Temporal fenestration in a Procolophon trigoniceps specimen (Procolophonoidea) from the Lower Triassic of Brazil.

Abstract

The parareptiles diversified widely during the Permian and persisted in Pangean ecosystems until the end of the Triassic. However, most parareptiles succumbed to the Permian-Triassic extinction, leading to the exclusive survival of procolophonoids. Procolophonoidea stands out as one of the most diverse parareptile clades, with about 40 species across Pangean land masses. The Early Triassic species Procolophon trigoniceps is known from South Africa, Antarctica, and Brazil. The majority of cranial materials of this procolophonoid are described as anapsid in temporal morphology, however, some skulls discovered in South Africa were found to exhibit temporal fenestration. Once thought to have systematic significance for the genus Procolophon, temporal fenestration was lately proposed to be an anomalous or pathological feature in P. trigoniceps. In this study, we describe new cranial material of P. trigoniceps from the Sanga do Cabral Formation of Brazil that clearly displays temporal fenestration. Aside from the fenestra, the specimen closely resembles more complete Brazilian P. trigoniceps skulls. The recurrent presence of the feature and the varying morphologies exhibited by the temporal fenestrae of P. trigoniceps may substantiate its characterization as an anomalous trait within the species. Furthermore, the occurrence of temporal fenestration in P. trigoniceps specimens from both South America and South Africa underscores parallels between these two Early Triassic ecosystems.