Osteological redescription of the holotype of Plateosaurus trossingensis (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Upper Triassic of SW Germany and its phylogenetic implications

Abstract

Plateosaurus von Meyer, 1837, from the Norian of central Europe, was one of the first named dinosaurs. With close to 200 referred specimens found all over central Europe, it is one of the best-known dinosaurs from Europe. Over the past 200 years it has become one of the most important sauropodomorph dinosaurs and is used in many comparative studies in almost all fields of dinosaur palaeontology. Here we present a full osteological redescription of the holotype of Plateosaurus trossingensis, the almost entirely complete, historic specimen SMNS 13200. We use it as a basis for a revised diagnosis of P. trossingensis that consists of autapomorphies in a unique combination of features. An updated phylogeny of basal sauropodomorph taxa, with P. trossingensis restricted to the holotype, recovers P. trossingensis within Plateosauridae together with Sellosaurus and Unaysaurus. The revised anatomy and cladistic scoring can be used in many future studies involving comparative anatomy, phylogenetics, biostratigraphy and early dinosaur evolution.