The reptile vertebra from the Triassic of Pomerania

The territory of Poland is mostly covered by sediments of glacial origin, which cover the Mesozoic rocks. That is why most of the fossil vertebrate remains, older than just a few millions of years, originate from southern Poland, where appropriate outcrops are available. In Pomerania the whole Triassic tetrapod fossil record is limited to a single vertebra, which was collected from a drilling core from Darłowo, and is reinterpreted in this publication. The scientific value of the specimen is great despite its small size, as it provides evidence for the presence of reptiles in the extremely dry and hot equatorial regions of the Pangaea supercontinent.

Figure: Drill core fragments (BGR collection) with the reptile vertebra described as “Microcnemus sp.”. A-C, fossil of the damaged vertebra: normal light (A), 3D model (B), perpendicular light (C). D, counterpart with the imprint of the vertebra before it has been damaged.