Triassic Period   Origin of the Term Triassic System. [1834] Friedrich August von Alberti recognized three distinctive formations in western Germany, in descending order: Keuper, Muschelkalk, and Bunter which he grouped into the Trias, and today this is called the Triassic System. Note: the term Trias is often used in Europe, even by English-speaking geologists. Stanley M. Awramik