New phytosaur-dominated vertebrate assemblage from Late Triassic of Germany (free pdf)
58 views
Skip to first unread message
Ben Creisler
Aug 6, 2025, 4:19:48 PMAug 6
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Lea D. Numberger-Thuy, Dominique Delsate, Markus J. Poschmann, Thomas Schindler & Ben Thuy (2025)
A new phytosaur-dominated vertebrate assemblage from the Late Triassic of the South Eifel region (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1127/njgpa/1273
https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/njgpa/detail/prepub/107230/A_new_phytosaur_dominated_vertebrate_assemblage_from_the_Late_Triassic_of_the_South_Eifel_region_Rhineland_Palatinate_Germany
The South Eifel region is one of the few areas in Western Germany where Upper Triassic rocks are exposed, yet the palaeontological potential of the region is still poorly known. Here, we describe a new fossiliferous section in the upper part of the Arnstadt Formation (formerly called “Steinmergelkeuper”), dated to the upper Norian to possibly lower Rhaetian, in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, Rhineland Palatinate. We identified two distinct bonebeds in a flooding cycle within the section, one at the erosive base of the cycle, informally called phytosaur bonebed, with vertebrate remains mixed with paleosol clasts, and a second bonebed, informally called fish bonebed, in the overlying, finely bedded lacustrine claystones. The phytosaur bonebed yielded chondrichthyan, actinopterygian and sarcopterygian fish remains, teeth and a possible osteoderm of a phytosaur with a tripartite dentition, a rhynchocephalan mandible fragment, and teeth of the pterosaur Eudimorphodon. We assume that the phytosaur bonebed was deposited during a high-energy flooding event, mixing autochthonous and transported faunal elements. The fish bonebed, in contrast, is largely dominated by remains of small actinopterygian fish, and probably documents a short-lived, low-diversity lake community. Our report represents the first systematic account of vertebrate fossils from the Arnstadt Formation of Rhineland-Palatinate, thus filling a major regional gap. Moreover, the pterosaur teeth described in the present paper are the oldest unequivocal remains of this group reported from Germany.
=====
Free pdf:
Lea D. Numberger-Thuy, Dominique Delsate, Markus J. Poschmann, Thomas Schindler & Ben Thuy (2025)
A new phytosaur-dominated vertebrate assemblage from the Late Triassic of the South Eifel region (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1127/njgpa/1273
https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/njgpa/detail/prepub/107230/A_new_phytosaur_dominated_vertebrate_assemblage_from_the_Late_Triassic_of_the_South_Eifel_region_Rhineland_Palatinate_Germany
The South Eifel region is one of the few areas in Western Germany where Upper Triassic rocks are exposed, yet the palaeontological potential of the region is still poorly known. Here, we describe a new fossiliferous section in the upper part of the Arnstadt Formation (formerly called “Steinmergelkeuper”), dated to the upper Norian to possibly lower Rhaetian, in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, Rhineland Palatinate. We identified two distinct bonebeds in a flooding cycle within the section, one at the erosive base of the cycle, informally called phytosaur bonebed, with vertebrate remains mixed with paleosol clasts, and a second bonebed, informally called fish bonebed, in the overlying, finely bedded lacustrine claystones. The phytosaur bonebed yielded chondrichthyan, actinopterygian and sarcopterygian fish remains, teeth and a possible osteoderm of a phytosaur with a tripartite dentition, a rhynchocephalan mandible fragment, and teeth of the pterosaur Eudimorphodon. We assume that the phytosaur bonebed was deposited during a high-energy flooding event, mixing autochthonous and transported faunal elements. The fish bonebed, in contrast, is largely dominated by remains of small actinopterygian fish, and probably documents a short-lived, low-diversity lake community. Our report represents the first systematic account of vertebrate fossils from the Arnstadt Formation of Rhineland-Palatinate, thus filling a major regional gap. Moreover, the pterosaur teeth described in the present paper are the oldest unequivocal remains of this group reported from Germany.
=====
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages