SHORT NOTE - NOTA BREVE A PLIOSAURID TOOTH FROM THE ARGILLE VARICOLORI FORMATION NEAR CASTELVECCHIO DI PRIGNANO (MODENA PROVINCE, NORTHERN ITALY) CESARE A. PAPAZZONI Receioed October 25, 2002; accepted May 5, 2AA3 Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia J""ú ]:,,:1'I November 2003 their synopsis of Upper Cretaceous plesiosaur from Eu- rope, Bardet & Godefroit (1995) did not include any ltal- ian plesiosaurs. Renesto (1993) reported the first discov- ery of a plesiosaur in Italy: a single Pliosauridae indet. hu- merus from the Santonian-Campanian Argille Varicolori Formation near Zavattarello (Pavia Province, Lombardy, northern Italy). In this note, another fragment of Cre- taceous Pliosauridae from the norrhern Apennines is re- cognised and described. Moreover, in this case a specific taxonomic assignment is possible. The tooth under stùdy was collected in a gully along the right side of the Secchia River, some 2-3 km norrh- east of Castelvecchio di Prignano (Modena Province; Fig. 1). It comes from the Argille Varicolori Formation, of Cenomanian-lower Campanian age according to Bettelli et al. (1989a, b). Unfortunately, the lacking of any ma- trix adhering to the roorh means that the age cannor be better determined. Palaeontological description Class Reptilia Laurenti, 1268 Subclass Sauropterygia Owen, 1860 Order Plesiosauria de Blainville, 1835 Superfamily Pliosauroidea (Seeley, 1874) Welles, 1943 Family Pliosauridae Seeley, 1874 Genus Polyptycbodon Owen, i841 Polyptychodon interruptus Owen, 1 841 Fig. 2a, b Key -uords : Sauropterygia, Pliosauridae, Polyp4,cbodon intenup trzs, tooth, Upper Cretaceous, Northern Italy. Abstract. The first discovery of a Creraceous pliosaurid tooth in Itaìy is reported. It comes from the Cenomanian-lower Campanian Argille Varicolori Formarion near Casrelvecchio di Prignano (Modena Province, northern lraly). Excepting this new specimen, Italy's only reported pliosaurid is a humerus from the Upper Cretaceous of Za- vattarello near Pavia. The tooth morphology allows it to be ascribed to Polyptychod.on ;nterrilptus Owen, 1841, a species only reported thus far from northern-central Europe (England, Germany and the Czech Republic). This suggests the presence of marine reptile remains in the northern Apennines may have been underestimated. Riassunto. Viene segnalato per la prima volta in Italia un dente di pliosauride del Cretaceo. Il reperto è staro rrovato vicino Castelvec- chio di Prignano (Modena), nella Formazione delle Argille Varicolori, attribuita al Cenomaniano- Campaniano inferiore (Cretaceo superìo- re). Lunico altro resto di pliosauride finora trovato in Italia è un omero del Cretaceo superiore di Zavattarello (Pavia), attribuiro tentarrvamenre alla famiglia Pliosauridae. La morfologia del dente studiato permerre un'attribuzione a Polyptychodon interruptus Owen, 1 841, considerata l'unica specie di pliosauride sicuramente presente in Europa durante il Cretaceo. Finora essa era stata trovata soltanto in Inghilterra, Germa- nia e Repubblica Ceca. Il nuovo ritrovamento suggerisce che i resti di rettili marini dell'Appennino serrentrionale siano forse più frequenti di quanto finora stimato. lntroduction Plesiosaur remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe a.re rare, and usually fragmentary. Nevertheless, they have been recovered from several localities in dif- ferent countries including Belgium, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden (Milner 1987;Barder & Godefroit 1995). In c/o Dipartimento del Museo di Paleobiologia e dell'Orto Botanico, via Università, 4 - 41100 Modena; E-matl cpapazzoni@tiscali.it 564 1 841 Polyptychodon interruPtus Orven, p. 19, p|.72, fig. 3, a. 1851t Polyptychodon interruPtus Owen - Owen, pp. 209-212, Lacertilia pI.2, fig. 16,17,p|.8, fig.3. Crocodilia, pI.26, fig. 1(?),2-7,8 (?), pl. zr, fig. 1-3. 18516 Polyptychodon interruPtus Owen - Owen, pp. 55-58, tab. 10, fig. 7-9,tab.11, fig. 1(?),2-l,8 (?), tab. 14, fig. 1-3. 1856 Polyptychodon interrhptlls Owen - von Meyer, pp. 3-7 , pl. 2, f ig. 5-8, 10-13, 15,1,6 (?),17. 1861 Polyptychodon intelTuptus Owen - Owen, pp.2A-22, trb. +, fig. 3. 1.987 PoLyptychodon intetruPtus Owen - Milner, p. 272, pl. 57, fìg. 2. Material. A single tooth crown. Locality. In the vicinity of Castelvecchio dì Prignano (Modena Province), on the right sìde of the Secchia Rìver (Fig. t) History. Collected by Mr. Enzo Grazioli, this specimen was mentioned (but not described) by Rompianesi & Sirotti (1995) as an ichthyosaur tooth. Repository. Collection of the "Istituto di Paleontologìa", Uni- versitv of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IPUM 30142), donated by Mr. Pietro Rompianesi. Description. The maximum height of the tooth is 32 mm (Fig.2a). The basal diameters are 14.5 mm (transverse) and 16.5 mm (longitudinal), therefore the crown is laterally compressed (Fig. Zb). The enamel is very thin, and dark brown in colour. There are altern- ating long and short longitudinal ridges, a feature which Owen (1851a) retained as diagnostic of the species Polyptycbodon interruptus Owen, 1841. For 8-9 mm at the crown tip, the enamel is fairly smooth. One of the ridges could reach the tip on one side, but the enam- el is lacking on it, so we cannot verify this condition. It is noteworthy that the ridges are formed by enamel folding, so they leave impressions on the outer surface of the dentine. Remarks. This tooth was previously regarded as belonging to an ichthyosaur, given the presence of Location-map of Castelvec- chio di Prignano, with the site (asterisk) where the tooth was collected. some Platypterygiws remains very close to Castelvec- chio di Prignano (Rompianesi 8c Sirotti 1995). Dur- ing the revision of the ichthyosaur remains from the northern Apennines (Sirotti & Papazzoni 2002) the taxonomic attribution of this tooth has been reconsid- ered. Because the tooth morphology matches that of pliosaurids, and appears very similar to the holotype teeth of P interruptus, it is here regarded as referable to that species. Apart from some authors (e.g. White 1940), who included it within the family Polycotylidae, the genus Polyptycbodonhas been usually regarded as a member of the family Pliosauridae (Milner 1987; Bardet 8c Godefroir 1995). According to Bardet Er Godefroit (1995), Polyptychodon rs the only vaiid genus of Plio- sauridae presently recognized in Europe. The species P interrwptus has been reported from E,ngland (Ceno- manian-?Campanian), Germany (Cenomanian), and the Czech Republic (Turonian). The only other valid species of this genus, P. budsoni, was described from North America (\Velles & Slaughter 1'963). The IPUM 30142 tooth is the first record of P interrwptws O'wen, 1841 in Italy, thus extending the known geographical range of the species. Analysing the tooth morphology in P. interruptus according to Massare (1987), one notes it bears an acute but rounded apex, with a natural smooth surfrce; more- over, the longitudinal sculpture is not pronounced, the cross-section is slightly compressed, and there are no cut- ting edges (Fig. Z). This suggests the species belongs to the general guild of piercing-smashing predators, which probably ate both soft prey (cephalopods, small fishes) but also somewhat harder ones (ammonites, large ver- tebrates ) . C. A. Papazzoni lcm Fig. 2 - Polyptychodon interruptus Owen, 1841. Tooth fron.r Cas- telvecchio di Prignano (Modena Province) cat. no. IPUM 3a142. a) l.ateral view; b) Proximal (basal) view. Conclusions The Italian record of Cretaceous marine reptiles is very poor, so even the single tooth IPUM 30142 is oÍ some importance, because: Pliosaurid tooth from Northern ltaly 565 a) it represents the first time the species Polyptycbodon interruptus Owen, 1841 has been recognised in Italy; b) this discovery together with that of Renesto (1993), substantiates the presence of the Pliosauridae in Italy during the Late Creraceous. Moreover, this suggests the Cretaceous mrrine rep- tile fossil record in the northern Apennines region has probably been underestimated. Acknou/edgemerzts. Partìcular thanks to the late Prof. A. Sirotti, who introduced me into rhe study of vertebrates and made an initial description of this tooth. Manl' thanks to Prof. N. Bardet (Mus. Nat. Hist. Net. Paris) and Dr. M. \XI Maisch (Tùbingen University), who dreq'my attention to the pliosaurid narure of the tooth under study. Thanks to Mr. P Rompianesi, who provided the material and showed me the locality where it was discovered. The author also thanks D. Naish (University of Portsmounth) and L. Noé (Sedgwich Museum, Cambridre) for the critical reading of the manuscript. REFER Bardet N. & Godefroit P. (1995) - Plesiosaurus houzeaui Dol- lo, 1909 from the Upper Campanian of Ciply (Belgium) and a revieq' of the Upper Cretaceous plesiosaurs from Europe. Bull. Inst. Roy. Sci. Nat. Belg. (Sc. Tène), 65: I 79- I 86, BruxeÌles. Bettelli G.,Bonazzi U. & Panini F. (1989a) - Schema introduttivo alla geologia delle Liguridi dell'Appennino modenese e delle aree limitrofe. Mem. Soc. Geol. 1t.,39 119871:91-125, Roma. BetteiÌi G., Bonazzi U.,Fazzini P, Gasperi G., Gelmini R. & Panini F. (1989b) - Nota illustrativa alla Carta geologica schematica dell'Appennino modenese e delle aree limitrofe. Mem. 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