Dinosaurs in southwest Germany: The dinosaur Plateosaurus was a particularly large sauropodomorph. 210 million years ago, it was the largest terrestrial tetrapod, but still a very small forerunner of the later giant, long-necked dinosaurs. Plateosaur fossils have been found, for example, in Stuttgart-Degerloch and Trossingen. 210 million years ago, the climate was warm and dry. Credit: SMNS, M. Rech
SciTechDaily has an article about a new survey of the Triassic fossils from Germany. Researchers found interesting correlations between fossil animals and their associated palaeoenvironments with implications for modern day consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss. The study "Triassic terrestrial tetrapod faunas of the Central European Basin, their stratigraphical distribution, and their palaeoenvironments" was published in the journal Earth-Science Reviews.
The Triassic period marks a crucial chapter in the evolution of life on Earth. Following one of the largest mass extinctions 252 million years ago, dinosaurs and many other groups of terrestrial tetrapods appeared and spread across a wide range of habitats. Since the early 19th century, the Central European Basin has played a key role in Triassic research and continues to produce remarkable fossil discoveries. In particular, the rock layers and fossil preservation in southwest Germany are exceptional.
An international research team from the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, led by paleontologists Dr. Eudald Mujal and Prof. Rainer Schoch, has now published a comprehensive overview of Triassic terrestrial tetrapods from this region.
