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Bernhard Peyer (1885–1963) was a prominent Swiss vertebrate palaeontologist and anatomist at the University of Zurich. In 1919, he discovered the occurrence of Middle Triassic (Anisian–Ladinian) ichthyosaurs, sauropterygians, and other reptiles at Monte San Giorgio on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Starting in 1924, Peyer, and later his student and successor Emil Kuhn-Schnyder, worked tirelessly to excavate and collect material from fossil-bearing deposits in this region. The discovery of an articulated skeleton of a long-necked reptile in 1929 allowed Peyer to solve the riddle of unusually elongate bones from the German Muschelkalk, which, he demonstrated, were cervical vertebrae of the extraordinarily long-necked reptile Tanystropheus. As a student in 1919 and later in 1942, Peyer explored a Rhaetian bonebed close to his native town of Schaffhausen. Processing the sediment, he recovered numerous small bones and teeth of vertebrates, among which teeth of diverse stem-mammals are of particular importance.

The diverse assemblage of non-marine tetrapods from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Erfurt Formation of Baden-Württemberg (Germany) includes a reptile with thin dentaries and maxillae and two or three distinctive large teeth. The only comparable taxon is Colognathus obscurus from various Norian-age strata in the American Southwest and North Carolina, which differs primarily in the presence of a large molariform tooth at the posterior end of each tooth row. The German taxon was previously known only from partial dentaries. This paper documents a newly identified cranial fragment including the maxillary dentition. A new taxon, Quasicolognathus eothen gen. et sp. nov., is proposed for the reception of the jaw remains from the Erfurt Formation. The new cranial material refutes previous suggestions that Colognathus obscurus is a fish and supports its identification as a reptile.

Parts of the hind limbs of what appears to be a single individual of a theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian–?Campanian) Bostobe Formation of the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan, are identified as belonging to an indeterminate ornithomimid based on combination of derived and primitive traits including one ornithomimosaurian synapomorphy (medial side of the anterior surface of the distal end of metatarsal III expanded). This is the first discovery of the associated theropod material from the Bostobe Formation. Ornithomimids were known previously from this formation only from isolated bones. Based on the reduction of the flexor fossa and flexor tubercle on the pedal ungual this material can be referred to the derived ornithomimid clade that includes Sinornithomimus, Gallimimus, Qiupalong, Struthiomimus, and Ornithomimus. The partial femur has a dorsomedially directed head similar to that of an unidentified ornithomimid from the correlative Yalovach Formation of Tajikistan and may belong to the same or a closely related taxon.

Non-crocodyliform crocodylomorphs, often called ‘sphenosuchians’, were the earliest-diverging lineages of Crocodylomorpha, and document the stepwise acquisition of many of the features that characterize extant crocodylians. The first crocodylomorph fossils are approximately 230 million years old (upper Carnian, Late Triassic), and at least one of these early lineages persisted until at least 150 million years ago (Late Jurassic). These taxa occupied a wide variety of terrestrial environments from equatorial regions to high-paleolatitudes during the early Mesozoic. Despite a quarter-century of quantitative phylogenetic work, the interrelationships of early crocodylomorphs remain in a state of flux, though recent studies suggest that these lineages are paraphyletic with respect to Crocodyliformes, rather than forming a monophyletic early offshoot of Crocodylomorpha as some previously hypothesized. Nearly all early crocodylomorphs were upright quadrupedal small-bodied taxa, but lumping them all together as small cursorial faunivores masks ecological and morphological disparity in diet and limb functional morphology. With the accelerated pace of recent discovery of new specimens and taxa, future consensus on early crocodylomorph phylogeny will provide a solid framework for understanding their change in diversity and disparity through time, potential biogeographic patterns, and the morphological transformation leading to Crocodyliformes.

Doswelliidae is a clade of armoured non-archosaurian archosauriform reptiles more closely related to Archosauria than are Proterosuchidae, Erythrosuchidae and possibly Euparkeria capensis. It is currently known from the late Middle Triassic (Ladinian) of Germany, the late Middle to early Late Triassic (Ladinian–Carnian) of Argentina and Brazil, and the Late Triassic (Carnian–Norian) of the USA. To date, two unambiguous synapomorphies diagnose Doswelliidae: (i) osteoderm ornamentation coarse, incised, and composed of central regular pits of subequal size and shape, and (ii) osteoderms with anterior articular lamina. Five taxa are currently recognized: Archeopelta arborensis, Doswellia kaltenbachi, Doswellia sixmilensis, Tarjadia ruthaeand a new taxon from Germany. Based on skeletal features and occurrence, doswelliid archosauriforms may have had a semi-aquatic mode of life.

Abstract: Venom delivery systems occur in a wide range of extant and fossil vertebrates and are primarily based on oral adaptations. Teeth range from unmodified (Komodo dragons) to highly specialized fangs similar to hypodermic needles (protero- and solenoglyphous snakes). Developmental biologists have documented evidence for an infolding pathway of fang evolution, where the groove folds over to create the more derived condition. However, the oldest known members of venomous clades retain the same condition as their extant relatives, resulting in no fossil evidence for the transition. Based on a comparison of previously known specimens with newly discovered teeth from North Carolina, we describe a new species of the Late Triassic archosauriform Uatchitodon and provide detailed analyses that provide evidence for both venom conduction and document a complete structural series from shallow grooves to fully enclosed tubular canals. While known only from teeth, Uatchitodon is highly diagnostic in possessing compound serrations and for having two venom canals on each tooth in the dentition. Further, although not a snake, Uatchitodon sheds light on the evolutionary trajectory of venom delivery systems in amniotes and provide solid evidence for venom conduction in archosaur-line diapsids.

Abstract: Turanoceratops tardabilis from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Bissekty Formation of Dzharakuduk, Uzbekistan, represents the first definite ceratopsid dinosaur recorded from Asia. Reexamination of the original and study of newly collected material indicate that Turanoceratops has well-developed supraorbital horns and apparently lacks a nasal horn. Turanoceratops is more derived than the more or less coeval Zuniceratops from the Moreno Hill Formation of New Mexico in the presence of double-rooted teeth and of two or three teeth in each vertical dental file.

ABSTRACTWe present an anatomical redescription and reassessment of the phylogenetic relationships of Sclerosaurus armatusMeyer in Fischer, 1857, a parareptile from the Lower to lower Middle Triassic Buntsandstein of southern Germany and northern Switzerland. This taxon is distinguished from other known parareptiles by the possession of long, posterolaterally projecting spikes formed by supratemporals, posterior dentary teeth with mesiolingually aligned and slightly imbricating crowns, and a narrow band of dorsal dermal armor comprising two or three rows of sculptured osteoderms on either side of the midline. Phylogenetic analysis places Sclerosaurusin the Procolophonidae rather than as the sister taxon of Pareiasauria. Furthermore, certain apomorphic character states, particularly the presence of three spines on the quadratojugal, support its referral to the Leptopleuroninae. Sclerosaurusresembles pareiasaurs in the presence of an intercondylar canal on the distal end of the femur, the absence of gastralia, and having a short tail. It is possibly the largest procolophonid known to date.

A partial but largely articulated skeleton of a 'rauisuchian' archosaur from Late Upper Triassic strata of the Durham sub-basin, Deep River basin, Newark Supergroup, North Carolina, represents a new species of Postosuchus Chatterjee, 1985. It represents the first record of this taxon from eastern North America. The well preserved specimen includes cranial bones, a largely articulated right manus, right and left pedes, pubes, axis, several postaxial cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, chevron bones, osteoderms, interclavicle, clavicles, cervical ribs, a sacral rib, and a complete set of gastralia. The skeletal elements are described and compared to those of other 'rauisuchians'. An apparant autapomorphy of Postosuchus alisonae includes a well developed flange on the proximal portion of metacarpal II fitting into strongly proximally grooved metacarpal I. The new specimen includes many bones previously unknown for Postosuchus and it allows a more complete differentiation of Postosuchus from other 'rauisuchian' genera. Diagnostic features of this genus include an axis with two ventral keels; postaxial cervical centra with strongly developed single ventral keels that are anteriorly and/or posteriorly extended into hypapophyses; short ribs on the anterior cervical vertebrae; heart-shaped cervical neural 'spine tables'; a subrectangular, relatively short coracoid; and proportionately short manus with dorsoventrally compressed, reduced, blunt unguals on manual digits III and IV. Morphological comparisons indicate a close relationship between Postosuchus and Batrachotomus and possibly also Tikisuchus.

ABSTRACTBased on a review of troodontid specimens from the territories of the former Soviet Union, including new discoveries from Uzbekistan, two dental morphotypes can be distinguished among Troodontidae from the Cretaceous of Asia: (1) unserrated teeth, present in Meifrom Lujiatun (China; Early Cretaceous: Hauterivian-Barremian), an unnamed taxon from Hövöör (Mongolia; Early Cretaceous: Aptian-Albian), Urbacodon itemirensis, gen. et sp. nov. from Itemir and Urbacodon sp. from Dzharakuduk (Uzbekistan; Late Cretaceous: Cenomanian and Turonian, respectively), and Archaeornithoidesfrom Bayn Dzak and Byronosaurusfrom Ukhaa Tolgod (Mongolia; Late Cretaceous: Campanian); and (2) serrated teeth, present in Sinornithoidesfrom Huamuxiao (China; Early Cretaceous) and Sinornithoides-like taxa from Khamryn Us (Mongolia; Early Cretaceous: Aptian-Albian), Shestakovo (Russia; Early Cretaceous: Aptian-Albian), and Sheikhdzheili (Uzbekistan; Late Cretaceous: Cenomanian); Troodontidae indet. from Kansai (Tajikistan; Late Cretaceous: Santonian) and Alymtau (Kazakhstan; Late Cretaceous: Campanian), Saurornithoides(Mongolia and China; Late Cretaceous: Campanian-Maastrichtian), and Troodonfrom Kakanaut and Blagoveshchensk (Russia; Late Cretaceous: Maastrichtian).

Ein hervorragend erhaltener Schädel des Procolophoniden Kapes cf. K. majmesculae aus der Unter-Trias (Olenekium) der Provinz Orenburg in Russland wird im Detail beschrieben. Die anterodorsale Region des Praefrontales bildet einen deutlich entwickelten, posteromedialen Fortsatz, und die Gaumen-Bezahnung unterscheidet sich von denen anderer bisher bekannter Procolophoniden aus der Unter-Trias von Russland. Kapes unterscheidet sich von Tichvinski auch in einer Reihe von anderen Merkmalen im Schädel und in der Bezahnung.

A new taxon of sphenosuchian crocodylomorph, Dromicosuchus grallator, is described on the basis of a well-preserved, largely articulated partial skeleton from Late Triassic strata in the Durham sub-basin of the Deep River basin (Newark Supergroup) of Durham County, North Carolina. The holotype was preserved directly beneath the skeleton of a rauisuchian archosaur; this association, along with apparent bite marks to the head and neck of the crocodylomorph, suggests that the two animals died and were buried together during the act of predation. Dromicosuchus grallator is most closely related to Hesperosuchus agilis from the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation (late Carnian or early Norian) of Arizona and New Mexico and Saltoposuchus connectens from the Middle Stubensandstein (Lowenstein Formation; middle Norian) of Wurttemberg, Germany. The monophyly of Sphenosuchia is only weakly supported at present.

ABSTRACTThe holotype of Irritator challengeriMartill et al., 1996 from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous) in northeastern Brazil represents the most complete skull of a spinosaurid known to date. The now fully prepared specimen provides much new information on the cranial structure in these enigmatic predatory dinosaurs. The skull is remarkably narrow, especially in the region of the elongated snout. The maxillae are in broad contact along the midline, forming an extensive secondary bony palate. The maxillary teeth have straight or slightly recurved, conical crowns, with thin, fluted enamel and distinct but smooth carinae. As in Baryonyx walkeri, the anterior and ventral processes of the lacrimai meet at a more acute angle than in most non-avian theropod dinosaurs. The braincase is short anteroposteriorly but deep dorsoventrally, extending ventrally far below the occipital condyle. Irritator challengerimost closely resembles Spinosaurus aegyptiacusin the structure of its teeth, but more extensive comparisons between the two taxa are currently impossible due to the limited amount of cranial material known for the latter.

A reptile specimen from the LystrosaurusAssemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group, lowermost Triassic of South Africa, represents a new procolophonoid parareptile. Sauropareion anoplusgen. et sp. nov. is identified as the sister taxon of Procolophonidae in a phylogenetic analysis of procolophonoids. Stratigraphic calibration of the most parsimonious tree reveals that four of the six procolophonoid lineages originating in the Permian Period extended into the succeeding Triassic Period. This relatively high taxic survivorship (67) across the Permo–Triassic boundary strongly suggests that procolophonoids were little if at all affected by the mass extinction event that punctuated the end of the Palaeozoic Era (ca.251 million years ago).

An articulated partial skeleton, including a nearly complete skull and left forelimb, of a crocodylomorph reptile from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, is referable to Hesperosuchus agilis Colbert, 1952. It contributes much new information on the skeletal structure of this previously poorly known taxon. A large, circular palpebral bone is present in each orbit. The quadratojugal is particularly well preserved and suggests a reinterpretation of this element in related taxa including Sphenosuchus. Previous analyses of sphenosuchian relationships reached conflicting results, and a critical review of the characters used in these analyses is presented. A phylogenetic analysis of basal crocodylomorph taxa provides weak support for sphenosuchian monophyly, placing Hesperosuchus with Saltoposuchus, Dibothrosuchus, and Sphenosuchus.

Based primarily on two previously undescribed skulls, this paper presents a detailed description of the skull and mandible of the latest Triassic procolophonid reptile Hypsognathus fenneri Gilmore, 1928. One of the new skulls, belonging to a presumed juvenile, clearly establishes for the first time the sutural pattern, which differs significantly from that in Procolophon and more basal procolophonid taxa. A number of shared derived features in the structure of the skull and mandible indicate that Hypsognathus is closely related to Leptopleuron from the Upper Triassic Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation of Scotland. Hypsognathus had a wide geographic and stratigraphic distribution in eastern North America during the latest Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian).

A new traversodont cynodont, Plinthogomphodon herpetairus, is described on the basis of a partial snout from Late Triassic strata of the Newark Supergroup exposed in the Deep River basin (Durham sub-basin) of North Carolina. In the structure of its upper postcanine teeth, Plinthogomphodon most closely resembles Boreogomphodon from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) of Virginia and Luangwa from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Zambia. It differs from these taxa only in some features of these teeth.

New lepidosaurian material is reported from the Lower Cretaceous (middle to upper Valanginian) Kirk-wood Formation, South Africa. The material includes fragmentary jaws of a new sphenodontian and a well-preserved squamate braincase. The braincase is attributable to Squamata based on its possession of a complete abducens canal, a vidian canal that is fully enclosed posterodorsally, a divided metotic fissure, laterally directed basisphenoid processes, and distally expanded paroccipital processes. The prominent anterodorsally directed alar process is a similarity shared with Scleroglossa and some Iguanidae, and the presence of an open fenestra “rotunda” excludes the specimen from the Chameleontidae. The long posterior process of the dentary behind the coronoid process and enlargement of the palatine toothrow support reference of the jaws to the Rhynchocephalia. The open Meckelian groove, the addition of teeth at the back of the jaw, and the possession of at least some degree of acrodonty confirm their sphenodontian affinities. These specimens help to fill a large gap in the fossil record of lepidosaurs from Gondwana and document that squamates and sphenodontians were not confined to northern Gondwana during the Early Cretaceous.

The holotype of Platyognathus hsui Young, 1944, an incomplete mandible from the Lower Jurassic Lower Lufeng Formation of Yunnan (China), was lost or destroyed during World War II. Material subsequently referred to this taxon actually represents a different taxon of basal Crocodyliformes, and some authors have recently questioned the validity of P. hsui. A partial skull collected in 1984 is referable to P. hsui and is designated as a neotype. It corroborates most of the features originally used by Young to diagnose P. hsui and provides additional diagnostic characters for that taxon. P. hsui can be distinguished from other basal crocodyliform taxa primarily by the fused mandibular symphysis, large caniniform teeth in positions 5 and 6 in the dentary, and the polygonal cross-section of (at least) the sixth dentary tooth. P. hsui is referred to the Protosuchia sensu Wu et al. (1994).

Well-preserved skull bones referable to a new protosuchid, Protosuchus micmac, are common in the lower portion of the McCoy Brook Formation (Lower Jurassic: Hettangian) of Nova Scotia, Canada. P. micmac is closely related to P. richardsoni (Brown, 1933) from the Moenave Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Arizona and to P. haughtoni (Busbey et Gow, 1984) from the upper Stormberg Group (Lower Jurassic) of southern Africa. It differs from the latter taxa in several craniodental features, most notably in the presence of two large caniniform teeth in the dentary. The geographic range of protosuchid crocodyliforms provides further confirmation of a cosmopolitan distribution of many groups of terrestrial tetrapods during the Early Jurassic.

A new sphenodontian lepidosaur referable to Clevosaurus Swinton, 1939, C. bairdi, is described from the McCoy Brook Formation (Lower Jurassic: Hettangian) of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is most closely related to C. mcgilli Wu, 1994 from the Dark Red Beds of the Lower Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan, China, and differs from the latter mainly in the absence of the hourglass-shaped constriction of the parietals, the shape of the suborbital fenestra, and in features of the marginal dentition. The new taxon is of considerable interest because it represents the first record of Clevosaurus from North America. Like many other early Mesozoic continental tetrapods, Clevosaurus had an apparently Pangaean geographic distribution.

Two jaw fragments of small tetrapods from the Turkey Branch Formation of the Richmond basin (Newark Supergroup; Upper Triassic: lower to middle Carnian) of Virginia have highly distinctive dentitions. The robust, transversely broadened, and bicuspid teeth of Gomphiosauridion baileyae, gen. et sp. nov. support its placement in the Procolophonidae. The two cusps are linked by a pronounced transverse ridge, which divides the occlusal surface of the crown into two deep fossettes. The cusps have strongly fluted enamel. The heterodont dentition of Xenodiphyodon petraios, gen. et sp. nov. comprises transversely broadened, tricuspid posterior teeth and transversely compressed anterior teeth with distinct apical ridges. The posterior teeth of Xenodiphyodon closely resemble those of the alleged trilophosaurid taxa Tricuspisaurus thomasi and Variodens inopinatus from Upper Triassic fissure-fillings in southwestern England and ?Trilophosaurus jacobsi from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of Arizona. The latter is clearly distinct from the archosauromorph Trilophosaurus buettneri and is made the type species of the new genus, Chinleogomphius. All four genera may prove referable to the Procolophonia.

We describe a recently discovered upper postcanine tooth of a large traversodont cynodont from the Wolfville Formation (Upper Triassic; Fundy Group, Newark Supergroup) of Nova Scotia, Canada. The specimen is referable to ?Scalenodontoides plemmyridon Hopson, 1984, which was founded on a large dentary, edentulous but for two incisors, from the same formation. The new tooth and an isolated lower postcanine of a smaller individual indicate that the traversodont material from the Wolfville Formation represents a distinctive new genus, Arctotraversodon.

An unusual new archosaurian reptile, Euscolosuchus olseni, gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Tomahawk Creek Member of the Turkey Branch Formation of the Richmond basin (Newark Supergroup; Upper Triassic: Carnian) in east-central Virginia. Its distinctive, narrow carapace comprises paired, sharply angulated paramedian osteoderms that bear much enlarged lateral spines and have crocodile-like external ornamentation. Euscolosuchus is referable to the Crurotarsi and closely resembles basal Crocodyliformes in the structure of its dorsal dermal armor.

An incomplete well-preserved skull of a small phytosaur from the Upper Triassic New Oxford Formation of York County, Pennsylvania, resembles skulls previously referred to Rutiodon carolinensis in the plesiomorphic possession of a slender, uncrested rostrum. It differs from the latter only in the course of the palatal suture between the premaxilla and maxilla and the sharply notched anterior margin of the supratemporal fenestra. The type species of Rutiodon Emmons, 1856, R. carolinensis from the Cumnock Formation of North Carolina, cannot be adequately diagnosed at present and is considered a metataxon sensu Gauthier (1986). A very large tooth of a phytosaur from the same locality as the skull is not conspecific with the latter and indicates the existence of a second, much larger phytosaur in the New Oxford Formation.

Late Triassic strata of the Wolfville Formation in Nova Scotia, Canada, have yielded numerous cranio-dental remains referable to three new taxa of Procolophonidae: Acadiella psalidodon, Haligonia bolodon, and Scoloparia glyphanodon. Each taxon is diagnosed by distinctive features of its dentition. Contrary to recent claims, the Procolophonidae are polymorphic with regard to the presence or absence of dermal armor. An adult specimen of Scoloparia has a large nuchal “shield” composed of interdigitating osteoderms. A previous report of Leptopleuron from the Wolfville Formation is based on a juvenile individual of Scoloparia. Scoloparia is closely related to, but less derived than, Hypsognathus from the Norian of eastern North America and Leptopleuron from the Carnian of Scotland. The new procolophonid taxa from the Wolfville Formation greatly increase the recorded diversity of this group during the Late Triassic.

A previously unrecognized partial skeleton of Chirostenotes pergracilis Gilmore, 1924 from the Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta (Canada) includes parts of the skull, much of the pelvic girdle, and elements from all regions of the vertebral column. It provides much new information concerning the skeletal structure of this unusual theropod dinosaur. Close structural correspondence between the maxilla of this specimen and the mandible of Caenagnathus collinsi R. M. Sternberg, 1940 indicates that the latter taxon should be considered a subjective junior synonym of Chirostenotes pergracilis. “Ornithomimus” elegans Parks, 1933 is probably also referable to Chirostenotes. The family-level taxon Elmisauridae Osmolska, 1981 is regarded as a subjective junior synonym of Caenagnathidae R. M. Sternberg, 1940. The newly recognized specimen of Chirostenotes pergracilis provides important new evidence for referring Caenagnathidae to Oviraptorosauria. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis indicates a sister-group relationship between Oviraptorosauria and Therizinosauroidea.

A new protosuchian, Sichuanosuchus shuhanensis, sp. nov. from the ?Lower Cretaceous of Sichuan (China), is distinguished from other known basal crocodyliform archosaurs primarily by the subdivision of the small antorbital fenestra into anterior and posterior openings, the presence of a large, caniniform first maxillary tooth, followed by seven teeth with low, chisel-like crowns, and the posterior palpebrai being larger than the anterior one. Phylogenetic analysis using 128 characters for 29 crocodyliform taxa supports the monophyly of Protosuchia. Sichuanosuchus is most closely related to Shantungosuchus from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of China. These two taxa, together with Gobiosuchus from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia, appear to form a clade of late Mesozoic basal crocodyliform reptiles.

The crocodyliform reptile Chimaerasuchus paradoxus Wu, Sues, and Sun, 1995 from the Lower Cretaceous Wulong Formation of Hubei (China) is characterized by its singular, extremely heterodont dentition. It also possesses a number of unusual cranial features including a shelf-like anterolateral expansion of the jugal, a distinct lateral process on the angular, a very small splenial, and an entirely open Meckelian canal. As in Notosuchus terrestris from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina, the confluent external nares are large, vertically oriented, and face directly forward. Mandibular motion was apparently proal. Phylogenetic analysis indicates a sister-group relationship between Chimaerasuchus and Notosuchus, and between that clade and an as yet unnamed notosuchid from the Lower Cretaceous of Malawi. This casts further doubts on previous claims concerning the endemic distribution of the Notosuchidae and other “Gondwanan” tetrapod taxa during the Cretaceous.

The Upper Triassic tetrapod fossil record of North America features a pronounced discrepancy between the assemblages of present-day Virginia and North Carolina relative to those of the American Southwest. While both are typified by large-bodied archosaurian reptiles like phytosaurs and aetosaurs, the latter notably lacks substantial representation of mammal relatives, including cynodonts. Recently collected non-mammalian eucynodontian jaws from the middle Norian Blue Mesa Member of the Chinle Formation in northeastern Arizona shed light on the Triassic cynodont record from western equatorial Pangaea. Importantly, they reveal new biogeographic connections to eastern equatorial Pangaea as well as southern portions of the supercontinent. This discovery indicates that the faunal dissimilarity previously recognized between the western and eastern portions of equatorial Pangaea is overstated and possibly reflects longstanding sampling biases, rather than a true biogeographic pattern.

THE discovery of a pachycephalosaurid dinosaur in the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar is reported here. This finding casts new light on the existence of a land connection (or several such connections) between Laurasia and Gondwanaland sometime in the Lower or Mid-Cretaceous. Hitherto this family of dome-headed ornithischians had only been known from the Northern Hemisphere: from the Lower Cretaceous of England1and the Upper Cretaceous of North America2and East Asia3.

Diversified assemblages of non-mammalian synapsids (or mammal-like reptiles) have long been known from the Upper Permian of southern Africa1and the Russian Platform2. In contrast, Upper Permian deposits in central and western Europe have rarely yielded remains of terrestrial vertebrates. The German Kupferschiefer (basal Zechstein 1) and its English equivalent, the Marl Slate, have yielded several reptiles: the gliding diapsid Coelurosauravus3(also known from the Lower Sakamena Formation of Madagascar3−4), the archosauromorph Protorosaurus5, and the pareiasaur Parasaurus6. The Cuttie's Hillock Sandstone of northern Scotland has yielded the pareiasaur Elginia and two dicynodont synapsids and is regarded as equivalent to the Daptocephalus zone of southern Africa7−8. We report here the discovery of an incomplete left dentary of Procynosuchus from a fissure-filling in limestones, the so-called Randkalk, of the lower Zechstein in the Fisseler quarry, 1 km south of Korbach, northern Hessen (West Germany). This cynodont mammal-like reptile has previously only been known from the uppermost Permian of sub-Saharan Africa1−9. Its presence supports a latest Permian (Tatarian) age for the European Zechstein and, together with other tetrapods common to Europe and Africa/Madagascar, indicates a wide distribution of Late Permian terrestrial vertebrates.