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Triassic

All articles tagged with #triassic

Spoon-Teethed Triassic Marine Reptile Rewrites Early Sauropterygian Roots
paleontology8 days ago

Spoon-Teethed Triassic Marine Reptile Rewrites Early Sauropterygian Roots

A new genus and species of sauropterygian marine reptile, Spatulidentatus breviceps, from the Middle Triassic (~245 million years ago) has been identified from a near-complete skeleton found on China’s Yunnan–Guizhou border. The specimen, GMG10, is preserved in Guizhou’s Geological Museum and exhibits spoon-shaped teeth and a notably short skull in a ~2.7 m animal. Recovered from the Guanling Formation, the discovery provides fresh data on basal sauropterygian evolution and hints at links to placodonts and early Atopodentatus, enriching understanding of Triassic marine ecosystems after the end-Permian extinction.

via Sci.News|
#guanlingformation#marinereptile#paleontology
Ancient Cynodont Fossil Pushes Live Birth Deep into Mammal Lineage
biology15 days ago

Ancient Cynodont Fossil Pushes Live Birth Deep into Mammal Lineage

Analysis of a 236-million-year-old cynodont fossil from Argentina reveals a neonatal bone line indicating live birth, with a newborn mass around 1.68 kg (about 10–20% of an adult), suggesting viviparity originated in the mammalian lineage far earlier than thought (roughly 90–95 million years ago) and proposing two plausible evolutionary scenarios for this trait's emergence.

via Sci.News|
#biology#cynodont#fossil
Blade-Jawed Triassic Crocodile Ruled the Land After the Great Dying
science16 days ago

Blade-Jawed Triassic Crocodile Ruled the Land After the Great Dying

Paleontologists in Argentina uncovered Shakajlura riojanensis, a nearly 20-foot-long paracrocodylomorph with dagger-like teeth that dominated terrestrial ecosystems during the Early to Middle Triassic, about 237 million years ago, shortly after the Permian mass extinction, illustrating how crocodile-like ancestors briefly ruled the land before dinosaurs rose to prominence.

via Yahoo|
#argentina#crocodile-relatives#paleontology
New Triassic Sauropodomorph Unearthed at Zimbabwe’s Kariba Lake Shore
science1 month ago

New Triassic Sauropodomorph Unearthed at Zimbabwe’s Kariba Lake Shore

Paleontologists describe Musango matusadonaensis, a 4.5-meter early sauropodomorph from the Upper Triassic Pebbly Arkose Formation near Musango Island on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. This new species, part of the Unaysauridae and closely related to Musankwa sanyatiensis but distinct in anatomy and size, reinforces the idea that southern Africa hosted diverse, region-specific dinosaur ecosystems during Gondwana and suggests more fossils in the area await discovery.

via Sci.News|
#dinosaur#lake-kariba#science
Tiny Triassic Jaw Reframes Early Lizards' Family Tree
paleontology1 month ago

Tiny Triassic Jaw Reframes Early Lizards' Family Tree

A micro-sized Late Triassic jaw fossil of Cargninia enigmatica from southern Brazil preserves 12 teeth (likely up to 18) and, via micro-CT, reveals trigeminal nerve patterns resembling living lepidosaurs. Large phylogenetic analyses consistently place Cargninia as a non-lepidosaur lepidosauromorph, suggesting it predates true lepidosaurs and helps illuminate the early evolution of lizards and their relatives; the find dates to about 225 million years ago and was described online July 4, 2026 in The Anatomical Record.

via Sci.News|
#brazil#cargninia-enigmatica#lepidosauromorpha
Around the Milky Way in 230 Million Years: The Sun's Orbit Isn't a Do-Over
space2 months ago

Around the Milky Way in 230 Million Years: The Sun's Orbit Isn't a Do-Over

Space Daily explains that the Sun's orbit around the Milky Way takes roughly 225–250 million years (230 Myr is the common figure), but this isn't precise since the period depends on position in the galaxy and Gaia data have nudged estimates downward. One galactic year ago places Earth in the Late Triassic (about 230–233 million years ago), when the first dinosaurs appeared. The idea of returning to the exact same spot is misleading because differential rotation, moving spiral arms, and the Sun's vertical oscillation change the local environment over time. A plane-crossing extinction link remains unproven, so the galactic-year picture is a useful though imprecise scale of cosmic time.

via Space Daily|
#dinosaurs#galactic-year#milky-way
Triassic Two-Legged Crocodile Relative Unearthed in New Mexico
science3 months ago

Triassic Two-Legged Crocodile Relative Unearthed in New Mexico

Paleontologists described Labrujasuchus expectatus, a new shuvosaurid archosaur from Hayden Quarry in northern New Mexico, about 212 million years old. This toothless, bipedal relative of crocodile ancestors helps fill a 10-million-year gap with Shuvosaurus and Effigia, reinforcing the idea that western North America hosted an endemic, morphologically conservative group of small, two‑legged archosaurs during the Triassic; the study was published online May 26, 2026 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

via Sci.News|
#archosaur#labrujasuchus#newmexico
Crocodile kin beats dinosaurs to beaked, two-legged form by 212 million years
science3 months ago

Crocodile kin beats dinosaurs to beaked, two-legged form by 212 million years

A new species, Labrujasuchus expectatus, from Ghost Ranch, NM, shows a two‑legged, toothless‑beaked crocodile relative that looked like a small theropod dinosaur but wasn’t a dinosaur. Dated to about 212 million years ago in the Late Triassic, it demonstrates convergent evolution—crocodile lineages and later dinosaurs independently arriving at a similar beaked, two-legged form under comparable ecological pressures. The find highlights how the crocodile branch explored a variety of body plans long before dinosaurs dominated the terrestrial fauna.

via Space Daily|
#convergent-evolution#ghost-ranch#labrujasuchus
Triassic 'witch croc' from Ghost Ranch reveals a bipedal, toothless crocodile relative
science3 months ago

Triassic 'witch croc' from Ghost Ranch reveals a bipedal, toothless crocodile relative

A NHMLAC-led team describes Labrujasuchus expectatus, a beaked, toothless, bipedal crocodile-relative from the Late Triassic found at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. Though its look mirrors dinosaurs, it’s still crocodile-line, illustrating convergent evolution and filling a gap between earlier and later shuvosaurs.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|
#bipedalism#ghost-ranch#labrujasuchus-expectatus
1.2-Meter Triassic Amphibian Preserved in Garden Wall
science3 months ago

1.2-Meter Triassic Amphibian Preserved in Garden Wall

A 240-million-year-old temnospondyl amphibian, Arenaerpeton supinatus, was identified from a near-complete skeleton with skin impressions found inside a Sydney garden wall; about 1.2 meters long, it lived in Triassic freshwater and bore fang-like teeth, with the preservation of soft tissue offering rare insights into ancient amphibians and Australia’s fossil heritage.

via ScienceDaily|
#amphibian#australia#fossils
Undergrad Uncovers Hidden Late-Triassic Carnivore, Redrawing Dino History
science3 months ago

Undergrad Uncovers Hidden Late-Triassic Carnivore, Redrawing Dino History

A deformed late-Triassic skull, once dismissed, was reassembled with CT scanning by Virginia Tech undergraduate Simba Srivastava, revealing Ptychotherates bucculentus, a previously unknown carnivorous dinosaur. The discovery, published in Papers in Palaeontology, suggests early dinosaurs diversified earlier than thought and that the Herrerasauria lineage persisted longer in the American Southwest, reshaping our understanding of dinosaur evolution before T. rex.

via Indian Defence Review|
#dinosaur#paleontology#ptychotherates-bucculentus
Girl on a UK beach uncovers jaw of giant Triassic ichthyosaur
animals4 months ago

Girl on a UK beach uncovers jaw of giant Triassic ichthyosaur

On a Somerset beach, 11-year-old Ruby Reynolds and her father found jaw fragments dating to about 202 million years ago, leading scientists to name Ichthyotitan severnensis, a colossal ichthyosaur potentially around 82 feet long—the largest marine reptile known—based on skeletal jaw evidence; the discovery, described in PLOS ONE, highlights how citizen science and coastal erosion can rewrite natural history.

via Earth.com|
#animals#ichthyosaur#ichthyotitan-severnensis
Ghost Ranch fossil gains a name, revealing a new Triassic crocodylomorph
science4 months ago

Ghost Ranch fossil gains a name, revealing a new Triassic crocodylomorph

A fossil from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, has been identified as a new genus and species of crocodylomorph, Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa, dating to the Late Triassic. Discovered in 1948 and stored in the Peabody Museum basement for about 75 years, it was previously mislabeled as Hesperosuchus agilis. Detailed comparison revealed a shorter snout, a reinforced skull, and a powerful bite, suggesting distinct ecological niches for two crocodylomorphs coexisting in the same environment and underscoring early diversification of crocodile relatives.

via Live Science|
#crocodylomorphs#eosphorosuchus-lacrimosa#ghost-ranch