irregularity (see above) of the bony shell. The proportional differences in the plastra of the better-known anosteirine turtles are given in the following table. A. ornata A.mongol. A.manch. P. pulchra Greatest width of hypoplastron (mm.).. 21 21 17 32 Indices* A=least width of hypoplastron...... 42.8 42.8 38.8 46.8 B=greatest width of hyoplastron.... 52.4 52.4 61.7 56.2 C=least width of hyoplastron....... 16.6 16.6 23.5 25.0 D=length of xiphiplastron.......... 128.0 142.0 134.0 nate E=proximal width of xiphiplastron. . 47.6 *45.2 47.0 56.2 F=length of epiplastron............ 1 ae ee 17.6 se G=length of entoplastron.......... SO. @ eho 100.0 * Values A to G X 100/greatest width of hypoplastron paced REFERENCES CLARK, JOHN 1932. A new anosteirid from the Uinta Eocene. Ann. Carnegie Mus., 21, pp. 161-170, 2 figs. DOoLLo, M. L. 1886. Premiére note sur les Chéloniens du Bruxellien (Eocéne moyen) de la Belgique. Bull. Mus. Roy. Hist. Nat. Belgique, 4, pp. 75-96, 2 pls. ENDO, SEIDO 1934. The geological age of the Fu-shun group, South Manchuria. Proc. Imp. Acad. Japan, 10, pp. 486-489, 1 fig. FLORIN, RUDOLF 1922. Zur alttertiiiren Flora der siidlichen Mandschurei. Pal. Sinica, (A), 1 pp. 1-45, 3 pls. GILMORE, C. W. 1931. Fossil turtles of MokoeHa: Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 59, pp. 213- 257, 29 figs., 11 pls. Hay, O. P. 1908. The fossil turtles of North America. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub., 75, iv+ 568 pp., 704 figs., 113 pls. LYDEKKER, RICHARD 1889. Catalogue of the fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum. Part 3: Chelonia. London, xviii+ 239 pp., 53 figs. PALIBIN, J. W. 1906. Fossile Pflanzen aus den Kohlenlagern von Fu-schun in der siidlichen Mandschurei. Verh. Kais. Russ. Min. Ges., (2), 44. ’ UWATOKO, KUNIO 1930. The oil shale deposit of Fu-shun, Manchuria. Jour. Fac. Sci. Hokkaido Imp. Univ., (4), 1, pp. 113-205, 38 figs., 13 pls. =f 7 = eS : irs s* ven = i or oe aS en eee rae : ae oy mise Bods age = ee pie ty, te ao: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA NAAT 3 0112 027923710