Topic
Diadectidae
About: Diadectidae is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 6 publications have been published within this topic receiving 154 citations.
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TL;DR: A new genus and species of the herbivorous Diadectidae, Orobates pabsti, is described on the basis of several specimens, including two complete, articulated skeletons, a skull with partial postcranium, a partial skull, and a dentigerous jaw fragment from the Tambach Formation, Germany.
Abstract: A new genus and species of the herbivorous Diadectidae, Orobates pabsti, is described on the basis of several specimens, including two complete, articulated skeletons, a skull with partial postcranium, a partial skull, and a dentigerous jaw fragment. All were collected from the Lower Permian (Wolfcampian) Tambach Formation, lowermost formational unit of the Upper Rotliegend of the Bromacker quarry locality in the midregion of the Thuringian Forest near Gotha, central Germany. A combination of autapomorphic and plesiomorphic character states clearly distinguishes O. pabsti from all other well-known members of Diadectidae and identifies it as the sister taxon to all other diadectids. The description of Orobates pabsti expands further our understanding of the Late Pennsylvanian-Early Permian Diadectidae and records the earliest specialization of tetrapods to high-fiber herbivory. On the basis of paleobiological and paleoenvironmental data only one other Early Permian locality is comparable to the Br...
66 citations
Journal Article•
44 citations
Dissertation•
21 Apr 2010
28 citations
TL;DR: Tracks and trackways of the vertebrate Ichniotherium sphaerodactylum and a trace of the invertebrate Striatichnium bromackerense are described for the first time in association outside of Europe as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Tracks and trackways of the vertebrate ichnotaxon Ichniotherium sphaerodactylum and a trace of the invertebrate ichnotaxon Striatichnium bromackerense are described for the first time in association outside of Europe. The tracks are identified as I. sphaerodactylum based on their characteristic rounded digit ends, the ovoid sole-pad of the pedal imprint and the increase in digit lengths from digits I–IV, and the invertebrate trace is identifiable as S. bromackerense based on the band-like systems of distally bifurcated striae. The tracks of I. sphaerodactylum are the largest known to date and represent rare evidence of large-bodied terrestrial vertebrates in the Kildare Capes Formation of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Morphometric differences between ichnospecies of Ichniotherium and other ichnospecies previously collected from Prince Edward Island are examined in a multivariate analysis, and results suggest that the distance between the manus and pes of the same imprint pair, the width of pace and the length of certain digits is useful for species identification. The association between I. sphaerodactylum and S. bromackerense was previously known only from the Bromacker quarry, Tambach Formation, Germany, which is interpreted as a seasonally dry, semi-arid upland environment. The co-occurrence of these traces suggests that the Eldon locality of Prince Edward Island is similar in depositional environment to the Bromacker quarry in Germany, and allows for comparison of these two localities for the first time. As diadectids are thought to be the trackmakers of Ichniotherium, the Eldon locality of the Kildare Capes Formation may, with further work, be considered as another example of the rare, herbivore-dominated palaeoenvironment, which is generally uncharacteristic of the Early Permian of North America.
17 citations