Papers by David Whiteside
The fissure localities of the Bristol region and South Wales have yielded some of the most import... more The fissure localities of the Bristol region and South Wales have yielded some of the most important Late Triassic and Early Jurassic small tetrapods. The ‘Microlestes’ quarry fissure at Holwell, which has produced the most diverse overall fauna, was originally investigated in the 1850s by the renowned amateur geologist, Charles Moore. The mammaliamorphs and marine fish have been well documented, but there are few reports and barely any descriptions of the terrestrial small reptile fossils. We address that deficiency with a description of the bones and teeth that can be assigned to the Reptilia, confirming the presence of Diphydontosaurus and describing two new rhynchocephalians. We recognise the presence of Variodens inopinatus Robinson, 1957 and Gephyrosaurus Evans, 1980: the first time that they have been recorded outside their original sites. Additionally, we record a
procolophonid, elements of the actinopterygian Pholidophorus, and a number of unnamed lepidosaur specimens that show varying degrees of pleurodont–acrodont implantation, providing an insight into the evolution of rhynchocephalians. Our findings demonstrate that Holwell is a key link between the sauropsid and mammaliamorph fissure faunas of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of the south-west UK.
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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1986
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1986
Nature, 1984
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Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 2015
Nature, 1980
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Nature, 1985
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Geological Magazine, 2008
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 1983
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Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 2012
Since the discovery of the basal sauropodomorph dinosaur Thecodontosaurus in the 1830s, the assoc... more Since the discovery of the basal sauropodomorph dinosaur Thecodontosaurus in the 1830s, the associated fauna from the Triassic fissures at Durdham Down (Bristol, UK) has not been investigated, largely because the quarries are built over. Other fissure sites around the Bristol Channel show that dinosaurs represented a minor part of the fauna of the Late Triassic archipelago. Here we present data on microvertebrates from the original Durdham Down fissure rocks, which considerably expand the taxonomic diversity of the island fauna, revealing that it was dominated by the sphenodontian Diphydontosaurus, and that archosauromorphs, including sphenosuchian crocodylomorphs, coelophysoid theropods, and the basal sauropodomorph Thecodontosaurus, were diverse. Importantly, a few fish teeth provide new information about the debated age of the fissure deposit, which is identified as lower Rhaetian. Thecodontosaurus had been assigned an age range over 20-25 Myr of the Late Triassic, so this narrower age determination is important for studies of early dinosaurian evolution.
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Papers by David Whiteside
procolophonid, elements of the actinopterygian Pholidophorus, and a number of unnamed lepidosaur specimens that show varying degrees of pleurodont–acrodont implantation, providing an insight into the evolution of rhynchocephalians. Our findings demonstrate that Holwell is a key link between the sauropsid and mammaliamorph fissure faunas of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of the south-west UK.
procolophonid, elements of the actinopterygian Pholidophorus, and a number of unnamed lepidosaur specimens that show varying degrees of pleurodont–acrodont implantation, providing an insight into the evolution of rhynchocephalians. Our findings demonstrate that Holwell is a key link between the sauropsid and mammaliamorph fissure faunas of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of the south-west UK.