Nuevos restos de reptiles con características arcosauromorfas del Triásico Medio de la Cuenca Catalana en las XLI Jornadas de la SEP

Durante las XLI Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, celebradas en Puertollano (Ciudad Real) del 30 de septiembre al 3 de octubre, Marc Narro presentó el póster titulado “New reptile remains with archosauromorph-like features from the Middle Triassic of the Catalan Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula)”. El trabajo, realizado por miembros del Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, el Grupo de Biología Evolutiva de la UNED, el Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart y el Departamento de Paleontología del Institute of Biology de la Universidad de Hohenheim, presenta nuevos restos poscraneales de reptiles procedentes del yacimiento de La Mora, situado en la Cuenca Catalana y datado en el Anisiense inferior-medio. Con el objetivo de revelar las afinidades filogenéticas de estos restos, se empleó la anatomía comparada con distintos taxones del Triásico y se buscó la presencia de caracteres diagnósticos. La asignación a reptiles arcosauromorfos se sustenta en una combinación de caracteres anatómicos en esqueleto axial y apendicular que resultan de relevancia taxonómica y funcional. El resumen del póster es el siguiente:

Archosauromorpha is a widely disparate and successful tetrapod group that underwent a remarkable evolutionary diversification during the Middle Triassic, when vertebrate communities began to recover after the end-Permian biotic crisis. They have a rich and global fossil record during this interval, revealing their dominance in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the Iberian osteological record of this group for that period is scarce. The Early–Middle Triassic record is limited to three isolated crocopodan teeth from the late Olenekian–Anisian, and the possible archosauromorph but controversial Cosesaurus aviceps from the Ladinian of Catalonia, while the Late Triassic record consists solely of a partial phytosaur hemimandible from the Carnian of southern Portugal. Here, new archosauromorph remains from La Mora site (early–middle Anisian, Catalonia, northeastern Iberian Peninsula) are reported. The site belongs to the upper Buntsandstein facies of the Catalan Basin, preserving one of the most important Middle Triassic terrestrial tetrapod assemblages from southern Europe. From this site, hundreds of skeletal remains in bonebed accumulations have been recovered during several fieldwork campaigns, including temnospondyl and procolophonid specimens. However, archosauromorphs were only represented by an isolated crocopodan tooth previously, despite a rich archosauromorph-dominated ichnoassemblage is known from the area. In the present study, new postcranial remains are identified as reptiles with archosauromorph affinities. The occurrence of these specimens could represent the first non-dentognathic bone evidence of Archosauromorpha, within the Middle Triassic of the Iberian Peninsula. These finds could reaffirm the Middle Triassic archosauromorph palaeobiogeographical distribution in this area as evidenced by the ichnological record and partially fill the gap of knowledge regarding the Middle Triassic tetrapod diversity in equatorial Pangaea.

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Más información:

• Referencia: Narro, M., de Celis, A., Spiekman, S. N. F., Mujal, E., Bolet, A., Fortuny, J. (2026) New reptile remains with archosauromorph-like features from the Middle Triassic of the Catalan Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula). In Narváez, I., Martínez-Pérez, C., Rodríguez-Tovar, F. J., Ortega, F. (Eds.), Libro de Resúmenes de las XLI Jornadas SEP. Palaeontological publications, 10, 207.