Trachelosaurus Explained

Trachelosaurus is an extinct genus of lizard-like early archosauromorph reptiles in the family Trachelosauridae.[1] It was originally described as a dinosaur until it was redescribed as a "protorosaur" reptile by Robert L. Carroll in 1988.[2] The type species, T. fischeri, was described by F. Broili & E. Fischer in 1917[3] based on remains found in the Solling Formation (Buntsandstein), Bernburg, Germany.[4] A 2024 redescription identified Trachelosaurus as a long-necked and presumably aquatic reptile closely related to Dinocephalosaurus from the Guanling Formation of China.[5]

Classification

In their 2024 redescription of Trachelosaurus, Spiekman and colleagues recovered it in a clade with the Chinese Dinocephalosaurus in a clade previously named Dinocephalosauridae in 2021. However, the principle of priority instructs that the name Trachelosauridae, which was first erected as a monotypic clade for Trachelosaurus, should be used instead. The results of their phylogenetic analyses are shown in the cladogram below:

Notes and References

  1. O. Kuhn. (1971). Reptiles of the German Triassic. 1-105
  2. R. L. Carroll. (1988). Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution 1-698
  3. F. Broili and E. Fischer. (1917). Trachelosaurus fischeri nov. gen. nov. sp. A new dinosaur from the Buntsandstein of Bernburg. Jahrbuch der Königlich Preussischen geologischen Landesanstalt zu Berlin 37(1):359-414
  4. H. H. Ecke. (1986). Palynologie des Zechsteins und Unteren Buntsandsteins im Germanischen Becken. Dissertation Georg-August-Universität Göttingen 1-117
  5. Spiekman . Stephan N. F. . Ezcurra . Martín D. . Rytel . Adam . Wang . Wei . Mujal . Eudald . Buchwitz . Michael . Schoch . Rainer R. . 2024-03-15 . A redescription of Trachelosaurus fischeri from the Buntsandstein (Middle Triassic) of Bernburg, Germany: the first European Dinocephalosaurus-like marine reptile and its systematic implications for long-necked early archosauromorphs . . 143 . 1 . 10 . 10.1186/s13358-024-00309-6 . free . 1664-2384.