A Supposed Eupelycosaur Body Impression from the Early Permian of the Intra-Sudetic Basin, Poland

Abstract

We describe a new specimen of a supposed Paleozoic tetrapod body impression from the Lower Permian Słupiec Formation in the Intra-Sudetic Basin, Poland. The size, integument morphology of belly and part of tail imprints, and the morphology of a well-preserved pes track diagnose the specimen and readily distinguish it from other described specimens of body impressions of Paleozoic tetrapods. The eupelycosaur identity of this new specimen is based on the identification of the footprint Dimetropus leisnerianus (Geinitz, 1863), which is connected with the inferred body imprint. The morphology of integument impressions indicates the presence of the various-sized square or rectangular-shaped scales on the bottom part of the belly and tail of this eupelycosaurid trackmaker.

Keywords:

• Dimetropus
• Tetrapod tracks
• Body impression
• Early Permian
• Poland

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Jerry D. Harris, Spencer G. Lucas, and Martin G. Lockley for their constructive reviews and Sebastian Voigt of Freiberg, Germany, for his comments about the specimen decribed in this paper. We are also grateful to the students for carrying the specimen out of the quarry and to the colleagues who helped in transporting it to Warsaw.