Several skeletons of fossil reptiles were collected for the first bine from the Tongchuan Formation, Sangbi, Yonghe County, Shanxi Province in 1992. It represents the uppermost occurrence of terrestrial reptiles known...Several skeletons of fossil reptiles were collected for the first bine from the Tongchuan Formation, Sangbi, Yonghe County, Shanxi Province in 1992. It represents the uppermost occurrence of terrestrial reptiles known from the Triassic of China. Our study on the local stratigraphy suggests that the fossils are from the upper part of Member II of the Tongchuan Formation. A preliminary study of the fossils indicates that they are monospecific and represent a previously unknown archosauriform. This form is plesiomorphically similar to Turfanosuchus dabanensis in the presence of the pterygoid teeth but is clearly more derived than the latter in that the exit of the internal carotid artery is located on the lateral side rather than ventral surface of the basisphenoid. This may support the argument that the Tongchuan Formation is early Late Triassic in age.展开更多
文摘Several skeletons of fossil reptiles were collected for the first bine from the Tongchuan Formation, Sangbi, Yonghe County, Shanxi Province in 1992. It represents the uppermost occurrence of terrestrial reptiles known from the Triassic of China. Our study on the local stratigraphy suggests that the fossils are from the upper part of Member II of the Tongchuan Formation. A preliminary study of the fossils indicates that they are monospecific and represent a previously unknown archosauriform. This form is plesiomorphically similar to Turfanosuchus dabanensis in the presence of the pterygoid teeth but is clearly more derived than the latter in that the exit of the internal carotid artery is located on the lateral side rather than ventral surface of the basisphenoid. This may support the argument that the Tongchuan Formation is early Late Triassic in age.
