Tanytrachelos ahynis (n.gen., n. sp.) is a lepidosaur from the Late Triassic Dan River Group (Newark Supergroup) of North Carolina and Virginia. The new reptile has gracile proportions similar to Tanystropheus (Middle Triassic) and is referred to the family Tanystropheidae of the suborder Prolacertiformes. Unlike Tanystropheus, Tanytrachelos has relatively short cervical vertebrae bearing splin...

The Permian-Triassic bottleneck has long been thought to have drastically altered the course of echinoid evolution, with the extinction of the entire echinoid stem group having taken place during the end-Permian mass extinction. The Early Triassic fossil record of echinoids is, however, sparse, and new fossils are paving the way for a revised interpretation of the evolutionary history of echino...

Outcrops of the Lower Triassic (Spathian) Virgin Limestone Member (Moenkopi Formation) in the southwestern United States contain the oldest known metazoan bioherms formed in the aftermath of the endPermian mass extinction. These small buildups, up to 1.0 m in diameter and 0.2 m high, were constructed by cementing bivalves. The bivalve bioherms accreted in a shallow, subtidal environment above s...

The 'Rauisuchia' are a group of Triassic pseudosuchian archosaurs that displayed a near worldwide distribution. In Brazil, their fossils are found only in the Santa Maria Formation (Paraná Basin) of the Rio Grande do Sul State, specifically in the Middle Triassic Dinodontosaurus assemblage zone (AZ) and the Late Triassic Hyperodapedon AZ (Rauisuchus tiradentes). Between these two cenozones is t...

—Delayed biotic recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction has long been interpreted to result from environmental inhibition. Recently, evidence of more rapid recovery has begun to emerge, suggesting the role of environmental inhibition was previously overestimated. However, there have been few high-resolution taxonomic and ecological studies spanning the full Early and Middle Triassic recov...

Citation: Jaquier VP, Fraser NC, Furrer H and Scheyer TM (2017) Osteology of a New Specimen of Macrocnemus aff. M. fuyuanensis (Archosauromorpha, Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of Europe: Potential Implications for Species Recognition and Paleogeography of Tanystropheid Protorosaurs. Front. Earth Sci. 5:91. doi: 10.3389/feart.2017.00091 Osteology of a New Specimen of Macrocnemus aff. M...

The end-Permian biotic crisis (~252.5 Ma) represents the most severe extinction event in Earth's history. This paper investigates diversity patterns in Anomodontia, an extinct group of therapsid synapsids ('mammal-like reptiles'), through time and in particular across this event. As herbivores and the dominant terrestrial tetrapods of their time, anomodonts play a central role in assessing the ...

Carbon cycle disturbance associated with mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period continued through the Early Triassic, an interval of approximately 5 million years. Coincidence of carbon cycle stabilization with accelerated Middle Triassic biotic recovery suggests a link between carbon cycling and biodiversity, but the cause of Early Triassic carbon isotope excursions remains poorly un...

Coprolites are the least studied and most under-sampled vertebrate trace fossils. They are very common in some Triassic localities. We recognize six new coprolite ichnotaxa: Alococopros triassicus, A. indicus, Saurocopros bucklandi, Liassococopros hawkinsi, Malericopros matleyi and Falcatocopros oxfordensis. The distribution of coprolite ichnotaxa is: Permian Hyronocopros amphipolar and Heterop...

During the end-Permian mass extinction, marine ecosystems suffered a major drop in diversity, which was maintained throughout the Early Triassic until delayed recovery during the Middle Triassic. This depressed diversity in the Early Triassic correlates with multiple major perturbations to the global carbon cycle, interpreted as either intrinsic ecosystem or external palaeoenvironmental effects...