The Aetosaurus Block

After a crazy spring things are pretty slow in the Triassic right now, with hardly any new papers coming out in recent weeks.  Even our fieldwork has pretty much ground to a halt given the recent extreme heat in the western U.S. Plus, I'm taking a week off from work, so things will be even slower; however, I'm expecting things to take off again pretty soon. 

In the meantime here is a shot showing the famous block of Aetosaurus ferratus specimens from the Lower Stubensanstein of Germany.

a close-up of one of the best preserved skulls

and an older reconstruction (from Wikipedia) showing several Aetosaurus perishing in a sandstorm.

These specimens (collected and first described in the 1800s) were the subject of an excellent detailed description by Rainer Schoch in 2007.

REFERENCE

Schoch, R. R. 2007. Osteology of the small archosaur Aetosaurus from the Upper Triassic of Germany. N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh. 246:1– 35