Triassic

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López-Rojas, V., Mateus O., Milàn J., Wings O., Klein N., & Clemmensen L. B. (2021).  A new phytosaur from the Late Triassic of Jameson Land, Greenland. 3rd Palaeontological Virtual Congress. 207.: ISBN 978-84-09-36657-6 Abstractlopez_rojas_2021_pvc3_greenland.pdf

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Clemmensen, L. B., Kent D. V., Mau M., Mateus O., & Milàn J. (2020).  Triassic lithostratigraphy of the Jameson Land basin (central East Greenland), with emphasis on the new Fleming Fjord Group. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark. 68, 95–132. Abstractclemmensen_et_al_2020_triassic_lithostratigraphy_of_the_jameson_land_basin.pdfWebsite

The lithostratigraphy of the Triassic deposits of the Jameson Land Basin in central East Greenland is revised. The new Scoresby Land Supergroup is now composed of the Wordie Creek, Pingo Dal, Gipsdalen and Fleming Fjord Groups. This paper only deals with the lithostratigraphy of the late Early-Late Triassic continental deposits of the latter three groups with emphasis on the vertebratebearing Fleming Fjord Group. The new Pingo Dal Group consists of three new formations, the Rødstaken, Paradigmabjerg and Klitdal Formations (all elevated from members), the new Gipsdalen Group consists of three new formations, the Kolledalen, Solfaldsdal (with the new Gråklint Member) and Kap Seaforth Formations (all elevated from members), and the new Fleming Fjord Group is subdivided into three new formations, the Edderfugledal, Malmros Klint and Ørsted Dal Formations (all elevated from members). The Edderfugledal Formation contains two cyclic bedded, lacustrine members, a lowermost Sporfjeld Member (elevated from beds), and an uppermost Pingel Dal Member (elevated from beds). The lacustrine red beds of the Malmros Klint Formation are not subdivided. The lacustrine and fluvial Ørsted Dal Formation contains three new members. In the eastern and central part of the basin, the formation is initiated by cyclic bedded, red lacustrine mudstones of the Carlsberg Fjord Member (elevated from beds), while in the northwestern part of the basin the lowermost part of the formation is composed of grey fluvial conglomerates and sandstones with subordinate red mudstones of the Bjergkronerne Member (elevated from beds). The uppermost part of the formations in most of the basin is composed of cyclic bedded, variegated lacustrine mudstones and grey to yellowish marlstones of the Tait Bjerg Member (elevated from beds). The sediments in the Fleming Fjord Group contain remains of a rich and diverse vertebrate fauna including dinosaurs, amphibians, turtles, aeotosaurs, pterosaurs, phytosaurs and mammaliaforms. Most vertebrate bones have been found in uppermost Malmros Klint Formation, and in the Carlsberg Fjord and Tait Bjerg Members. The Norian–early Rhaetian, lacustrine Fleming Fjord Group was deposited at about 41° N on the northern part of the supercontinent Pangaea. Lacustrine sedimentation was controlled by seasonal as well as longer-term (orbital) variation in precipitation. Precipitation was probably brought to the basin by southwesterly winds. The lacustrine sediments of the uppermost Fleming Fjord Group show deposition during increasingly humid conditions changing the lake environment from an ephemeral lake-steppe area to a perennial lake. This evolution of lake environment suggests a change from a winter-wet temperate climate to one with precipitation throughout the year.

Mateus, O., & Campos H. (2018).  Loulé há mais de 220 Milhões de anos: os vertebrados fósseis do Algarve triásico. Loulé: Territórios. Memórias. Identidades. 651-659.: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia | Imprensa Nacionalmateus_campos2018_algarve_triasico.pdf
Campos, H., Mateus O., & Moreno-Azanza M. (2017).  Preliminary results on the stratigraphy and taphonomy of multiple bonebeds in the Triassic of Algarve. Abstract book of the XV Encuentro de Jóvenes Investigadores en Paleontología/XV Encontro de Jovens Investigadores em Paleontologia, Lisboa, 428 pp.. 83-87. Abstractcampos_et_al._2017_preliminary_results_pn_the_stratigraphy_and_taphonomy_of_multiple_beds_in_the_triassic_of_algarve..pdf

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Lallensack, J. N., Klein H., Milàn J., Wings O., Mateus O., & Clemmensen L. B. (2017).  Sauropodomorph dinosaur trackways from the Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland: Evidence for Late Triassic sauropods. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 62(4), 833-843. Abstractlallensack_et_al_2017_-_sauropodomorph_tracks_greenland.pdf

The Late Triassic (Norian–early Rhaetian) Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland preserves a diverse fossil fauna, including both body and trace fossils. Trackways of large quadrupedal archosaurs, although already reported in 1994 and mentioned in subsequent publications, are here described and figured in detail for the first time, based on photogrammetric data collected during fieldwork in 2012. Two trackways can be referred to Eosauropus, while a third, bipedal trackway may be referred to Evazoum, both of which have been considered to represent sauropodomorph dinosaur tracks. Both the Evazoum and the Eosauropus trackways are distinctly larger than other trackways referred to the respective ichnogenera. The trackmaker of the best preserved Eosauropus trackway is constrained using a synapomorphy-based approach. The quadrupedal posture, the entaxonic pes structure, and five weight-bearing digits indicate a derived sauropodiform trackmaker. Other features exhibited by the tracks, including the semi-digitigrade pes and the laterally deflected unguals, are commonly considered synapomorphies of more exclusive clades within Sauropoda. The present trackway documents an early acquisition of a eusauropod-like pes anatomy while retaining a well-developed claw on pedal digit IV, which is reduced in eusauropods. Although unequivocal evidence for sauropod dinosaurs is no older than the Early Jurassic, the present trackway provides evidence for a possible Triassic origin of the group.

Marzola, M., Mateus O., Milàn J., & Clemmensen L. B. (2017).  Synrift sedimentary deposition and vertebrate fossil abundance: the tetrapod record from Greenland. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts. 2017, 159-160. Abstractmarzola_et_al_2017_svp_abstract_greenland.pdf

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Brusatte, S. L., Butler R. J., Mateus O., & Steyer S. J. (2015).  A new species of Metoposaurus from the Late Triassic of Portugal and comments on the systematics and biogeography of metoposaurid temnospondyls. Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e912988., 2015: Taylor & Francis Abstractbrusatte_et_al2015metoposaurusportugal.pdfWebsite

ABSTRACTMetoposaurids are a group of temnospondyl amphibians that filled crocodile-like predatory niches in fluvial and lacustrine environments during the Late Triassic. Metoposaurids are common in the Upper Triassic sediments of North Africa, Europe, India, and North America, but many questions about their systematics and phylogeny remain unresolved. We here erect Metoposaurus algarvensis, sp. nov., the first Metoposaurus species from the Iberian Peninsula, based on several new specimens from a Late Triassic bonebed in Algarve, southern Portugal. We describe the cranial and pectoral anatomy of M. algarvensis and compare it with other metoposaurids (particularly other specimens of Metoposaurus from Germany and Poland). We provide a revised diagnosis and species-level taxonomy for the genus Metoposaurus, which is currently represented with certainty by three European species (M. diagnosticus, M. krasiejowensis, M. algarvensis). We also identify cranial characters that differentiate these three species, and may have phylogenetic significance. These include features of the braincase and mandible, which indicate that metoposaurid skulls are more variable than previously thought. The new Portuguese bonebed provides further evidence that metoposaurids congregated in fluvial and lacustrine settings across their geographic range and often succumbed to mass death events. We provide an updated paleogeographic map depicting all known metoposaurid occurrences, which shows that these temnospondyls were globally distributed in low latitudes during the Late Triassic and had a similar, but not identical, paleogeographic range as phytosaurs.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:083C80C6-0AB6-49E1-A636-6A8BDBC06A47ABSTRACTMetoposaurids are a group of temnospondyl amphibians that filled crocodile-like predatory niches in fluvial and lacustrine environments during the Late Triassic. Metoposaurids are common in the Upper Triassic sediments of North Africa, Europe, India, and North America, but many questions about their systematics and phylogeny remain unresolved. We here erect Metoposaurus algarvensis, sp. nov., the first Metoposaurus species from the Iberian Peninsula, based on several new specimens from a Late Triassic bonebed in Algarve, southern Portugal. We describe the cranial and pectoral anatomy of M. algarvensis and compare it with other metoposaurids (particularly other specimens of Metoposaurus from Germany and Poland). We provide a revised diagnosis and species-level taxonomy for the genus Metoposaurus, which is currently represented with certainty by three European species (M. diagnosticus, M. krasiejowensis, M. algarvensis). We also identify cranial characters that differentiate these three species, and may have phylogenetic significance. These include features of the braincase and mandible, which indicate that metoposaurid skulls are more variable than previously thought. The new Portuguese bonebed provides further evidence that metoposaurids congregated in fluvial and lacustrine settings across their geographic range and often succumbed to mass death events. We provide an updated paleogeographic map depicting all known metoposaurid occurrences, which shows that these temnospondyls were globally distributed in low latitudes during the Late Triassic and had a similar, but not identical, paleogeographic range as phytosaurs.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:083C80C6-0AB6-49E1-A636-6A8BDBC06A47

Clemmensen, L. B., Milàn J., Adolfssen J. S., Estrup E. J., Frobøse N., Klein N., Mateus O., & Wings O. (2015).  The vertebrate-bearing Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland revisited: stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and new palaeontological data. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 434(1), 31-47. Abstractclemmensenetal2015greenland.pdfWebsite

In Late Triassic (Norian–Rhaetian) times, the Jameson Land Basin lay at 40° N on the northern part of the supercontinent Pangaea. This position placed the basin in a transition zone between the relatively dry interior of the supercontinent and its more humid periphery. Sedimentation in the Jameson Land Basin took place in a lake–mudflat system and was controlled by orbitally forced variations in precipitation. Vertebrate fossils have consistently been found in these lake deposits (Fleming Fjord Formation), and include fishes, dinosaurs, amphibians, turtles, aetosaurs and pterosaurs. Furthermore, the fauna includes mammaliaform teeth and skeletal material. New vertebrate fossils were found during a joint vertebrate palaeontological and sedimentological expedition to Jameson Land in 2012. These new finds include phytosaurs, a second stem testudinatan specimen and new material of sauropodomorph dinosaurs, including osteologically immature individuals. Phytosaurs are a group of predators common in the Late Triassic, but previously unreported from Greenland. The finding includes well-preserved partial skeletons that show the occurrence of four individuals of three size classes. The new finds support a late Norian–early Rhaetian age for the Fleming Fjord Formation, and add new information on the palaeogeographical and palaeolatitudinal distribution of Late Triassic faunal provinces.

Mateus, O., Butler R. J., Brusatte S. L., Whiteside J. H., & Steyer S. J. (2014).  The first phytosaur (Diapsida, Archosauriformes) from the Late Triassic of the Iberian Peninsula. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34(4), 970-975.mateus_et_al_2014_first_phytosaur_algarve_portugal_jvp.pdfWebsite