Rise in the Triassic

unknown artist
 Labs start this week!
Comparative vertebrate osteology

Scelidosaurus (Early Jurassic, Ireland)

modified from Scott Hartman 2

 What are
dinosaurs?

Phylogeny
of Animals

Ray Troll
 What are dinosaurs? Phylogeny of Amniota
Synapsida

Testudines
Amniota
Lepidosauria
Reptilia
Crocodylia

Archosauria

4
 When are dinosaurs? Geological timescale

unknown source 5
 When are dinosaurs? Geological timescale

Ray Troll 6
7
Diversity of Animals through time

Sepkoski 1990 8
 Early Permain ecosystem

Julius Csotonyi 9
 Late Permain ecosystem

Julius
unknownCsotonyi
artist 10
 Permo-Triassic extinction (251 Ma)

Julius Csotonyi 11
 Late Permian global temperatures

Much of Late Permain land

was desert or near desert

Sidor et al. 2005 12

 Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs)

Chen et al. 2022 13

 Latest Permian global temperatures

Much of Late Permain land

was desert or near desert
with high temperatures

Kiehl & Shields 2005 14

 Triassic marine revolution
Origin of most extant fish clades
Origin of complex marine reptile diversity
Largest was Shastasaurus (20+ m long!)

Todd Marshal 15
 Triassic amphibians & reptiles
Origin of living amphibian clades
Origin of most reptile clades
Odontochelys
Chunerpeton

Li et al. 2008

Triadobatrachus Proganochelys

16
 Early Triassic ecosystem
Dicynodontidae| Lisowicia

Synapsida evolution Sulej & Niedzwiedzki 2018

17
 Early Triassic ecosystem
Cynodontia | Thrinaxodon

McConaghy et al. 1995

Synapsida evolution

Carrier 1987 18
 Mammalian hair

Kardong fig 6-20 & 6-21 19

 Mesozoic Mammals | Castorocauda [Jurassic]

Although most Mesozoic

mammals remained rodent-sized,
some bizzare radiations into
amphibious and even arboreal,
gliding taxa appeared, unrelated to
extant mammals

Ji et al. 2006 20
 Phylogeny of Amniota
Synapsida

Testudines
Amniota
Lepidosauria
Reptilia
Crocodylia

Archosauria

21
 Permain archosaurs

Vyazniki palaeocommunity

Archosaurus rossicus

Sennikov & Golubev 2006 22

 Triassic archosaurs

Archosaur Musings 23
 Archosauriformes
Herrerasaurus
Pseudhesperosuchus

Eudimorphodon Lagosuchus
Saurosuchus
Riojasuchus

Stagonolepis

Rutiodon

Euparkeria

Vjushkovia

Proterosuchus

Sereno 1991 24
 Archosaur ankle types

Crocodile-normal Crocodile-reversed Mesotarsal

t f

a c
hinge
V
I
II
III
IV

Pseudosuchia Ornithosuchia Ornithodira

(except Ornithosuchia)

fig 9-26 25
 Archosaur ankle types

Sprawling
Semi-erect crocs
Erect dinosaurs (like mammals)

fig 9-26 26
 Archosaur bipedalism

Elongated metatarsals are

associated with shortened
forelimbs

possible bipedalism
bipedalism

Kubo & Kubo 2012 27

 lizard lung ventilation

fig 11-26 28
 example of gastralia in Albertosaurus

Claessens 2004 29
 Euparkeria – pelvic assisted breathing

Carrier & Farmer 2000 30

 Antorbital pneumatic cavity
Origin of a novel head sinus system
Balloons from the narial passage to fill
portions of the head
Probably functioned to help cool the brain

Euparkeria

Witmer 1997, 1998 31

Benton 2021
 Pterosauria Ornithodira Dinosauromorpha

Marasuchus

Palaeocast

Eudimorphodon
33
 Pterosauria epidermal filaments

Benton 2021 34
 Ornithodira
Pterodactyloids
[LJ-LK]
cranial crests
reduction/loss of teeth
tail reduced
notarium (fused back)

Rhamphorhyncoids
[LTr-LJ]
Marasuchus
Dinosauria no postfrontal
3 sacrals
brevis fossa
Pterosauria
hollow bones
large deltopectoral crest Dinosauromorpha S-shaped neck
pteriod bone forelimb < 50% of hindlimb
prepubis perforate acetabulum
long pubis
Pseudosuchia Ornithodira prominent cnemial crest
ascending process on astragalus
elongate anterior cervicals
no body armor, but hair-like integement
no interclavicals
femur bowed along > 80% of length
Archosauria facultatively bipedal
mesotarsal ankle joint
35
 Dinosauromorpha S-shaped neck
forelimb < 50% of hindlimb
perforate acetabulum
long pubis
prominent cnemial crest
ascending process on astragalus

Lagosuchus
Marasuchus astragalus & calcaneum
36
Integument | Late Triassic dinosaur trackways in Connecticut

37
 Dinosauromorpha Evolution of bipedal posture!

Decouple ventilation from locomotion

Decouple forelimbs from hindlimbs

Teleocrater
tibia
fibula

Silesaurus

Herrerasaurus

Lagosuchus
astragalus & calcaneum
Carrier 1987, Benton 2021 38
 Dinosauromorpha | physiology
Dinosauromorpha
- extensive antorbital fenestra
pneumaticity (selective brain
cooling?)
- costal and gastralia lung
ventilation
- bipedal
- reinforced hip, knee, ankle
- epidermal filaments
- ventilation dissociated from
locomotion!!!

Non-archosaur reptile
- limited pneumaticicity
- costal lung ventilation
- quadrupedal

Wikipedia, Carrier 1987, Sereno et al. 1993, McConaghy et al. 1995, Carrier & Farmer 2000 39
 First Dinosaurs | all ~ 220 Ma, all ~ 1 m
Eoraptor | first sauropodomorph

Pisanosaurus | first ornithischian

Eodromaeus | first theropod

Martinez et al. 2011, Sereno et al. 2013 40

 summary

The Permo-Triassic mass extinction 251 Ma cleared the way for a new ecosystem
Triassic was the origin of many new reptile lineages and stem mammals

Archosaurs evolved quickly into erect walkers with efficient lung ventilation

May have been an evolutionary arms race toward ‘endothermy’ against Synapsida

Ornithodira evolved hair-like epidermal structures, presumably for insulation

parallel to the origin of hair and early endothermy in stem mammals

Dinosauromorpha began as small, facultatively bipedal predators

41