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Strontium isotopes and the long-term residency of thalattosuchians in the freshwater environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2015

Jeremy E. Martin Open the ORCID record for Jeremy E. Martin [Opens in a new window] ,
Uthumporn Deesri ,
Romain Liard ,
Athiwat Wattanapituksakul ,
Suravech Suteethorn ,
Komsorn Lauprasert ,
Haiyan Tong ,
Eric Buffetaut ,
Varavudh Suteethorn  and
Guillaume Suan
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Jeremy E. Martin
Affiliation:
UMR 5276 CNRS, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planète et Environnement, UMR CNRS 5276 (CNRS, ENS, Université Lyon 1), Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France. E-mail: jeremy.martin@ens-lyon.fr.
Uthumporn Deesri
Affiliation:
Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand.
Romain Liard
Affiliation:
Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand.
Athiwat Wattanapituksakul
Affiliation:
Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand.
Suravech Suteethorn
Affiliation:
Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand.
Komsorn Lauprasert
Affiliation:
Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand.
Haiyan Tong
Affiliation:
Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand.
Eric Buffetaut
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Géologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS (UMR 8538), 24 rue Lhomond, Paris Cedex 05, 75231, France.
Varavudh Suteethorn
Affiliation:
Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand.
Guillaume Suan
Affiliation:
UMR 5276 CNRS, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planète et Environnement, UMR CNRS 5276 (CNRS, ENS, Université Lyon 1), Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France. E-mail: jeremy.martin@ens-lyon.fr.
Philippe Telouk
Affiliation:
UMR 5276 CNRS, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planète et Environnement, UMR CNRS 5276 (CNRS, ENS, Université Lyon 1), Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France. E-mail: jeremy.martin@ens-lyon.fr.
Vincent Balter
Affiliation:
UMR 5276 CNRS, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planète et Environnement, UMR CNRS 5276 (CNRS, ENS, Université Lyon 1), Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France. E-mail: jeremy.martin@ens-lyon.fr.
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Abstract

Thalattosuchians are crocodylomorphs mainly known from marine strata of Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. They represent the earliest crocodylomorph radiation to an aquatic habitat and their evolutionary history offers very few records from freshwater settings. Here, we report several exquisitely preserved thalattosuchian skulls attributed to a derived teleosaurid from a pedogenic horizon located at the base of a fluvial series of alternating silts and sandstones of the Phu Kradung Formation (Upper Jurassic) of northeastern Thailand. Using laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) on tooth enamel and dentine, we measured isotopic ratios of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) to test the habitat of these teleosaurids. In addition, Sr concentrations of the dental tissues were estimated from the calibrated signal intensities of the Sr isotope measurements. The dataset includes bioapatite (teeth or scales) of eight terrestrial and five aquatic vertebrates. Theropods exhibit lower Sr concentrations both in enamel and dentine compared to others groups, a pattern in accordance with the calcium biopurification process, which predicts that Sr concentrations in the body of vertebrates decrease up the trophic chain. It also excludes the possibility that diagenesis has completely overprinted the Sr isotope compositions of the fossil assemblage, which exhibits a homogeneous 87Sr/86Sr signature above the Late Jurassic seawater value. Values for teleosaurid teeth are in the range of other values for vertebrates in the continental assemblage and imply that these crocodylomorphs did not migrate between freshwater and marine habitats at least in the time constraint of the mineralizing tooth. This result represents the first demonstration that a population of teleosaurids was established for a prolonged time in a freshwater environment. Whether the ability of teleosaurids to inhabit freshwater habitats is a secondary adaptation or whether it is plesiomorphic and inherited from freshwater ancestors is discussed.

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Paleobiology , Volume 42 , Issue 1 , February 2016 , pp. 143 - 156
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Copyright © 2015 The Paleontological Society. All rights reserved 

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