Paleontologists have discovered a previously unknown species of massopodan sauropodomorph dinosaur in the Klettgau Formation of Canton Aargau, Switzerland. This new dinosaur lived during the Late Triassic, specifically the Norian age, about 206 million years ago.
While the species has not been named yet, the complete anatomy of its articulated skull, SMF 13.5.37, belonging to a partial skeleton, SMF 13.5, has been described and published by researchers in a study published in the Swiss Journal of Paleontology last month
Hints of Biodiversity
This is the first sauropodomorph in the region that isn’t Plateosaurus, suggesting more diversity among early herbivorous dinosaurs in Europe than previously known.
Sauropodomorphs became one of the most widespread herbivore groups in the Mesozoic, thriving from the Late Triassic through the Jurassic. Finding a new member in Switzerland can shed light on how this group evolved and spread.
This Discovery Places Switzerland In The Broader Global Triassic Context
Sauropodomorphs first appeared in Gondwana (modern-day South America, southern Africa, and Brazil) and quickly diversified in the Triassic. They evolved from small, bipedal, possibly meat-eating ancestors into larger, quadrupedal plant-eaters.
The new Swiss find shows that similar evolutionary shifts were happening in Europe at the same time. “The presence of taxonomically comparable sauropodomorph assemblages distributed across Pangea subtends a major, globally-affecting evolutionary trend likely driven by dispersal first and subsequently by parallel development of adaptive features in response to similar paleonvironmental settings”, said the researchers.
A Nearly Complete Skull
The fossil includes a nearly complete skull, which scientists analyzed with micro-computed tomography (µCT). This advanced imaging helped reveal fine anatomical features of the snout that would otherwise have remained hidden.
The skull combines primitive traits seen in early Plateosaurus-like dinosaurs with more evolved characteristics typical of Massopoda. This “mosaic” pattern suggests a transitional form in sauropodomorph evolution, similar to the Argentine species Coloradisaurus brevis
The fossil was found in 2013 in the uppermost layers of the Gruhalde Quarry, part of the Klettgau Formation. This geological formation is one of Europe’s most important Late Triassic records, spanning 26 to 30 million years and capturing varied environmental conditions.