Publication details
High diversity of tetrapods in the lower Permian of the Boskovice Basin, Czech Republic
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Citation | |
| Description | The current knowledge of tetrapods from the Asselian (lowermost Permian) of the Boskovice Basin in the Czech Republic is almost exclusively based on body fossils which are limited to a few taxa of lacustrine origin. These specimens comprise extraordinarily abundant discosauriscids (Špinar 1952; Klembara 1995; Klembara 2009) and some very rare temnospondyls (Augusta 1948, Milner et al. 2007, Klembara & Steyer 2012). No other tetrapods have been recorded from these deposits. We report a new assemblage of tetrapod footprints, providing evidence of diverse tetrapod fauna in the Asselian ecosystem of the Boskovice Basin. The new specimens document the presence of large semiaquatic as well as fully terrestrial tetrapods and are ascribed to several ichnotaxa. These include Amphisauropus kablikae, Dimetropus leisnerianus, Dromopus lacertoides, Ichniotherium cottae, and Limnopus vagus, which are attributable to a wide range of trackmakers, such as large-bodied temnospondyls and seymouriamorphs, diadectomorphs, and early-diverging amniotes represented by both their major clades, sauropsids as well as synapsids. Some of the tracks further show rare and well-preserved impressions of soft tissue, such as dermal creases (see Calábková et al. 2022). The new record of tetrapod footprints significantly expands the knowledge of tetrapod biodiversity in the lowermost Permian of the Boskovice Basin and improves our understanding of the terrestrial paleoenvironment recorded in these basinal strata. |