First tetrapod footprints from the Permian of Sardinia and their palaeontological and stratigraphical significance

The Torre del Porticciolo palaeontological locality (Alghero, north‐west Sardinia, Italy) is important for having provided the skeletal remains of the first Permian basal synapsid from Italy, Alierasaurus ronchii, the largest late early Permian to early middle Permian non‐therapsid synapsid known to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geological journal (Chichester, England) England), 2019-07, Vol.54 (4), p.2084-2098
Main Authors: Citton, Paolo, Ronchi, Ausonio, Maganuco, Simone, Caratelli, Martina, Nicosia, Umberto, Sacchi, Eva, Romano, Marco, Somerville, I. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Basins
Carnivores
Dredging
Excavation
footprints
Fossils
Italy
Merifontichnus
Permian
Predators
Sardinia
Stratigraphy
tetrapods
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Summary:The Torre del Porticciolo palaeontological locality (Alghero, north‐west Sardinia, Italy) is important for having provided the skeletal remains of the first Permian basal synapsid from Italy, Alierasaurus ronchii, the largest late early Permian to early middle Permian non‐therapsid synapsid known to date. Recently, other skeletal remains preliminarily attributed to a carnivorous non‐therapsid synapsid were described from a second site, approximately from the same stratigraphic level within the Cala del Vino Fm. During the excavation of this second site, tetrapod tracks were found near Cala Viola, about 1 km from the first two sites. The new find represents the first ichnological record from the Permian of Sardinia. The ichnological analysis allowed the recognition of tetrapods presently not recognized, just on the base of skeletal remains. This new evidence sheds more light on the faunal diversity within the Cala del Vino Fm., which is one of the few examples in the Permian of Europe of a combined ichno‐ and body‐fossil record. The tracks have been referred to as Merifontichnus, an ichnotaxon established from the uppermost portion of the Permian succession of the Lodève Basin in southern France. The new material is the first reliable occurrence of this ichnotaxon from Italy and would represent, to date, the oldest occurrence of the ichnogenus.
ISSN:0072-1050
1099-1034
DOI:10.1002/gj.3285