Tomasz Sulej

Polish Academy of Sciences | PAN · Department of Evolutionary Paleobiology

The early radiation of dinosaurs remains a complex and poorly understood evolutionary event1, 2, 3–4. Here we use hundreds of fossils with direct evidence of feeding to compare trophic dynamics across five vertebrate assemblages that record this event in the Triassic–Jurassic succession of the Polish Basin (central Europe). Bromalites, fossil diges...

Unexpectedly abundant remains of herbivorous therapsids in the Late Triassic strata of southern Poland have significantly supplemented knowledge of their evolution. The skeletal morphology of the Late Norian (or Rhaetian) dicynodont Lisowicia bojani supports its close relationship to the Carnian Woznikella, both known from the Polish part of the Ge...

The vertebrate fossil record of the Triassic in Poland is unevenly sampled throughout different ages. An especially evident case is the Ladinian, being poorly represented in the number of fossil sites compared to the underlying Anisian and the overlying Upper Triassic strata. In the Ladinian, the Germanic Basin underwent a major environmental trans...

The Middle Triassic remains a poorly understood time in the evolution of land vertebrates. Here, we report a new Ladinian-age vertebrate assemblage from Miedary (southern Poland). It consists of more than 20 taxa including fish (four species of Hybodontiformes, cf. Gyrolepis, Redfieldiiformes, ‘Thelodus’, Saurichthys, Serrolepis, Prohalecites, Ptyc...

Aetosaurs were a terrestrial group of pseudosuchians distributed globally during the Late Triassic. The here studied specimen measures only approximately 25 cm in total body length, is covered in a carbonate concretion and it shows a nearly completel articulation. Propagation phase contrast synchrotron X-ray micro computed tomography, applied in th...

The Middle Triassic constituted an important epoch for the evolution of many vertebrate groups, and a time of major faunistic turnovers. One of such shifts took place in Europe, during the Muschelkalk (“marine”)–Keuper (“terrestrial”) transition. The outcrops from this age, located predominantly in Germany, have yielded countless well-preserved fos...

On page 329, in Figure 19, the names of the following countries, Mozambique, Zambia, Australia and Antarctica, did not appear. Figure 19 is reproduced here, and the country names have been added. Appendix 15 has also been included in the article, to represent the phylogenetic matrix.

Despite nearly two centuries of intensive research of dicynodont diversity and distribution, the progress of the last two decades makes the early 21st century a dicynodont renaissance. Here we introduce Woznikella triradiata n. gen., n. sp., a Late Triassic European kannemeyeriiform with stahleckeriid affinities that may represent an early divergin...

We describe two new fish-dominated faunas from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Miedary site, Upper Silesia, Poland, and present a comparative analysis of Middle-to-Late Triassic vertebrate assemblages from the Germanic Basin, in order to explore the influence of salinity on faunal composition. . The composition of the assemblage from dolomite beds a...

Recent discoveries of Mammaliamorph teeth in the Keuper of southern Poland have extended the global record of eucynodonts in the Late Triassic and revealed a significant diversity of the group at that time. Here, we expand on this record with the description of new cynodont postcanine teeth from the Krasiejów bone bed. They show the dental morpholo...

Since 1990, several localities within the Keuper (upper Middle to Upper Triassic) strata in southern Poland have yielded remains of numerous terrestrial vertebrate species. Here we report a new Upper Triassic vertebrate assemblage from the rediscovered Kocury locality. An incomplete theropod dinosaur fibula named Velocipes guerichi described in 193...

Significance Mammals underwent an adaptive radiation shortly after the acquisition of several morphological characters in their dentition and jaw. Most of these innovations evolved to facilitate more efficient food processing. The double-rooted molariforms with a specialized crown are one such innovation, but their role in the early diversification...

Here we present a description of the dipnoan remains collected from the middle to upper Norian (Upper Triassic) of Jameson Land, East Greenland. The specimens consist of isolated tooth plates and skull bones of Ptychoceratodus, the most complete Late Triassic dipnoan material from Greenland. This genus is reported for the first time from the Upper...

A unique functional adaptation to herbivory within early ray-finned fishes is exemplified by the late Permian actinopterygians within the family Eurynotoidiidae with policuspid teeth strongly modified with respect to the primitive actinopterygian conditions. Here we report additional finds of multidenticulated teeth from the fluvial latest Permian...

Fauna of Late Triassic turtle-yielding localities

Bromalites (coprolites and possibly some cololites) from a turtle-dominated fossil assemblage from the Upper Triassic of Poland were studied. Bromalites collected at the Poręba site are grouped within four morphotypes (A, B, C, and D) attributable to sharks, medium-sized omnivorous or carnivorous tetrapods (likely turtles), sizable carnivorous arch...

A proto-mammalian giant Early terrestrial amniotes evolved into two groups: the sauropsids, which led to the bird and dinosaur lineages, and the synapsids, which led to mammals. Synapsids were diverse during the Permian but were greatly reduced after the end-Permian extinction (about 252 million years ago). The few groups that survived into the Tri...

The oldest feathers known to date have been found in archosaurs capable of flight. However, some of them (scansoriopterygids) flew by the use of a membrane rather than feathers. We therefore propose a new mechanism for the origin of avian flight by the use of membranous wings on both the forelimbs and the hindlimbs. It complements Beebe’s (1915) pr...

The shell of the oldest true turtle (Testudinata) branch (Proterochersidae) from the Late Triassic (Norian) of Poland and Germany was built in its anterior and posterior part from an osteodermal mosaic which developed several million years after the plastron, neurals and costal bones. We provide the most detailed description of the shell compositio...

The oldest feathers known to date have been found in archosaurs capable to fly. However, some of them (scansoriopterygids) flied by the use of a membrane rather than feathers. We therefore propose a new mechanism for the origin of avian flight by the use of membranous wings on both the forelimbs and the hindlimbs. It complements the Beebe’s (1915)...

Bicuspid, tricuspid and tetracuspid postcanine teeth of a new non-mammaliaform eucynodont, Polonodon woznikiensis gen. et sp. nov. from the mid-late Carnian (early Late Triassic) of Woźniki clay-pit, Silesia (southern Poland) show incipient root division. They are similar to teeth of Dromatheriidae from the Carnian (early Late Triassic) to the Rhae...

The Triassic is an exceptionally interesting period from the point of view of conifer evolution. The oldest representatives of some modern families appear in the fossil record in the Upper Triassic and all recent conifer families probably originated during this time. The stages whereby the primitive Voltziales transformed into the evolutionarily ad...

Since 2013, fieldwork proceeds in the new Middle Triassic, vertebrate-yielding locality in Miedary, Silesia (Southern Poland). Palynological data as well as the local geology indicate a Ladinian age of bone-bearing deposits. Previously, we reported the occurrence of shark teeth, ganoid fish scales, a mastodonsaurid mandible, nothosaurid and tanystr...

Oncoids are rare components of Keuper sediments across Europe. The exceptions are localities linked to the Upper Triassic “Woźniki Limestone” (formally Limestone Member from Woźniki) in Silesia, southern Poland. Numerous oncoids occur in breccia-like deposits in the Lipie Śląskie claypit at Lisowice. The oncoid-bearing level is underlying by organi...

The “red beds” of the Triassic succession outcropping at Tejra-Medenine (southern Tunisia, Saharan Platform) have yielded rich fossil assemblages of both freshwater and brackish-marine invertebrates and vertebrates. The new discovered fauna indicates an Anisian-Lower Ladinian age for the Tejra section. Its lowermost part is considered as equivalent...

Several partially articulated specimens and numerous isolated bones of Ozimek volans gen. et sp. nov., from the late Carnian lacustrine deposits exposed at Krasiejów in southern Poland, enable a reconstruction of most of the skeleton. The unique character of the animal is its enlarged plate-like coracoids presumably fused with sterna. Other aspects...

Coprolites (fossil faeces) provide direct evidence on the diet of its producer and unique insights on ancient food webs and ecosystems. We describe the contents of seven coprolites, collected from the Late Permian Vyazniki site of the European part of Russia. Two coprolite morphotypes (A, B) contain remains of putative bacteria, cyanobacteria, fung...

A recently discovered Norian outcrop in Poręba, Poland, has yielded numerous well-preserved turtle remains. These, together with historical materials from Germany, enabled the identification of two new proterochersid taxa: Proterochersis porebensis sp. nov. from Poland and Keuperotesta limendorsa gen. et sp. nov. from Germany. Moreover, two problem...

A huge dipnoan, Permoceratodus gentilis Krupina, gen. et sp. nov. (order Ceratodontiformes), from the terminal Permian beds (Zhukovian Regional Stage, Vyatkian Stage, Upper Permian) of the Sokovka locality (Vladimir Region) is described. It is characterized by the evolutionarily advanced high extent of fusion of skull roof bones and conservative we...

We report on the first microvertebrate assemblage from the Keuper of Silesia. Upper Middle-Upper Triassic fossiliferous layers in this region preserve unique assemblages of small vertebrates that originate from different freshwater and terrestrial environments. Late Triassic small vertebrate faunas document aspects of a critical evolutionary transi...

The Permo-Triassic section at Vyazniki provides evidence of terrestrial floras and faunas at, or close to, the Changsingian-Induan boundary. This locality has yielded numerous vertebrates, including fishes, amphibians and reptiles and has recently been studied in detail by Russian, Russian-British and Russian-Polish teams. Since the first and preli...

Upper Triassic fossiliferous deposits at the Lipie Śląskie clay pit, Lisowice (Silesia, southern Poland), preserve a diverse assemblage of both freshwater and terrestrial small vertebrates. In addition to remains of fishes, amphibians and reptiles, the lower part of so-called grey unit has also yielded isolated mammal-like teeth that may be represe...

A new Triassic vertebrate assemblage in Miedary, southern Poland was recently discovered. The sediments represent the lowermost Keuper (Miedary beds) of Middle Triassic (late Ladinian) age. Collected fossils comprises to an important component of the total vertebrate assemblage from the Triassic of Poland. The newly discovered material includes a l...

The Fleming Fjord Formation (Jameson Land, East Greenland) documents a diverse assemblage of terrestrial vertebrates of Late Triassic age. Expeditions from the turn of the 21st century have discovered many important fossils that form the basis of our current knowledge of Late Triassic Greenlandic faunas. However, due to the scarcity and incompleten...

A new Triassic vertebrate assemblage in Miedary, southern Poland was recently discovered. The sediments represent the lowermost Keuper (Miedary beds) of Middle Triassic (late Ladinian) age. Collected fossils comprises to an important component of the total vertebrate assemblage from the Triassic of Poland. The newly discovered material includes a l...

The rise of dinosaurs during the Triassic is a widely studied evolutionary radiation, but there are still many unanswered questions about early dinosaur evolution and biogeography that are hampered by an unevenly sampled Late Triassic fossil record. Although very common in western North America and parts of South America, dinosaur (and more basal d...

Triassic discoveries have extended the record of near-mammals (Mammaliaformes) back to the Norian, about 215 Ma, and reveal a significant diversity of Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) forms. We now add to this Late Triassic diversity a nearly complete double-rooted right lower molariform tooth (ZPAL V.33/734) from the Polish Upper Triassic that is s...

Aetosauria is a clade of obligately quadrupedal, heavily armoured pseudosuchians known from Upper Triassic (late Carnian–Rhaetian) strata on every modern continent except Australia and Antarctica. As many as 22 genera and 26 species ranging from 1 to 6 m in length, and with a body mass ranging from less than 10 to more than 500 kg, are known. Aetos...

The Early Triassic record of the large capitosaurid amphibian genus Parotosuchus is supplemented by new material from fluvial deposits of Wióry, southern Poland, corresponding in age to the Detfurth Formation (Spathian, Late Olenekian) of the Germanic Basin. The skull of the new capitosaurid shows an “intermediate” morphology between that of Paroto...

Fossils of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from Lithuania and the wider East Baltic region of Europe have previously been unknown. We here report the first Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate fossils from Lithuania: two premaxillary specimens and three teeth that belong to Phytosauria, a common clade of semiaquatic Triassic archosauriforms. These spec...

Numerous coprolites have been found in the Vyazniki and Gorokhovets localities of European Russia. Five identified coprolite-bearing horizons occur in the upper Permian deposits of the Vyatkian Regional Stage. Coprolites were collected from mudstone with a coprolite breccia-like layer and also from intraformational conglomerates that were deposited...

Numerous coprolites have been found in the Vyazniki and Gorokhovets localities of European Russia. Five identified coprolite-bearing horizons occur in the upper Permian deposits of the Vyatkian Regional Stage. Coprolites were collected from mudstone with a coprolite breccia-like layer and also from intraformational conglomerates that were deposited...

We report a new site with an occurrence of isolated bones of a Palaeochersis-like turtle in Norian-Rhaetian fluvial sediments from southern Poland. The turtle remains are associated with bones of a medium-sized aetosaur, a coelo-physoid dinosaur, and a larger carnivorous archosaur, as well as a hybodontid shark, ganoid and dipnoan fishes, and a lar...

We describe a new large predatory archosaur, Smok wawelski gen. et sp. nov., from the latest Triassic (latest Norian-early Rhaetian; approximately 205-200 Ma) of Lisowice (Lipie Slaskie clay-pit) in southern Poland. The length of the reconstructed skeleton is 5-6 m and that of the skull 50-60 cm, making S. wawelski larger than any other known preda...

We report a new site with an occurrence of isolated bones of a Palaeochersis-like turtle in Norian-Rhaetian fluvial sediments from southern Poland. The turtle remains are associated with bones of a medium-sized aetosaur, a coelophysoid dinosaur, and a larger carnivorous archosaur, as well as a hybodontid shark, ganoid and dipnoan fishes, and a larg...

We herein report newly discovered fossil turtles from Norian-Rhaetian fluvial sediments of Poreba (Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland) possibly belonging to the taxon Proterochersis robusta. Poreba is located in the Kraków-Czestochowa uplands and is the first European locality outside of Germany to yield unambiguous Triassic turtle remains. In a...

Niedźwiedzki, G., Gorzelak, P. & Sulej, T. 2010: Bite traces on dicynodont bones and the early evolution of large terrestrial predators. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 87–92. Dicynodont (Synapsida: Anomodontia) bones from the Late Triassic (late Norian/early Rhaetian) of Poland yield characteristic tooth marks that can be attributed to three ichnotaxa (Lini...

In this paper we report on a rare fossil vertebrate burrow system in Upper Triassic (Norian) fluvial deposits of the Holy Cross Mountains in central Poland. The burrows are preserved mainly by prominent green infillings in red mudstone and claystone exposed in the wall of a clay pit. The mode of occurrence, morphology, and size of the burrows sugge...

In this paper we report on a rare fossil vertebrate burrow system in Upper Triassic (Norian) fluvial deposits of the Holy Cross Mountains in central Poland. The burrows are preserved mainly by prominent green infillings in red mudstone and claystone exposed in the wall of a clay pit. The mode of occurrence, morphology, and size of the burrows sugge...

Vertebrate remains, mostly nothosaurid vertebrae and long bonesarchosaur partially presetted long bones and teeth (probably rauisuchid remains)fish teeth and scalesare described from the Lower Keuper Miedaiy Beds (LadinianMiddle Triassic) of MiedaiySilesiaSW Poland. The analyzed vertebrate fossils were collected from three lithologie ally different...

Organic tissue of a recently found second specimen of feather-like Praeornis from the Karabastau Formation of the Great Karatau Range in southern Kazakstan, has a stable carbon isotope composition indicative of its animal affinity. Three-dimensional preservation of its robust carbonised shaft indicates original high contents of sclerotic organic ma...

This paper reports a new assemblage from the Late Triassic (mid–late Carnian) at Woźniki near Częstochowa (Poland). The Woźniki vertebrate assemblage is similar to that of Lisowice–Lipie Śląskie, a new locality bearing vertebrates from latest Triassic (latest Norian–early Rhaetian) strata of southern Poland, in the presence of dicynodonts, shark sp...

Disarticulated bones of several individuals recovered from the Late Triassic fluvial and lacustrine deposits at Krasiejów, Poland, are here described, allowing the restoration of the skull structure of a new aetosaurian archosaur: Stagonolepis olenkae sp. nov. The Krasiejów deposits probably correspond in age to the Lehrberg Beds (late Carnian) of...

Fostowicz-Frelik, Ł. & Sulej, T. 2009: Bone histology of Silesaurus opolensisDzik, 2003 from the Late Triassic of Poland. Lethaia, Vol. 43, pp. 137–148. The phylogenetic relationships of Silesaurus opolensis have been the subject of intense debate since its discovery. Silesaurus possesses some features characteristic of ornithischian dinosaurs, suc...

The German Late Triassic archosaur Teratosaurus suevicus is a historically important taxon, being the first described rauisuchian. Unfortunately the holotype is a single element, a maxilla, which is poorly preserved and incomplete. We redescribe this maxilla and identify a single potential autapomorphy. The fragmentary type specimen complicates att...

T. 2009. The Early Triassic temnospondyls of the Czatkowice 1 tetrapod assemblage. Palaeontologia Polonica 65, 31–77. Examination of dissociated Early Triassic vertebrate microfossils from the fissure infillings of the Czatkowice quarry in southern Poland (locality Czatkowice 1) allowed recognition of the two taxa of temnospondyl amphibians, the ca...

Examination of dissociated Early Triassic vertebrate microfossils from the fissure infillings of the Czatkowice quarry in southern Poland (locality Czatkowice 1) allowed recognition of the two taxa of temnospondyl amphibians, the capitosaurid Parotosuchus (Parotosuchus speleus sp. n.) and brachyopid Batrachosuchoides (Batrachosuchoides sp.). Both a...

New evidence on skull morphology of Kupferzellia and Wellesaurus made it possible to modify reconstructions of skull of the temnospondyl amphibian Tatrasuchus kulczyckii from the Middle Triassic of the Tatra Mountains. All these taxa probably represent a single lineage connecting Early Triassic members of the Capitosauroidae with the Late Triasssic...

It is generally accepted that during the Triassic the composi− tion of tetrapod faunas underwent a series of fundamental transformations, mainly as a result of diversification of archosaurs and decline of therapsids (Benton 1994, 2004, 2006). The last herbivorous basal synapsids, dicynodonts, disappeared from the record in the early Norian of the A...