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Spatulidentatus is a thalattosaur – not a basal sauropterygian

Saturday, August 29, 2026 22:43

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Yang et al 2026 described
Middle Triassic Spatulidentatus breviceps (Figs 1–3, GMG10, 2.7m long) as a basal sauropterygian with a small head. All of the marginal teeth were described as spatulate. The forelimbs were longer and more robust than the hind limbs. The pelvis was poorly sutured.

The authors compared their new fossil to Eusaurosphargis (Figs 2, 4) with elongate transverse processes arising from the dorsal vertebrae.

Figure 1. Left: Original Yang et al tracing of the in situ specimen. Right: Attempt at reconstruction in lateral, dorsal and palatal views. Standard DGS colors applied here. The premaxilla and nasal have new borders here. So does the squamosal + supratemporal. A lacrimal is delineated. Compare to relatives in figure 2.

The authors considered the taxonomic position
and interrelationships of Spatulidentatus unclear, but they noted some anatomical features that support its placement as a basal (early-diverging) member of the Sauropterygia (= placodonts + pachypleurosaurs + nothosaurus + plesiosaurs).

I suspect taxon exclusion was at play here as that issue continues to be the number one problem facing paleontology over the last 26 years.

Figure 2. *Spatulidentatus* and thalattosaur relatives. Not to scale. Despite obvious differences these taxa nest together in the morphologically diverse Thalattosauria.

Here
in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2340 taxa) Spatulidentatus nests with Eusaurosphargis among the thalattosaurs (Fig 2), not among the basal sauropterygians. At that node, Spatulidentatus is also basal to Vancleavea and Helveticosaurus (Fig 2). Thalattosaurs are related to mesosaurs and ichthyosaurs in the LRT. Sauropterygia + Ichthyosauria and all related taxa are members of the resurrected clade Enaliosauria.

The LRT has so many taxa in order to minimize taxon exclusion and resolve interrelationships. In other words, cherry-picking ingroup and outgroup taxa is minimized here.

Figure 3. Skeleton of *Spatulidentatus* in situ and original tracing. Scale bar is 30cm.

Reconstructions are also essential.
They provide a library that’s easier to read and compare than flattened roadkill specimens.

Figure 4. Adult and juvenile Eusaurosphargis specimens to scale. Fewer vertebrae here.

Sadly
Vancleavea (Figs 2, 5) is still considered an archosauriform in university lecture halls and wikipedia pages. The LRT comes in handy in situations like this, where thalattosaurs have been traditionally ignored.

Figure 5. Image from several years ago, the closest kin of Vancleavea recovered by the LRT are Askeptosaurus, Vancleavea and Helveticosaurus, all thalattosaurs unrelated to archosauriforms.

This appears to be a novel hypothesis of interrelationships.
If not, please provide a citation so I can promote it here.

References
Yang M et al (5 co-authors 2026. “云贵交界地区鳍龙类(爬行动物纲：鳍龙超目)的新属种短头勺齿龙” [A new sauropterygian (Reptilia: Sauropterygomorpha), Spatulidentatus breviceps gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Triassic of SW China]. Geological Review. 72 (4): 1280–1285. doi:10.16509/j.georeview.2025.11.052.

wiki/Spatulidentatus

Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2026/08/30/spatulidentatus-is-a-thalattosaur-not-a-basal-sauropterygian/

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