DIADECTES (DIADECTOMORPHA, DIADECTIDAE) FROM THE EARLY PERMIAN OF CENTRAL GERMANY, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES

A new species of the diadectomorph Diadectes, D. absitus, is described on the basis of a nearly complete, articulated skeleton that includes the skull, an isolated skull, and the greater portions of two articul ated postcrania. All were collected from fluvial red-bed deposits imme diately above the Tambach Sandstone, middle part of the Lower Permian Tambach Formation, lowermost formational unit of the Upper Rotliegend, of the Bromacker locality in the midregion of the Thuringian Forest n ear Gotha, central Germany. Diadectes absitus represents the first mem ber of this genus to be described from outside of North America. A com bination of autapomorphic and plesiomorphic characters provides a more substantial basis for recognizing D. absitus than is available for di stinguishing between the North American species of Diadectes. Two poss ible conclusions are drawn from the relationship of D. absitus to the North American members of the genus: 1) its uniqueness reflects the wi de geographic separation from the North American species, and 2) its g reater primitiveness reinforces previous assessments of the biostratig raphic position and age of the Tambach Formation as earliest Permian W olfcampian.