The marine diapsid reptile Endennasaurus from the Upper Triassic of Italy

Abstract

The marine reptile Endennasaurus from the Upper Triassic Zorzino Limestone of northern Italy is redescribed and reassessed. New details of the skull and postcranial skeleton are revealed, confirming the attribution of this genus to the diapsid reptile clade Thalattosauriformes. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Endennasaurus was related to the European genus Askeptosaurus and the Chinese Anshunsaurus. Despite a rather conservative postcranial morphology, Endennasaurus dearly occupied a highly specialized dietary niche as it combined a slender tapering premaxillary rostrum with a complete absence of either marginal or palatal teeth. © The Palaeontological Association.