Lossiemouth West & East Quarries, Elgin: Carnian - Norian, United Kingdom
collected by W. Taylor

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia
Hyperodapedon gordoni n. gen., n. sp. Huxley 1859
Benton 1983 33 individuals
See Benton (1983) for full list of material
Stenometopon taylori n. gen., n. sp. Boulenger 1903
Boulenger 1903 1 individual
synonym of Hyperodapedon gordoni
BMNH R3141, partial skull
Ornithosuchus longidens (Huxley 1877)
Walker 1964 5 individuals
nomen dubium belonging to Pseudosuchia
BMNH R3149, skull and skeleton; BMNH R3561, vertebrae, pelvis and partial hindlimb; BMNH R3916, partial postcranium; MM L8271, partial skull and postcranial elements; BMNH R3562, partial skull;
Ornithosuchus taylori n. sp. Broom 1913
Broom 1913 2 individuals
synonym of Ornithosuchus woodwardi
BMNH R3142 (syntype), partial skull and skeleton; BMNH R3143 (syntype), partial skull
Stagonolepis robertsoni n. gen., n. sp. Agassiz 1844
Walker 1961 19 individuals
Reptilia - Erpetosuchidae
Erpetosuchus granti n. gen., n. sp. Newton 1894
Newton 1894 3 specimens
BMNH R3139 (holotype), skull and partial skeleton [provenance uncertain; could be from Spynie Quarries]; NMS 1992.37.1, cervical vertebral column; BMNH R4807, block with impressions of 16 vertebrae
Reptilia
Scleromochlus taylori n. gen., n. sp. Woodward 1907
Woodward 1907 5 individuals
BMNH R3556 (holotype), R3146, R3557, R3914, R4823, R4824, R5589 (4 measurements)
Saltopus elginensis n. gen., n. sp. Huene 1910
Huene 1910 1 individual
BMNH R3915 (holotype), partial postcranial skeleton
Reptilia - Thecodontia
"Thecodontia" indet. Owen 1859
Benton and Walker 1985 1 individual
MM L8270, disarticulated skull and partial skeleton
Reptilia - Clevosauridae
Brachyrhinodon taylori n. gen., n. sp. Huene 1910
Huene 1910 10 individuals
BMNH R3559 (holotype), skull and skeleton; BMNH R3364, partial skull; BMNH R3921, partial skull; BMNH R3929, partial mandible and palate; BMNH R4776, nearly complete skeleton; BMNH R4777, postcranial skeleton with poorly preserved skull; BMNH R4778, skeleton; NMS 1966.43.8A & B, small skull; ELGNM 1978.569 1A, B & C, postcranial skeleton with poorly preserved skull; ELGNM 1978.569 2A, B & C, skull and cervical vertebrae
? Brachyrhinodon taylori Huene 1910
Fraser and Benton 1989 1 specimen
BMNH R3913, caudal vertebrae
Reptilia - Procolophonidae
Leptopleuron lacertinum Owen 1851
Benton and Spencer 1995 26 individuals
see common names

Geography
Country:United Kingdom State/province:Scotland County:Moray
Coordinates: 57.7° North, 3.3° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:34.0° North, 0.8° West
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:local area
Time
Period:Triassic Epoch:Late/Upper Triassic
Key time interval:Carnian - Norian
Age range of interval:237.00000 - 208.50000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Lossiemouth Sandstone
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: Specimens were found at the base of the Lossiemouth Sandstone, near to the transition between the fluviatile Burghead Sandstone Formation and the aeolian Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation.

Age of the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation is based upon vertebrate biostratigraphy, with comparisons made to the faunal assemblages from the lower part of the Maleri Formation (India), the upper part of the Santa Maria Formation (Brazil) and the Ischigualasto Formation (Argentina). This is suggestive of a late Carnian to early Norian age (Benton & Walker 2011).
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: lithified sandstone
Secondary lithology:yellow poorly lithified sandstone
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: "yellowish soft sandstone" overlain by "harder sandstone" General description of Lossiemouth Sandstones: "The Lossiemouth Sandstones are white, buff, yellow, or pinkish. Grain size is usually uniform with grains well-rounded. The rock is composed of quartz, feldspar, and rare brownish chert and quartzite. Cements are usually overgrowths of secondary quartz and feldspar, but calcite and fluorspar may also occur. The sandstones may be finely laminated, but more usually they show large-scale cross-beds on well-weathered surfaces. These features, as well as the absence of pebbles, the rarity of micas and heavy minerals, strongly suggest aeolian deposition".
Environment:dune
Geology comments: "Foreset analysis indicates a prevailing south-westerly wind forming barchan dunes. Dunes up to 20 m high migrated across the flood plain during arid intervals"
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body,mold/impression,replaced with other
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:variable
Associated major elements:many
Temporal resolution:snapshot
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:selective quarrying,mechanical,field collection,survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:BGS,BMNH
Collectors:W. Taylor
Metadata
Database number:57948
Authorizer:M. Carrano, R. Butler Enterer:K. Maguire, R. Butler
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Created:2006-01-11 11:56:12 Last modified:2019-12-13 12:58:18
Access level:the public Released:2006-01-11 11:56:12
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
29859. T. H. Huxley. 1867. On a new specimen of Telerpeton elginense. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 23:77-84 [R. Butler/R. Butler]

Secondary references:

29844 M. J. Benton. 1983. The Triassic reptile Hyperodapedon from Elgin: functional morphology and relationships. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 302:605-720 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29583 M. J. Benton. 1999. Scleromochlus taylori and the origin of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 354:1423-1446 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
15587ETE M. J. Benton and P. S. Spencer. 1995. Fossil Reptiles of Great Britain. Chapman & Hall, London 1-386 [M. Carrano/K. Maguire/J. Tennant]
29840 M. J. Benton and A. D. Walker. 1985. Palaeoecology, taphonomy, and dating of Permo-Triassic reptiles from Elgin, north-east Scotland. Palaeontology 28:207-234 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29850 M. J. Benton and A. D. Walker. 2002. Erpetosuchus, a crocodile-like basal archosaur from the Late Triassic of Elgin, Scotland. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 136:25-47 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
36234 M. J. Benton and A. D. Walker. 2011. Saltopus, a dinosauriform from the Upper Triassic of Scotland. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101(3-4):285-299 [R. Butler/R. Butler/M. Carrano]
29855 G. A. Boulenger. 1903. On reptilian remains from the Trias of Elgin. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 196:175-189 [R. Butler/R. Butler/R. Butler]
29854 R. Broom. 1913. On the South African pseudosuchian Euparkeria and allied genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913:619-633 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29851 N. C. Fraser and M. J. Benton. 1989. The Triassic reptiles Brachyrhinodon and Polysphenodon and the relationships of the sphenodontids. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 96:413-445 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29852 F. v. Huene. 1910. Über einen echten Rhynchocephalen aus der Trias von Elgin, Brachyrhinodon taylori [On a true rhynchocephalian from the Triassic of Elgin, Brachyrhinodon taylori]. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie, und Paläontologie 1910(2):29-62 [R. Butler/R. Butler/M. Carrano]
16888ETE F. v. Huene. 1910. Ein primitiver Dinosaurier aus der mittleren Trias von Elgin [A primitive dinosaur from the Middle Trias of Elgin]. Geologie und Paläontologie Abhandlungen (n.s.) 8(6):317-322 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
29853 F. v. Huene. 1912. Die zweite Fund des Rhynchocephalen Brachyrhinodon in Elgin. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie, und Paläontologie 1912:51-57 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
62966 F. v. Huene. 1914. I: Animalia. Pars 4. Saurischia et Ornithischia triadica (“Dinosauria” triadica). 1-20 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
24317ETE F. v. Huene. 1940. Die Saurier der Karroo-, Gondwana-, und verwandten Ablagerungen in faunistischer, biologischer und phylogenetischer Hinsicht [Saurians of the Karroo, Gondwana, and other deposits in faunistic, biological, and phylogenetic regard]. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Beilage-Band, Abteilung B 83:246-347 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
29827 T. H. Huxley. 1869. On Hyperodapedon. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 25:138-152 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29858 T. H. Huxley. 1875. On Stagonolepis robertsoni and on the evolution of the Crocodilia. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 31:423-438 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29857 T. H. Huxley. 1887. Further observations upon Hyperodapedon gordoni. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 43:675-694 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
9482 E. T. Newton. 1894. Reptiles from the Elgin Sandstone. — Description of two new genera. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 185:573-607 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
51970 E. T. Newton. 1905. Notes on the Triassic fossils (excluding Rhaetic) in the Museum of the Geological Survey at Jermyn Street, London. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 1904:282-285 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
55639 R. L. Paton. 1975. A Catalogue of Fossil Vertebrates in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. Part Four / Amphibia & Reptilia. Royal Scottish Museum Information Series. Geology 5 1-38 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
9636 O. W. M. Rauhut and A. Hungerbühler. 2000. A review of European Triassic theropods. GAIA 15:75-88 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
34736 L. K. Saila. 2010. Osteology of Leptopleuron lacertinum Owen, a procolophonoid parareptile from the Upper Triassic of Scotland, with remarks on ontogeny, ecology and affinities. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101:1-25 [R. Butler/R. Butler/R. Butler]
65100 W. E. Swinton. 1934. A Guide to the Fossil Birds, Reptiles, and Amphibians in the Department of Geology and Paleontology in the British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, S.W. 7 xii-87 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
29839 A. D. Walker. 1961. Triassic reptiles from the Elgin area: Stagonolepis, Dasygnathus and their allies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 244:103-204 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
13771ETE A. D. Walker. 1964. Triassic reptiles from the Elgin area: Ornithosuchus and the origin of carnosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 248:53-134 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
29856 D. M. S. Watson. 1909. On some reptilian remains from the Trias of Lossiemouth (Elgin). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 65:440 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
12211ETE A. S. Woodward. 1907. On a new dinosaurian reptile (Scleromochlus taylori, gen. et sp. nov.) from the Trias of Lossiemouth, Elgin. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 63:140-144 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]