An aetosaur discovery in Krasiejów (SW Poland), in Late Triassic deposits, was first described by Sulej in 2010 as a new species carrying the name Stagonolepis olenkae. However, new fossil material suggests that its taxonomical position is not as clear as was initially presumed. In the new material from the ‘Triassic’ site of Krasiejów, the typical features of Stagonolepis robertsoni, described by Walker in 1961 from the Elgin area of Scotland, were identified (i.e. frontal/prefrontal width ratio), as well as features of S. olenkae (i.e. angle between ventral edge of the maxilla and ventral edge of the antorbital fenestra). However, distinct features from both species, such as the shape of the canal at the dorsal surface of the frontal, are present. Some of the variation is similar to sexual dimorphism observed in recent amphibians and reptiles. These variations, as well as the fact that the postcranial skeleton was previously described as S. robertsoni by Lucas and co‐workers in 2007, suggest that the taxonomical affiliation of the Krasiejów aetosaur (and/or the number of aetosaur species) should be re‐considered. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

BackgroundAmphibians are animals strongly dependent on environmental conditions, like temperature, water accessibility, and the trophic state of the reservoirs. Thus, they can be used in modern palaeoenvironmental analysis, reflecting ecological condition of the biotope.MethodsTo analyse the observed diversity in the temnospondyl Metoposaurus krasiejowensis from Late Triassic deposits in Krasiejów (Opole Voivodeship, Poland), the characteristics of the ornamentation (such as grooves, ridges, tubercules) of 25 clavicles and 13 skulls were observed on macro- and microscales, including the use of a scanning electron microscope for high magnification. The different ornamentation patterns found in these bones have been used for taxonomical and ecological studies of inter- vs. intraspecific variation.ResultsTwo distinct types of ornamentation (fine, regular and sparse, or coarse, irregular and dense) were found, indicating either taxonomical, ecological, individual, or ontogenetic variation, or sexual dimorphism in M. krasiejowensis.DiscussionAnalogies with modern Anura and Urodela, along to previous studies on temnospondyls amphibians and the geology of the Krasiejów site suggest that the differences found are rather intraspecific and may suggest ecological adaptations. Sexual dimorphism and ontogeny cannot be undoubtedly excluded, but ecological variation between populations of different environments or facultative neoteny (paedomorphism) in part of the population (with types of ornamentations being adaptations to a more aquatic or a more terrestrial lifestyle) are the most plausible explanations.

Fossil vertebrate remains of the Keuper unit from the vicinity of the village of Krasiejów located in SW Poland, have been analyzed for almost two decades. In that time, two main review papers have been published (Dzik et al., 2000;Dzik and Sulej, 2007). Since then, many detailed papers and tens of conference contributions have been published. However, the main goal of these detailed articles was focused on large vertebrates, such as

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Middle Triassic (Muschelkalk) limestones and dolostones of southern Poland contain vertebrate remains, which can be used for palaeoecological and palaeogeographical analyses. The results presented concern vertebrate remains uncovered at four localities in Upper Silesia and one on Opole Silesia, a region representing the south-eastern margin of the Germanic Basin in Middle Triassic times. The most abundant remains in this assemblage are fish remains, comprising mostly actinopterygian teeth and scales. Chondrichthyan and sauropsid remains are less common. Reptilian finds include vertebrae, teeth and fragments of long bones, belonging to aquatic or semi-aquatic reptiles, such as nothosaurids, pachypleusorosaurids, and ichthyosaurids. Also, coprolites of possibly durophagous and predacious reptiles occur. In the stratigraphic column of Mikołów, actinopterygian remains are the most numerous and no distinct changes of the taxonomic composition occur. Although this assemblage differs from those described at other localities (Ząbkowice with numerous chondrichthyans, Żyglin, and Płaza with common sauropsid fossils), sampling bias has to be considered.