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Journal article
A Triassic stem turtle with an edentulous beak
The early evolution of turtles continues to be a contentious issue in vertebrate palaeontology. Recent reports have suggested that they are diapsids1,2,3,4,5,6, but the position of turtles within Diapsida is controversial 7,8,9,10,11,12 and the sequence of acquisition of turtle synapomorphies remains unclear1,2,3. Here we describe a Triassic turtle from China...Li, Chun ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Rieppel, Olivier ; Wu, Xiao-Chun
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Journal article
Tanystropheus cf. T. longobardicus from the Early Late Triassic of Guizhou Province, Southwestern China
The protorosaur Tanystropheus longobardicus is well known from the Middle Triassic of alpine Europe. It has been described on the basis of a number of specimens that apparently range from juvenile to adult. The largest specimens have a total body length of approximately 3 m. Here we report on the...Fraser, Nicholas C ; Rieppel, Olivier ; Jiang, Da-Yong ; Hao, Wei-Cheng ; Motani, Ryosuke …
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Journal article
Use of fine-scale stratigraphy and chemostratigraphy to evaluate conditions of deposition and preservation of a Triassic lagerstätte, south-central Virginia
The rich, fossiliferous Triassic sediments exposed in the Virginia Solite Quarry include a 34-mm-thick “insect layer” that is notable for detailed preservation of soft-bodied invertebrate and vertebrate remains. We describe this unique Konservat-Lagerstätte and use sedimentologic and geochemical analyses to interpret the environmental conditions necessary to preserve such delicate fossils....Fraser, Nicholas C ; Liutkus, C M ; Beard, J S ; Ragland, P C
North America, Lacustrine, Newark Supergroup, Danville-Dan River Basin, rift basin, and insects
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Journal article
New information on the protorosaurian reptile Macrocnemus fuyuanensis, Li et al., 2007, from the Middle/Upper Triassic of Yunnan, China
A new specimen of the protorosaur Macrocnemus fuyuanensis, from the Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation at Fuyuan (Yunnan Province, southwestern China), is described and compared with Macrocnemus bassanii. The new specimen is the first in the genus Macrocnemus that clearly shows details of the preorbital region of the skull....Jiang, Da-Yong ; Rieppel, Olivier ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Motani, Ryosuke ; Hao, Wei-Cheng …
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Journal article
A new Neocalamites (Sphenophyta) with prickles and attached cones from the Upper Triassic of China.
Remains of the extinct sphenophyte (horsetail) Neocalamites are most widespread in the Middle–Upper Triassic and are typically represented by stem and leaf fragments. Here we report on spectacular new finds of Neocalamites from the Late Triassic Yangcaogou Formation in Liaoning Province, China that include bedding surfaces dominated by nearly complete...Zan, Shuqin ; Axsmith, Brian J ; Escapa, Ignacio ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Fengxiang, Liu …
Sphenophyta, Horsetails, Neocalamites, Liaoning, Triassic, and China
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Journal article
New evidence for laurasian corystosperms: Umkomasia from the Upper Triassic of Northern China
Recent finds of remarkable fossil plants from the Upper Triassic Yangcaogou Formation in Liaoning Province, PR China include branched, cupule-bearing structures referable to the corystosperm ovulate organ Umkomasia. This material is described and assigned to the proposed new species Umkomasia asiatica. The collection includes numerous isolated cupules and fragments of...Shuqin, Zan ; Axsmith, Brian J ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Fengxiang, Liu ; Dehe, Xing
Corystospermales, Umkomasia, pteridosperms, Triassic, Laurasia, and China
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Journal article
Revision of Erpetosuchus (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) and new erpetosuchid material from the Late Triassic ‘Elgin Reptile’ fauna based on μCT scanning techniques
The Late Triassic fauna of the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation (LSF) from the Elgin area, Scotland, has been pivotal in expanding our understanding of Triassic terrestrial tetrapods. Frustratingly, due to their odd preservation, interpretations of the Elgin Triassic specimens have relied on destructive moulding techniques, which only provide incomplete, and potentially...Foffa , Davide ; Butler, Richard J ; Nesbitt, Sterling J ; Walsh, Stig ; Barrett, Paul M …
systematics, Erpetosuchidae , Erpetosuchus granti , Leptopleuron , and anatomy
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Journal article
The skeletal anatomy of the Triassic protorosaur Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou Province, southern China
The first protorosaur from the Middle Triassic of China, Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li is known from two specimens: the holotype (an isolated skull in association with the first three cervical vertebrae), and a referred specimen (an almost complete, associated and partially articulated specimen lacking the tail). This material is here described...Rieppel, Olivier ; Li, Chun ; Fraser, Nicholas C
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Lecture
Chip shops and drain cleaners: the weird world of the Triassic
The Triassic is notorious for some of the strangest vertebrates ever to have lived. Fossil assemblages around the world exhibit incredibly different types of fauna both in the terrestrial and marine realms. What brought about this remarkable diversity and why is it particularly relevant to our understanding of today’s terrestrial...Fraser, Nicholas C
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Blog post
Take to the Skye: New pterosaur discovery
A recent spectacular find on the Isle of Skye shines new light on pterosaurs of the Jurassic period. Our Keeper of Natural Sciences Nick Fraser tells us more about this discovery, Skye’s fossil riches and the people bringing them to light, both in the past and today.Fraser, Nicholas C
Fossils , Palaeontology , Skye, and Dinosaurs