First record of Langobardisaurus (Diapsida, Protorosauria) from the Norian (Late Triassic) of Austria, and a revision of the genus

Langobardisaurus Renesto 1994, is a small (body length less than 0.5 m) archosauromorph diapsid with a robust skull set on a very elongate neck (Renesto, 1994). It was originally described based on two fairly well preserved specimens from the Norian Calcare di Zorzino Formation (Zorzino Limestone) of Lombardy (Northwestern Italy), ascribed to L. pandolfii Renesto, 1994. However, the structure of the skull remained virtually unknown until the discovery of a nearly complete and articulated specimen from the Dolomia di Forni Formation (Forni Dolostone) of Friuli, northeastern Italy (Muscio, 1996). That specimen was assigned to a different species, L. tonelloi Muscio 1996, on the basis of the different proportions between some limb elements. Two further specimens referred to Langobardisaurus were reported from the Dolomia di Forni Formation of Friuli (Renesto et al., 2002; Dalla Vecchia, 2006). A third species, L. rossii, also based on a specimen (MFSN 19235) from the Dolomia di Forni Formation of Friuli, was erected by Bizzarrini and Muscio (1995). However Renesto and Dalla Vecchia (2007) demonstrated that L. rossii is instead a lepidosauromorph, probably a rhynchocephalian; so that Langobardisaurus rossii is an invalid taxon.