Acta Palaeontologica Polonica

Mesozoic vertebrates from Thailand: a review

Eric Buffetaut

Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 28 (1-2), 1983: 43-53

Newly discovered Mesozoic vertebrate localities in Thailand are reviewed. A Late Triassic (probably Norian) fauna from the Huai Hin Lat Formation at Chulabhorn Dam includes actinopterygian fishes , a lungfish, stegocephalian (Cyclotosaurus), and phytosaurs. The Phu Kradung Formation (?Liassic) has yielded a nearly complete lower jaw of the mesosuchian crocodile Sunosuchus thailandicus. Isolated dinosaur remains (indicative of sauropods and theropods) have also been found in various places in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks. Vertebrate remains will be important for dating the predominantly continental formations of the Khorat Plateau of northeastern Thailand. All the Mesozoic vertebrates hither to found in Thailand apparently have Laurasian affinities, which would indicate a collision of the Southeast Asian blocks with mainland Asia no later than the beginning of the Late Triassic.

Key words: fossil vertebrates , Dipnoa, Stegocephalia, Phytosauria, Crocodylia, Sauropoda, Theropoda, biostratigraphy, continental drift, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Asia, Thailand.


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