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Crocodylotarsi
Pseudosuchia, from Ancient Greek ψεύδος (''pseúdos)'', meaning "false", and σούχος (''soúkhos''), meaning "crocodile" is one of two major divisions of Archosauria, including living crocodilians and all archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds. Pseudosuchians are also informally known as "crocodilian-line archosaurs", in contrast to the "bird-line archosaurs" or Avemetatarsalia. Despite Pseudosuchia meaning "false crocodiles", the name is a misnomer as true crocodilians are now defined as a subset of the group. The clade Pseudosuchia is potentially equivalent to another term, Crurotarsi, even though the latter has a different, node-based definition: "all taxa the least inclusive clade containing '' Rutiodon carolinensis'' (Emmons, 1856), and ''Crocodylus niloticus'' (Laurenti, 1768)." Many paleontologists of the late 20th century took this proposal for granted, using Crurotarsi as the term for crocodilian ancestors. In 2011, a major revision of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archosaur
Archosauria () or archosaurs () is a clade of diapsid sauropsid tetrapods, with birds and crocodilians being the only extant taxon, extant representatives. Although broadly classified as reptiles, which traditionally exclude birds, the cladistics, cladistic sense of the term includes all living and extinct relatives of birds and crocodilians such as non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, phytosaurs, aetosaurs and rauisuchians as well as many marine reptile#Extinct groups, Mesozoic marine reptiles. Modern paleontologists define Archosauria as a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor of living birds and crocodilians, and all of its descendants. The base of Archosauria splits into two clades: Pseudosuchia, which includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives; and Avemetatarsalia, which includes birds and their extinct relatives (such as non-avian dinosaurs and pterosaurs). Older definitions of the group Archosauria rely on shared morphology (biology), morphological ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crurotarsi
Crurotarsi is a clade of archosauriform reptiles that includes crocodilians and stem-crocodilians and possibly bird-line archosaurs too if the extinct, crocodile-like phytosaurs are more distantly related to crocodiles than traditionally thought. Prior to 2011, the group had invariably included only archosaurs closer to crocodilians than to birds and other dinosaurs. An equivalent term for the crocodilian side of the archosaur family tree is Pseudosuchia. This traditional definition of Crurotarsi assumed that phytosaurs were crown-group archosaurs and more closely related to crocodilians than to birds. However, a 2011 study argued that the phytosaur lineage evolved prior to the split between birds and crocodilians. This would mean that phytosaurs were not true archosaurs, and therefore could not be considered representatives of croc-line archosaurs. The name Crurotarsi is derived from the Latin word '' crus'' (lower leg) and the Greek word '' tarsos'' (ankle). It refers to the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rauisuchidae
Rauisuchidae is a group of large (up to ) predatory Triassic archosaurs. Some disagreement exists over which genera should be included in the Rauisuchidae and which should be in the related Prestosuchidae and Poposauridae, and indeed whether these should even be thought of as separate valid families. Rauisuchidae in the modern sense was defined by Sterling Nesbitt in 2011 as the most inclusive clade containing ''Rauisuchus tiradentes'', but not '' Prestosuchus chiniquensis'', ''Poposaurus gracilis'', or ''Crocodylus niloticus'' (the Nile crocodile). In this modern sense, rauisuchids are recovered as members of the clade Loricata, being the sister taxon of Crocodylomorpha (the group including living crocodilians), and being more derived than taxa such as ''Prestosuchus'' and '' Batrachotomus''. Rauisuchids occurred throughout much of the Triassic, and may have first occurred in the Early Triassic if some archosaurian taxa such as '' Scythosuchus'' and '' Tsylmosuchus'' are conside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prestosuchus
''Prestosuchus'' (meaning "Prestes crocodile") is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian in the group Loricata, which also includes ''Saurosuchus'' and ''Postosuchus''. It has historically been referred to as a "rauisuchian", and was the defining member of the family Prestosuchidae, though the validity of both of these groups is questionable: Rauisuchia is now considered Paraphyly, paraphyletic and Prestosuchidae is Polyphyly, polyphyletic in its widest form. History of study The holotype of ''Prestosuchus chiniquensis'' was discovered by Wilhelm Rau alongside the holotype of ''Rauisuchus tiradentes'' in the Santa Maria Formation at the Paleontological Site Chiniquá, near the city of São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, São Pedro do Sul in 1928 or 1929, and the fossils were shipped back to Germany for study by the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene. Von Huene named the genus ''Prestosuchus'' in 1938 in honor of Vicentino Prestes de Almeida. This site is located in the geop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Triassic
The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy. The Early Triassic is the oldest epoch of the Mesozoic Era. It is preceded by the Lopingian Epoch (late Permian, Paleozoic Era) and followed by the Middle Triassic Epoch. The Early Triassic is divided into the Induan and Olenekian ages. The Induan is subdivided into the Griesbachian and Dienerian subages and the Olenekian is subdivided into the Smithian and Spathian subages. The Lower Triassic series is coeval with the Scythian Stage, which is today not included in the official timescales but can be found in older literature. In Europe, most of the Lower Triassic is composed of Buntsandstein, a lithostratigraphic unit of continental red beds. The Early Triassic and partly also the Middle Trias ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rutiodon Carolinensis
''Rutiodon'' (meaning "wrinkle tooth") is an extinct genus of mystriosuchine phytosaurs from the Late Triassic of the eastern United States. The type species of ''Rutiodon'', ''Rutiodon carolinensis'', encompasses a large number of skulls and assorted postcranial fossils discovered in the Cumnock Formation of North Carolina. Fossils referable to the species are also known from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia. ''Rutiodon carolinensis'' is the most well-described species of phytosaur in eastern North America, though its validity as a natural taxon has been questioned. Some paleontologists also recognize a larger and more robust species, ''Rutiodon manhattanensis'', which is known from teeth and postcranial fossils from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Description Like other phytosaurs, ''Rutiodon'' strongly resembled a crocodile, but its nostrils were positioned far back on the head, close to the eyes, instead of at the tip of the snout. It had enlarged front teeth, and a relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aetosaur
Aetosaurs () are heavily armored reptiles belonging to the extinct order (biology), order Aetosauria (; from Ancient Greek, Greek, (aetos, "eagle") and (, "lizard")). They were medium- to large-sized Omnivore, omnivorous or Herbivore, herbivorous pseudosuchians, part of the branch of archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds and other dinosaurs. All known aetosaurs are restricted to the Late Triassic, and in some strata from this time they are among the most abundant fossil vertebrates. They have small heads, upturned snouts, erect limbs, and a body ornamented with four rows of plate-like osteoderms (bony scutes). Aetosaur fossil remains are known from Europe, North America, North and South America, parts of Africa, and India. Since their armoured plates are often preserved and are abundant in certain localities, aetosaurs serve as important Late Triassic tetrapod index fossils. Many aetosaurs had wide geographic ranges, but their Stratigraphy, stratigraphic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gracilisuchid
Gracilisuchidae is an extinct family of suchian archosaurs known from the early Middle Triassic to the early Late Triassic (Anisian – early Carnian) of China, Argentina, and Brazil. Distribution Currently, the oldest known gracilisuchid is '' Turfanosuchus dabanensis'' from the Anisian stage of Xinjiang, China. Two gracilisuchids are known from the Ladinian or early Carnian stage, '' Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum'' and '' Yonghesuchus sangbiensis'', from La Rioja Province of Argentina, and Shanxi, respectively. These species were considered enigmatic prior to the recognition of the family in 2014, suggesting a rapid phylogenetic diversification of archosaurs by the Middle Triassic. This radiation is a part of the broader recovery of terrestrial ecosystems after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Gracilisuchids are known from approximately similar northern and southern mid-palaeolatitudes, demonstrating a wide distribution of early archosaurs over much or all of Pangaea b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erpetosuchid
Erpetosuchidae is an extinct family of pseudosuchian archosaurs. Erpetosuchidae was named by D. M. S. Watson in 1917 to include ''Erpetosuchus''. It includes the type species '' Erpetosuchus granti'' from the Late Triassic of Scotland, ''Erpetosuchus'' sp. from the Late Triassic of eastern United States and '' Parringtonia gracilis'' from the middle Middle Triassic of Tanzania; the group might also include '' Dyoplax arenaceus'' from the Late Triassic of Germany, '' Archeopelta arborensis'' and '' Pagosvenator candelariensis'' from Brazil and '' Tarjadia ruthae'' from Argentina. Description General features Erpetosuchids were lithe but well-armored carnivorous pseudosuchians. Two rows of overlapping armored plates (osteoderms) extended from the neck to the tail, supplemented by an additional row on the back and tail and small oval-shaped osteoderms on the legs and possibly the arms as well. The osteoderms were unusually sculptured by deep pits and ranged in shape and thickness ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fasolasuchus
''Fasolasuchus'' is an extinct genus of loricatan. Fossils have been found in the Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina that date back to the Norian stage of the Late Triassic, making it one of the last "rauisuchians" to have existed before the order became extinct at the end of the Triassic. Description ''Fasolasuchus'' is likely the largest known "rauisuchian", with an estimated length of to . This would make ''Fasolasuchus'' the largest terrestrial predator to have ever existed save for large theropods, surpassing the Cenozoic '' Barinasuchus'', the "rauisuchian" counterpart '' Saurosuchus'' at , and many medium sized theropods as large as ''Ceratosaurus''. Like ''Saurosuchus'', it had only a single row of caudal osteoderms, unusual among "rauisuchians". It also had a hyposphene-hypantrum articulation that gave the vertebral column extra rigidity. This feature is also seen in several other "rauisuchians" such as '' Post ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saurosuchus
''Saurosuchus'' (meaning "lizard crocodile") is an extinct genus of large loricatan pseudosuchian archosaurs that lived in South America during the Late Triassic period. It was a heavy, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal carnivore, likely being the apex predator in the Ischigualasto Formation. Discovery and naming The holotype, PVL 206, was discovered by Galileo J. Scaglia and Leocadio Soria in 1957, lying in a greenish sandstone on the Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. It consists of a nearly complete, but deformed skull. ''Saurosuchus'' was formally described and named later in 1959 in paleontology, 1959 by Osvaldo. A. Reig. The Genus#Use, generic name, ''Saurosuchus'', is derived from the Greek language, Greek (, meaning lizard) and (, meaning crocodile). The Specific name (zoology), specific name, ''galilei'', is in honour to Galileo J. Scaglia, who unearthed and Fossil collecting#Preparatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apex Predators
An apex predator, also known as a top predator or superpredator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic levels. Food chains are often far shorter on land, usually limited to being secondary consumers – for example, wolves prey mostly upon large herbivores (primary consumers), which eat plants (primary producers). The apex predator concept is applied in wildlife management, conservation, and ecotourism. Apex predators have a long evolutionary history, dating at least to the Cambrian period when animals such as ''Anomalocaris'' and '' Timorebestia'' dominated the seas. Humans have for many centuries interacted with other apex predators including the wolf, birds of prey, and cormorants to hunt game animals, birds, and fish respectively. More recently, humans have started interacting with apex predators in new ways. These inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
