aetosaur
Aetosaurs () are heavily armored reptiles belonging to the extinct order (biology), order Aetosauria (; from Ancient Greek, Greek, (aetos, "eagle") and (, "lizard")). They were medium- to large-sized Omnivore, omnivorous or Herbivore, herbivor ...
from the
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch a ...
(
Norian
The Norian is a division of the Triassic geological period, Period. It has the rank of an age (geology), age (geochronology) or stage (stratigraphy), stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227.3 to Mya (unit), million years ago. It was prec ...
)-aged
Lissauer Breccia
The Lissauer Breccia, sometimes referred to as the Kocury Locality, is a Norian geologic formation that is part of the larger Keuper limestone, which dominates across most of west and central Europe. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level ...
of southern
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. Only the type species is known, which is ''K. silvestris'', described by Czepiński ''et al.'' in 2021.
Discovery and naming
The
holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
(ZPAL V.66/4), which consists of part of the
maxilla
In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...
, and referred material (three dorsal paramedial plates and a ventral plate fragment), was found in a layer of the
Lissauer Breccia
The Lissauer Breccia, sometimes referred to as the Kocury Locality, is a Norian geologic formation that is part of the larger Keuper limestone, which dominates across most of west and central Europe. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level ...
, of which the location was believed to have been lost after the formation was studied by
Friedrich von Huene
Baron Friedrich Richard von Hoyningen-Huene (22 March 1875 – 4 April 1969) was a German nobleman paleontologist who described a large number of dinosaurs, more than anyone else in 20th-century Europe. He studied a range of Permo-Carbonife ...
while describing ''
Velocipes
''Velocipes'' (meaning "quick foot") is a saurischian dinosaur genus from the Late Triassic that may have been a theropod; its fossils were found in the Norian-age Lissauer Breccia of southern Poland.Kocury, during excavations that began in 2012, that re-discovered and re-explored the formation. The remains were described as the new species ''Kocurypelta silvestris'' in 2021.
Description
According to Czepiński ''et al.'' (2021), ''Kocurypelta'' is characterized by autapomorphies of the maxilla: an elongated edentulous posterior portion longer than 80% of the posterior maxillary process, a short medial shelf restricted to the posterior portion of the bone, an anteriorly unroofed maxillary accessory cavity, and the lack of a distinct groove for choanal recess on the anteromedial surface of the bone.
Paleoecology
''Kocurypelta'' would have been contemporaneous with the
theropod
Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodom ...
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
''
Velocipes
''Velocipes'' (meaning "quick foot") is a saurischian dinosaur genus from the Late Triassic that may have been a theropod; its fossils were found in the Norian-age Lissauer Breccia of southern Poland.lungfish
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the class Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, inc ...
(cf. ''
Metaceratodus
''Metaceratodus'' is an extinction, extinct genus of prehistoric lungfish in the family Ceratodontidae, with an indeterminate specimen known from the Late Triassic (Norian)-aged Lissauer Breccia of Poland and more complete specimens known from t ...
'' sp.) and an indeterminate species of stem-
turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...
from the
Proterochersidae
Proterochersidae is an extinct family of stem-turtles belonging to the clade Testudinata.
List of genera
There are four genera:
* ''Chinlechelys'' Joyce ''et al.'', 2009
** '' Chinlechelys tenertesta'' Joyce ''et al.'', 2009
* '' Keuperotesta'' ...
family (''
Proterochersis
''Proterochersis'' is an extinct genus of turtle from the Late Triassic period (Norian stage) of Europe. It is known from a large number of fossils uncovered in Germany and Poland.Fraas E (1913)"''Proterochersis'', eine pleurodire Schildkröte au ...