LATE TRIASSIC

NORIAN AGE

Europe

 

Updated 091612

The sandstones of the Löwenstein Formation developed under dry-hot desert to semi-arid climate. The massive sandstones formed in river channels. The Lowenstein-formation is in the middle Norium to the Lower Rhaetium.

PlayVision Gerrothorax from the prehistoric amphibian series. A brief but excellent series that has become much sought after.

The palgiosaur Gerrothorax was about 3 feet long and lived in Sweden.  It lived permanently in the water laying flat in streams and lake beds.   This family replaced the older metoposaurs in Europe.Plateosaurus Teratosaurus Matchbox

Thecodont carnivores remain the main terrestrial terrestrial predators through till the end of the Triassic. Teratosaurus a rauisuchiancan be compared to Postosuchus. The top predators of these early prosauropod zones are holdovers from the mid-Triassic - ornithosuchid and rauisuchid thecodonts. The jaws of Teratosaurus were found with sauropodomorph bones It was thought that these belonged to the same animal, and it was reconstructed as an early theropod. It is now known to be a rauisuchian perhaps a poposaurid. Despite the appearance of large podokesaurian-grade theropod dinosaurs, these animals continued to serve as the dominant predator in terrestrial ecologies. Unlike the theropods, they were not fast runners, and probably ambushed their prey with a sudden rush.

Bullyland Liliensternus

Coelophysids were once conidered to be only represented by a few species but finds of animals like Camposaurus, Eucoelophysis and Procompsognathus show many different members of the family lived in the same places at about the same time. Most are small and lightly built. The head is long and the pointed snount often has crests. Some became large. Liliensternus 17 feet long 300 pounds was big enough to hunt Plateosaurus.

Schleich retired Plateosaurus

Prosauropod grade sauropodomorphs are small to large herbivorus and omnivorous. They are the first high browsers. They are the dominate large herbivores from the Late Triassic into the Middle Jurassic where they rather suddenly replaced by sauropods. Plateosaurus is the classic prosauropod. Current though is the adults were semiquadrupdal.