Abstract
Chroniosuchians are basal tetrapods nesting within the paraphyletic anthracosaurs and were so far only well known from the Permian and Triassic of Russia. In this study, we present evidence for their existence in the upper Middle Triassic of Germany, based on diagnostic osteoderms and vertebrae from the Kupferzell and Vellberg localities in southern Germany. The finds are most similar to Synesuchus, a Middle Triassic bystrowianid chroniosuchian from the Northern Ural Pechora region. They demonstrate that by Middle Triassic time, chroniosuchians were much more widespread than previously thought.
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Acknowledgment
We are grateful to Hans Hagdorn, Werner Kugler, Rupert Wild, and the Schumann family for their support and encouragement over the years. Jason Anderson and two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the manuscript.
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Witzmann, F., Schoch, R.R. & Maisch, M.W. A relict basal tetrapod from Germany: first evidence of a Triassic chroniosuchian outside Russia. Naturwissenschaften 95, 67–72 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-007-0291-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-007-0291-6