An archosauromorph dominated ichnoassemblage in fluvial settings from the late Early Triassic of the Catalan Pyrenees (NE Iberian Peninsula)

The vertebrate recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction can be approached through the ichnological record, which is much more abundant than body fossils. The late Olenekian (Early Triassic) tetrapod ichnoassemblage of the Catalan Pyrenean Basin is the most complete and diverse of this age from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2017-04, Vol.12 (4), p.e0174693-e0174693
Main Authors: Mujal, Eudald, Fortuny, Josep, Bolet, Arnau, Oms, Oriol, López, José Ángel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Architecture
Basins
Biodiversity
Biological Evolution
Biology and Life Sciences
Braiding
Breakup
Dinosauria
Dinosaurs - anatomy & histology
Dinosaurs - classification
Dinosaurs - physiology
Earth Sciences
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Evolution
Extinction
Extinction, Biological
Fossils
Geology
Mass extinctions
Mesozoic
Orogeny
Paleontology
Pangea
Permian
Phylogeny
Plate tectonics
Recovery
Reptiles & amphibians
Sciences of the Universe
Spain
Swimming
Triassic
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Summary:The vertebrate recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction can be approached through the ichnological record, which is much more abundant than body fossils. The late Olenekian (Early Triassic) tetrapod ichnoassemblage of the Catalan Pyrenean Basin is the most complete and diverse of this age from Western Tethys. This extensional basin, composed of several depocenters, was formed in the latest phases of the Variscan orogeny (Pangea breakup) and was infilled by braided and meandering fluvial systems of the red-beds Buntsandstein facies. Abundant and diverse tetrapod ichnites are recorded in these facies, including Prorotodactylus mesaxonichnus isp. nov. (tracks possibly produced by euparkeriids), cf. Rotodactylus, at least two large chirotheriid morphotypes (archosauriform trackmakers), Rhynchosauroides cf. schochardti, two other undetermined Rhynchosauroides forms, an undetermined Morphotype A (archosauromorph trackmakers) and two types of Characichnos isp. (swimming traces, here associated to archosauromorph trackmakers). The Pyrenean ichnoassemblage suggests a relatively homogeneous ichnofaunal composition through the late Early Triassic of Central Pangea, characterized by the presence of Prorotodactylus and Rotodactylus. Small archosauromorph tracks dominate and present a wide distribution through the different fluviatile facies of the Triassic Pyrenean Basin, with large archosaurian footprints being present in a lesser degree. Archosauromorphs radiated and diversified through the Triassic vertebrate recovery, which ultimately lead to the archosaur and dinosaur dominance of the Mesozoic.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0174693