Palaeopathology in a Cretaceous terrestrial lizard from China

ABSTRACT

The lizard genus Yabeinosaurus is a common and relatively well-known member of Chinese Lower Cretaceous Jehol Biota, found in both the Yixian and Jiufotang formations of north-eastern China. Previous research on Yabeinosaurus has revealed information on its morphology, phylogenetic position, colouration, diet, and viviparous reproductive strategy. Herein we describe a new specimen preserving the skull and postcranial skeleton. The skull shows features characteristic of Yabeinosaurus robustus, but reveals the morphology of the vomer for the first time. In the postcranial skeleton, the most significant feature is a malformation of the fibula resulting from a fracture that occurred several months before the animal died, possibly as the result of intraspecies aggression or a predation attempt.

KEYWORDS:

• Fossil lizard
• Yabeinosaurus
• pathology
• China
• Cretaceous

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Yanghan Wang (Pet & Family hospital, Chengdu, China) for his participation in early discussion. This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41888101, 41790455, 41772008); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2652017215), the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) (No. 173127). We also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier draft of the paper.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [41888101,Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Univers];Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2652017215];State Key Laboratory pf Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology & Palaeontology, CAS) [173127].