Trachelosaurus is an extinct genus of lizard-like early archosauromorph reptiles in the family Trachelosauridae.[1] It was originally described as a dinosaur[2] until it was redescribed as a "protorosaur" reptile by Robert L. Carroll in 1988.[3] The type species, T. fischeri, was described by F. Broili & E. Fischer in 1917[2] based on remains found in the Solling Formation (Buntsandstein), Bernburg, Germany.[4] A 2024 redescription identified Trachelosaurus as a long-necked and presumably aquatic reptile closely related to Dinocephalosaurus from the Guanling Formation of China.[5]

Trachelosaurus
Temporal range: Early Triassic, 247–242 Ma
Holotype specimen
Reconstructed skeleton of the holotype
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Family: Trachelosauridae
Genus: Trachelosaurus
Broili & Fischer, 1917
Species:
T. fischeri
Binomial name
Trachelosaurus fischeri
Broili & Fischer, 1917

Classification

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In their 2024 redescription of Trachelosaurus, Spiekman and colleagues recovered it in a clade with the Chinese Dinocephalosaurus in a clade previously named Dinocephalosauridae in 2021. However, the principle of priority instructs that the name Trachelosauridae, which was first erected as a monotypic clade for Trachelosaurus, should be used instead. The results of their phylogenetic analyses are shown in the cladogram below:[5]

Tanysauria

References

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  1. ^ O. Kuhn. (1971). Reptiles of the German Triassic. 1-105
  2. ^ a b F. Broili and E. Fischer. (1917). Trachelosaurus fischeri nov. gen. nov. sp. A new dinosaur from the Buntsandstein of Bernburg. Jahrbuch der Königlich Preussischen geologischen Landesanstalt zu Berlin 37(1):359-414
  3. ^ R. L. Carroll. (1988). Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution 1-698
  4. ^ H. H. Ecke. (1986). Palynologie des Zechsteins und Unteren Buntsandsteins im Germanischen Becken. Dissertation Georg-August-Universität Göttingen 1-117
  5. ^ a b Spiekman, Stephan N. F.; Ezcurra, Martín D.; Rytel, Adam; Wang, Wei; Mujal, Eudald; Buchwitz, Michael; Schoch, Rainer R. (2024-03-15). "A redescription of Trachelosaurus fischeri from the Buntsandstein (Middle Triassic) of Bernburg, Germany: the first European Dinocephalosaurus-like marine reptile and its systematic implications for long-necked early archosauromorphs". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 143 (1): 10. doi:10.1186/s13358-024-00309-6. ISSN 1664-2384.