New fossil traces of diadectomorphs

Diadectomorpha was a group of large-bodied herbivorous tetrapods that existed from the late Carboniferous to the late Permian. A new trackway from the Asselian (lowermost Permian) of the Boskovice Basin in the Czech Republic illustrates a ‘transitional’ stage in the posture evolution of diadectomorphs, showing track morphologies possibly attributable to a Diadectes-like taxon combined with distances between the successive manus and pes imprints similar to those observable in earlier-diverging diadectomorphs, such as Orobates.

The new study adds to the diversity of the ichnological record of Permian tetrapods in the Boskovice Basin which had been poorly explored until very recently.

Illustration: Petr Modlitba