[D] Triassolestes romeri [ncG]
Describer
Reig, 1963 / Tillyard, 1918
Classification
Not considered dinosaur
Info
Genus
S. Chatterjee after examination of the material of Triassolestes romeri concluded that the crocodile-reversed tarsus precludes it from assignment to the Crocodylia (R. Molnar, pers. comm.). The type specimen may be composite, including both theropod and ornithosuchid material as well as crocodylian material.
From: Reig, O.A. (1963). La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los \\\"Estrados de Ischigualasto\\\" (Mesotriasico superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (Republica Argentina). Ameghiniana 3, 3-20 [The presence of Saurischian Dinosaurs in the \\\"Ischigualasto beds\\\" (upper Middle Triassic) of the provinces of San Juan and La Rioja, Argentina.
Translated by Matthew T. Carrano University of Chicago, 2/98
Triassoleste, n. gen.
Diagnosis
A podokesaurid the size of Coelophysis longicollis, with large, rounded orbit; antorbital fossa very large, tall, twice the diameter of the orbit,, with rounded anterior border; maxilla with convex alveolar border, with fifteen teeth of unequal size, the anterior ones larger; maxilla elongate behind the tooth row in a slender expansion that reaches the level of the posterior border of the orbit.
Very slender mandible, low dentary, with its superior border concave and its inferior convex, with twelve teeth of unequal size, of which the first third are the largest and have a caniniform aspect. Teeth sharp, long, laterally compressed, recurved.
Foot gracile, with the three central metatarsals elongate and the first and fifth metatarsals present, the first functional, however narrow and much less than the second metatarsal; astragalus of rectangular shape without heel; cervical vertebrae long, narrow, a little shorter than those of Coelophysis; pubis similar to that of the latter genus.
Type species
Triassolestes romeri, n. sp.
Ethymology
Triasso-, in allusion to the Triassic age of the genus, and -lestes, from the Greek lhsths, thief, robber, in allusion to its probable carnivorous habits.Reig dedicated this species to Dr. Alfred Sherwood Romer, notable investigator of lower tetrapods and leader of the first great expedition to the Ischigualasto locality from Harvard University and the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, from May-June of 1958.
Holotype
Incomplete skull with mandibles, laterally flattened, associated with four fairly complete cervical vertebrae, the centrum of another cervical and a collection of twelve vertebral centra, apparently all caudal vertebrae. This specimen was discovered by Galileo J. Scaglia in May of 1961, about 4200 meters ESE of Aguada de La Peña, in the lower beds of the Ischigualasto Beds.
In its proximity was encountered, in the same beds, various specimens of rhynchosaurs and cynodonts. The remains were closely associated with a scapula, humerus, ulna, radius, basipodium, and the proximal end of a metapodial. Before its cleaning, we supposed that these last remains pertained to the same individual; however afterwards we noticed that the forelimb pertained to a typical crocodile, with the carpal structure characteristic of the order.
These remains, associated with the skull and vertebrae of Triassolestes, confirm the presence of crocodiles in the Ischigualasto locality, advanced by me through the assignment of the genus Proterochampsa to this order (Reig, 1959). It is very probable that the forelimb could be referable to this same crocodile. It is deposited in the collection of the Instituto Miguel Lillo, where it is figured with No. PVL 2561.
Hypodigm
The holotype specimen and PVL 2559: right third metatarsal and portions of the first, second and fourth; various phalanges, right astragalus, centrum of a posterior trunk vertebra, proximal portion of the fibula and other fragments. This specimen was found by Galileo J. Scaglia in May 1961, about 3500 meters ESE of Aguada de La Peña, in the middle third of the \\\"Ischigualasto Beds\\\".
Provenance and age
Ischigualasto Valley, department of Valle Fértil, province of San Juan, Argentina. \\\"Ischigualasto Beds\\\" of the \\\"Ischigualasto-Ischichuca\\\" Series. Upper Middle Triassic.
Diagnosis
As for the genus.
Discussion
The attribution of this coelurosaur to the family Podokesauridae seems to rely on the greatest number of probabilities, above all, on the nearness it presents with the genus Coelophysis. The general morphology of the skull, with a large orbit and a very elongate antorbital fossa; the elongation of the maxilla underneath the level of the orbit, and the morphology of the known remains of the hindlimb, certainly indicate this proximity.
The anterior end of the pubis also matches that of Coelophysis (see Colbert & Baird, 1958). Without reservation, we must admit that the definition of the family Podokesauridae and its contents are somewhat vague, since all the families of Triassic coelurosaurs are also placed in a vague grouping.
And so it requires entirely revising them in order to be able to specify with more security the familial assignment of Triassolestes; which does not mean that excessive doubts are justified about its pertaining to a group of coelurosaurs, and that among these it represents an animal as advanced as those assigned to the family Podokesauridae, known until now only from the Upper Triassic.
Source: Polyglot Paleontologist
Reig, 1963 / Tillyard, 1918
Classification
Not considered dinosaur
Info
Genus
S. Chatterjee after examination of the material of Triassolestes romeri concluded that the crocodile-reversed tarsus precludes it from assignment to the Crocodylia (R. Molnar, pers. comm.). The type specimen may be composite, including both theropod and ornithosuchid material as well as crocodylian material.
From: Reig, O.A. (1963). La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los \\\"Estrados de Ischigualasto\\\" (Mesotriasico superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (Republica Argentina). Ameghiniana 3, 3-20 [The presence of Saurischian Dinosaurs in the \\\"Ischigualasto beds\\\" (upper Middle Triassic) of the provinces of San Juan and La Rioja, Argentina.
Translated by Matthew T. Carrano University of Chicago, 2/98
Triassoleste, n. gen.
Diagnosis
A podokesaurid the size of Coelophysis longicollis, with large, rounded orbit; antorbital fossa very large, tall, twice the diameter of the orbit,, with rounded anterior border; maxilla with convex alveolar border, with fifteen teeth of unequal size, the anterior ones larger; maxilla elongate behind the tooth row in a slender expansion that reaches the level of the posterior border of the orbit.
Very slender mandible, low dentary, with its superior border concave and its inferior convex, with twelve teeth of unequal size, of which the first third are the largest and have a caniniform aspect. Teeth sharp, long, laterally compressed, recurved.
Foot gracile, with the three central metatarsals elongate and the first and fifth metatarsals present, the first functional, however narrow and much less than the second metatarsal; astragalus of rectangular shape without heel; cervical vertebrae long, narrow, a little shorter than those of Coelophysis; pubis similar to that of the latter genus.
Type species
Triassolestes romeri, n. sp.
Ethymology
Triasso-, in allusion to the Triassic age of the genus, and -lestes, from the Greek lhsths, thief, robber, in allusion to its probable carnivorous habits.Reig dedicated this species to Dr. Alfred Sherwood Romer, notable investigator of lower tetrapods and leader of the first great expedition to the Ischigualasto locality from Harvard University and the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, from May-June of 1958.
Holotype
Incomplete skull with mandibles, laterally flattened, associated with four fairly complete cervical vertebrae, the centrum of another cervical and a collection of twelve vertebral centra, apparently all caudal vertebrae. This specimen was discovered by Galileo J. Scaglia in May of 1961, about 4200 meters ESE of Aguada de La Peña, in the lower beds of the Ischigualasto Beds.
In its proximity was encountered, in the same beds, various specimens of rhynchosaurs and cynodonts. The remains were closely associated with a scapula, humerus, ulna, radius, basipodium, and the proximal end of a metapodial. Before its cleaning, we supposed that these last remains pertained to the same individual; however afterwards we noticed that the forelimb pertained to a typical crocodile, with the carpal structure characteristic of the order.
These remains, associated with the skull and vertebrae of Triassolestes, confirm the presence of crocodiles in the Ischigualasto locality, advanced by me through the assignment of the genus Proterochampsa to this order (Reig, 1959). It is very probable that the forelimb could be referable to this same crocodile. It is deposited in the collection of the Instituto Miguel Lillo, where it is figured with No. PVL 2561.
Hypodigm
The holotype specimen and PVL 2559: right third metatarsal and portions of the first, second and fourth; various phalanges, right astragalus, centrum of a posterior trunk vertebra, proximal portion of the fibula and other fragments. This specimen was found by Galileo J. Scaglia in May 1961, about 3500 meters ESE of Aguada de La Peña, in the middle third of the \\\"Ischigualasto Beds\\\".
Provenance and age
Ischigualasto Valley, department of Valle Fértil, province of San Juan, Argentina. \\\"Ischigualasto Beds\\\" of the \\\"Ischigualasto-Ischichuca\\\" Series. Upper Middle Triassic.
Diagnosis
As for the genus.
Discussion
The attribution of this coelurosaur to the family Podokesauridae seems to rely on the greatest number of probabilities, above all, on the nearness it presents with the genus Coelophysis. The general morphology of the skull, with a large orbit and a very elongate antorbital fossa; the elongation of the maxilla underneath the level of the orbit, and the morphology of the known remains of the hindlimb, certainly indicate this proximity.
The anterior end of the pubis also matches that of Coelophysis (see Colbert & Baird, 1958). Without reservation, we must admit that the definition of the family Podokesauridae and its contents are somewhat vague, since all the families of Triassic coelurosaurs are also placed in a vague grouping.
And so it requires entirely revising them in order to be able to specify with more security the familial assignment of Triassolestes; which does not mean that excessive doubts are justified about its pertaining to a group of coelurosaurs, and that among these it represents an animal as advanced as those assigned to the family Podokesauridae, known until now only from the Upper Triassic.
Source: Polyglot Paleontologist