Middle Triassic vertebrates from Miedary

A new, rich vertebrate assemblage was discovered in the Middle Triassic strata of Miedary in southern Poland. More than 20 vertebrate taxa have been identified here, including a dozen fishes, several amphibians and reptiles (e.g., Nothosaurus and a hitherto unknown taxon of armoured archosauromorph). The most surprising is the overabundance of Tanystropheus, the mysterious long-necked reptile – over half a thousand bones of this animal account for more than a half of all the macrofossils identified so far at the site. This makes the Miedary assemblage the richest source of three-dimensionally preserved Tanystropheus material in the world.

Figure: Vertebrate remains from the Middle Triassic of Miedary, Poland.