Virginia is for Gliders
9:50 pm
Researchers at the Virginia Museum of Natural History have announced the discovery of a 220,000,000 year-old gliding reptile with an uncharacteristically long neck.
Mecistotrachelos apeoros, whose name means “soaring long-neck,” was discovered in Triassic-aged rocks from the Solite Quarry near the Virginia-North Carolina state line.
From the VMNH press release:
“Dr. Nicholas C. Fraser of the Virginia Museum of Natural History, who discovered the fossils, said that while two other reptiles with similar gliding membranes are known from the Triassic Period, they have much shorter necks and therefore conform more to the modern gliding lizard, Draco. Fraser said “one of the really neat things about the new glider is the feet. They are preserved in a hooked posture which is unusual and strongly suggests a grasping habit, further emphasizing a life style in the trees.” It probably fed on insects, scuttling up tree trunks and foraging on the way, before gliding onto neighboring trees.
“The relationships of Mecistotrachelos are unclear, but Fraser considers that it is probably related to the protorosaurs. Protorosaurs are a group of extinct reptiles characterized by a long-necked, including the bizarre Tanystropheus which had a neck longer than the length of the body and tail combined.”
Mecistotrachelos is described in an article in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, which I haven’t seen yet but am looking forward to reading. Accompanying the press release is a spiffy life restoration by artist Karen Carr.
Update 6/13: Science Daily has a great photo of a CT-scan showing the skeleton of Mecistotrachelos within its rocky tomb.
Protorosaur, eh? The group is clearly more diverse than previously imagined. It’s also funny to me that this is the second “rib-gliding” lizard found in the last few months!