# Barasaurus > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barasaurus > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barasaurus.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barasaurus > Source revision: 1283171940 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}} {{confused|Barosaurus}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = [Late Permian](/source/Late_Permian) - [Early Triassic](/source/Early_Triassic), {{fossil_range|Lopingian|Induan}} | image = Barasaurus.jpg | taxon = Barasaurus | authority = [Piveteau](/source/Jean_Piveteau), [1955](/source/1955_in_paleontology) | type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Barasaurus besairiei''''' | type_species_authority = Piveteau, 1955 }} '''''Barasaurus''''' is an [extinct](/source/extinct) [genus](/source/genus) of [owenettid](/source/owenettid) [procolophonoid](/source/procolophonoid) [parareptile](/source/parareptile) known from the [Late Permian](/source/Late_Permian) and [Early Triassic](/source/Early_Triassic) of [Madagascar](/source/Madagascar). It contains a single species, '''''Barasaurus besairiei'''''.{{cite journal |last=Piveteau |first=Jean |year=1955 |title=Existence d'un Reptile du groupe des Procolophonidés à Madagascar - Conséquences stratigraphiques et paléontologiques |journal=Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences |volume=241 |pages=1325–1327 }}{{Cite journal | last1 = Ketchum | first1 = H. F. | last2 = Barrett | first2 = P. M. | doi = 10.1139/E03-084 | title = New reptile material from the Lower Triassic of Madagascar: Implications for the Permian–Triassic extinction event | journal = Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences | volume = 41 | pages = 1 | year = 2004 | issue = 1 | bibcode = 2004CaJES..41....1K }} ==Discovery== ''Barasaurus besairiei'', the [type species](/source/type_species) of the ''Barasaurus'', was first described and named by the French [paleontologist](/source/paleontologist) [Jean Piveteau](/source/Jean_Piveteau) in [1955](/source/1955_in_paleontology) on the basis of the [holotype](/source/holotype) MNHN P1, a natural mold of a nearly complete [skeleton](/source/skeleton), missing only the tail and distal limb reposited in the [Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle](/source/Mus%C3%A9um_national_d'Histoire_naturelle), [Paris](/source/Paris). The holotype was collected from the [Lower Sakamena Formation](/source/Lower_Sakamena_Formation) of the [Sakamena Group](/source/Sakamena_Group) at the Ranohira locality of [Morondava Basin](/source/Morondava_Basin), [Fianarantsoa](/source/Fianarantsoa), dating to the [Lopingian](/source/Lopingian) stage of the late [Late Permian](/source/Late_Permian) [period](/source/geological_timescale). The [generic name](/source/name_of_a_biological_genus) honors the [Bara people](/source/Bara_people), indigenous to the Ranohira region of Madagascar, and is derived from ''sauros'', meaning "lizard" in [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek). The [specific name](/source/specific_name_(zoology)), ''besairiei'', honors [Henri Michel-Edouard Besairie](/source/Henri_Michel-Edouard_Besairie), a French [geologist](/source/geologist) who supervised the Geological Survey of Madagascar and collected the holotype specimen.{{cite journal |last=Meckert |first=Dirk |year=1995 |title=The procolophonid ''Barasaurus'' and the phylogeny of early amniotes |journal=McGill University |volume=Dissertation |pages=149 pp}} Hilary F. Ketchum and Paul M. Barrett (2004) referred additional specimens from the Sakamena Group to ''Barasaurus''. They described four specimens, consisting of hind limb material: OUMNH GX.95, a [foot](/source/foot) including the [tarsus](/source/Tarsus_(skeleton)) and digits; OUMNH GX.97, left [femur](/source/femur), possible [tibia](/source/tibia) and foot; OUMNH GX.99, right tibia, [fibula](/source/fibula), and foot; and OUMNH GX.101, a foot. These specimens are housed at the [Oxford University Museum of Natural History](/source/Oxford_University_Museum_of_Natural_History). They were collected from the "Couches à Poissons et Ammonites" Member of the [Middle Sakamena Formation](/source/Middle_Sakamena_Formation) at the only currently known [amniote](/source/amniote) locality of the [Diego Basin](/source/Diego_Basin), [Antsiranana](/source/Antsiranana) of northwestern Madagascar, dating to the [Induan](/source/Induan) stage of the early [Early Triassic](/source/Early_Triassic) period. ==Description== Several traits suggest that the lower Triassic and upper Permian specimens are referable to ''Barasaurus''. The presence of a fused astragalocalcaneum indicate that they belong to the [Procolophonia](/source/Procolophonia). Among parareptiles, only specimens of ''Barasaurus'' and the [millerettid](/source/millerettid) ''[Broomia](/source/Broomia)'' possess a fifth distal tarsal, a reversal to the primitive [amniote](/source/amniote) condition. This trait is considered an [autapomorphy](/source/autapomorphy) of both genera separately, as ''Broomia'' is easily distinguished from ''Barasaurus'' on the basis of several other characters and its phylogenetic position within [Parareptilia](/source/Parareptilia). All specimens of ''Barasaurus'' as well as ''[Procolophon](/source/Procolophon)'' share the presence of the medial flange on the proximal end of the first [metatarsal](/source/metatarsal), a possible [synapomorphy](/source/synapomorphy) for [Procolophonoidea](/source/Procolophonoidea). All specimens of ''Barasaurus'' are distinguished from all other procolophonians by the presence of a pedal centrale and relatively short pedal unguals, and therefore these represent two additional autapomorphic reversals of ''Barasaurus''. Although the complete pedal [phalangeal count](/source/Phalanx_bone) of ''Barasaurus'' is unknown from the holotype, the lower Triassic material revealed that the phalangeal formula for this genus is 2:3:4:5:5. Procolophonoid material with such arrangement is otherwise known from the Lower Sakamena Formation. These specimens are also similar to ''[Owenetta](/source/Owenetta)'', and therefore likely referable to ''Barasaurus'' as well. The presence of five phalanges in the fifth pedal digit (as seen in the phalangeal formula) is unique among [amniote](/source/amniote)s to ''Barasaurus'' and [mesosaur](/source/mesosaur)s, however their feet are easily distinguishable on the basis of other traits, suggesting that this unusual formula represents an additional autapomorphy for ''Barasaurus''. ==Phylogeny== Phylogenetic analyses place ''Barasaurus'' within the [Owenettidae](/source/Owenettidae), the [sister taxon](/source/sister_taxon) of [Procolophonidae](/source/Procolophonidae). ''Barasaurus'' forms the sister taxon to the clade containing ''[Saurodektes](/source/Saurodektes)'' and the only known owenettid older than ''Barasaurus'', ''[Owenetta rubidgei](/source/Owenetta_rubidgei)'', while ''["Owenetta" kitchingorum](/source/Owenetta_kitchingorum)'' and ''[Candelaria](/source/Candelaria_(reptile))'' form another lineage within the family.{{Cite journal | last1 = Cisneros | first1 = J. C. | last2 = Damiani | first2 = R. | last3 = Schultz | first3 = C. | last4 = Da Rosa | first4 = A. | last5 = Schwanke | first5 = C. | last6 = Neto | first6 = L. W. | last7 = Aurelio | first7 = P. L. P. | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2004.2748 | title = A procolophonoid reptile with temporal fenestration from the Middle Triassic of Brazil | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | volume = 271 | issue = 1547 | pages = 1541–6 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15306328| pmc = 1691751}}{{Cite journal | last1 = Ruta | first1 = M. | last2 = Cisneros | first2 = J. C. | last3 = Liebrecht | first3 = T. | last4 = Tsuji | first4 = L. A. | last5 = Müller | first5 = J. | title = Amniotes through major biological crises: Faunal turnover among Parareptiles and the end-Permian mass extinction | doi = 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01051.x | journal = Palaeontology | volume = 54 | issue = 5 | pages = 1117 | year = 2011 | doi-access = free }} The addition of ''[Ruhuhuaria](/source/Ruhuhuaria)'' to the phylogenetic analysis resulted in less resolved relation within Owenettidae, however ''Barasaurus'' and ''Owenetta rubidgei'' are recovered as sister taxa.{{Cite journal | last1 = Tsuji | first1 = L. A. | last2 = Sobral | first2 = G. | last3 = Müller | first3 = J. | doi = 10.1016/j.crpv.2013.08.002 | title = ''Ruhuhuaria reiszi'', a new procolophonoid reptile from the Triassic Ruhuhu Basin of Tanzania | journal = Comptes Rendus Palevol | year = 2013 | volume = 12 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 487–494 }} ==References== {{Reflist|2}} {{Portal|Paleontology}} {{Parareptilia|Procolophonoidea}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q16748765}} Category:Fossil taxa described in 1955 Category:Owenettidae Category:Lopingian reptiles of Africa Category:Early Triassic reptiles of Africa Category:Triassic parareptiles Category:Prehistoric reptile genera --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barasaurus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barasaurus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barasaurus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.