A Nothosaurus (Sauropterygia) skull from Kupferzell (Triassic, late Ladinian; SW Germany)

Although the Triassic fossil Lagerstaette Kupferzell (Lettenkeuper, Erfurt Formation) is well known for the abundance of well- preserved vertebrate fossils, sauropterygian remains are still unpublished. Here, we describe an only partially preserved Nothosaurus skull from Kupferzell and refer it to Nothosaurus giganteus. The skull described herein is the second occurrence of N. giganteus from the Lower Keuper of the Germanic Basin and the first skull aside from the material from the Hoheneck Kalk which was originally referred to N. chelydrops and is now treated as a junior synonym of N. giganteus. The presence of such large predatory marine reptiles indicates a stronger marine influence in the Lettenkeuper than currently thought.

Owenettids and procolophonids from the lower Keuper shed new light on the diversity of parareptiles in the German Middle Triassic

We report three isolated humeri of small-sized parareptiles, which represent two different taxa, from the lower Keuper (Erfurt Formation) of Germany. They constitute the first definitive evidence of parareptiles in the lower Keuper. The specimens represent the first records of an owenettid procolophonian (aff. Barasaurus) from Europe and of a putative gracile-built procolophonid. This indicates the coexistence in the Middle Triassic of Germany of two procolophonian lineages that first appeared in the fossil record in the late Permian and survived the Permian–Triassic extinction. Although based on isolated limb bones, they highlight the taxonomic diversity of the still poorly known tetrapod assemblage of the lower Keuper in southwestern Germany.