Remains of Sauropoda (Reptilia, Saurischia) in the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Hauterivian/Lower Barremian) Limestones of SW Istria (Croatia)

Remains belonging to sauropod dinosaurs have recently been discovered in Upper Hauterivian/Lower Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) limestones of SW Istria (Croatia). The material consists of a complete cervical vertebra, a nearly complete cervical centrum, fragments of possible cervical ribs, three partial dorsal and five more or less incomplete caudal vertebrae, parts of caudal neural spines, a chevron, the distal part of a femur, the proximal portion of a tibia and other fragments of bones. The bones were collected randomly from the sea bottom, therefore despite the fact that they come from the same outcrop, the same level and probably the same bed, they cannot be assigned with certainty to the same taxon. Their vastly different sizes indicate the presence of several individuals while different morphologies suggest the probable presence of more than one taxon. The complete cervical and the anterior to mid-caudal vertebrae present a more strict affinity with Brachiosauridae, a proximal cervical centrum resembles those of “Chondrosteosaurus”, and a caudal neural spine is similar to those of the camarasaurids. The dorsal vertebrae have peculiar features (a very tall neural arch, well developed laminar complex, etc.) and characters suggesting their assignation to basal Titanosauriformes and, possibly, to Diplodocimorpha. A posterior dorsal vertebra testifies the presence of a new Diplodocimorph similar to Rebbachisaurus but more primitive

A Triassic spider from Italy

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from "http://www.app.pan.pl".A new fossil spider from the Triassic (Norian) Dolomia di Forni Formation of Friuli, Italy, is described as Friularachne rigoi gen. et sp. nov. This find brings the number of known Triassic spider species to four. The specimen is an adult male, and consideration of various features, including enlarged, porrect chelicerae, subequal leg length, and presence of a dorsal scutum, point to its identity as a possible member of the mygalomorph superfamily Atypoidea. If correct, this would extend the geological record of the superfamily some 98–115 Ma from the late Early Cretaceous (?Albian, c. 100–112 Ma) to the late middle–early late Norian (c. 210–215 Ma)

A Triassic spider from Italy

A new fossil spider from the Triassic (Norian) Dolomia di Forni Formation of Friuli, Italy, is described as Friularachne rigoi gen. et sp. nov. This find brings the number of known Triassic spider species to four. The specimen is an adult male, and consideration of various features, including enlarged, porrect chelicerae, subequal leg length, and presence of a dorsal scutum, point to its identity as a possible member of the mygalomorph superfamily Atypoidea. If correct, this would extend the geological record of the superfamily some 98–115 Ma from the late Early Cretaceous (?Albian, c. 100–112 Ma) to the late middle–early late Norian (c. 210–215 Ma)

First record of Langobardisaurus (Diapsida, Protorosauria) from the Norian (Late Triassic) of Austria, and a revision of the genus.

A new specimen of the small protorosaurian reptile Langobardisaurs pandolfii is described. It was collected in the Seefeld Formation of Late Triassic (Norian) age in the Innsbruck area (Austria) and represents the first occurrence of Langobardisaurus outside Italy. Although preserved mostly as an impression, the find is significant because it extends the palaeogeographic range of the genus and it is the second specimen known to date with the skull fully exposed. The preserved portions of the limb elements show that the bones are hollow, with a layer of compacta and without any traces of spongiosa. Reappraisal of all the specimens assigned to the genus Langobardisaurus reveals no significant difference between L. pandolfii and L. tonelloi, allowing to consider tha latter as a junior synonym of the forme

Evidence of a new carcharodontosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco

We report an isolated frontal of a large−bodied theropod from the Cenomanian “Kem Kem beds” of Morocco with an unusual morphology that we refer to a new carcharodontosaurid distinct from the sympatric Carcharodontosaurus. The specimen shows an unique combination of plesiomorphic and potentially autapomorphic features: very thick and broad bone with a complex saddle−shaped dorsal surface, and a narrow vertical lamina between the prefrontal and lacrimal facets. This study supports the hypothesis that a fourth large theropod was present in the Cenomanian of Morocco together with Carcharodontosaurus, Deltadromeus, and Spinosaurus

First record of Langobardisaurus (Diapsida, Protorosauria) from the Norian (Late Triassic) of Austria, and a revision of the genus

Langobardisaurus Renesto 1994, is a small (body length less than 0.5 m) archosauromorph diapsid with a robust skull set on a very elongate neck (Renesto, 1994). It was originally described based on two fairly well preserved specimens from the Norian Calcare di Zorzino Formation (Zorzino Limestone) of Lombardy (Northwestern Italy), ascribed to L. pandolfii Renesto, 1994. However, the structure of the skull remained virtually unknown until the discovery of a nearly complete and articulated specimen from the Dolomia di Forni Formation (Forni Dolostone) of Friuli, northeastern Italy (Muscio, 1996). That specimen was assigned to a different species, L. tonelloi Muscio 1996, on the basis of the different proportions between some limb elements. Two further specimens referred to Langobardisaurus were reported from the Dolomia di Forni Formation of Friuli (Renesto et al., 2002; Dalla Vecchia, 2006). A third species, L. rossii, also based on a specimen (MFSN 19235) from the Dolomia di Forni Formation of Friuli, was erected by Bizzarrini and Muscio (1995). However Renesto and Dalla Vecchia (2007) demonstrated that L. rossii is instead a lepidosauromorph, probably a rhynchocephalian; so that Langobardisaurus rossii is an invalid taxon