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Poposauroids
Poposauroidea is a clade of advanced pseudosuchians. It includes poposaurids, shuvosaurids, ctenosauriscids, and other unusual pseudosuchians such as '' Qianosuchus'' and ''Lotosaurus''. It excludes most large predatory quadrupedal " rauisuchians" such as rauisuchids and " prestosuchids". Those reptiles are now allied with crocodylomorphs (crocodile ancestors) in a clade known as Loricata, which is the sister taxon to the poposauroids in the clade Paracrocodylomorpha. Although it was first formally defined in 2007, the name "Poposauroidea" has been used for many years. The group has been referred to as Poposauridae by some authors, although this name is often used more narrowly to refer to the family that includes ''Poposaurus'' and its close relatives. It was phylogenetically defined in 2011 by Sterling Nesbitt as ''Poposaurus gracilis'' and all taxa more closely related to it than to '' Postosuchus kirkpatricki'', ''Crocodylus niloticus'' (the Nile crocodile), '' Ornithosuchu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lotosaurus
''Lotosaurus'' is an extinct genus of sail-backed poposauroid known from Hunan Province of central China. Discovery ''Lotosaurus'' is known from the holotype IVPP V 4881 (or possibly V 4880), an articulated and well-preserved skeleton. Other referred specimens include IVPP V 48013 (a skull) as well as many articulated and disarticulated skeletal remains concentrated in a bonebed which is almost completely composed of ''Lotosaurus'' bones. All known specimens of this genus were collected from this bonebed, known as the ''Lotosaurus'' site, which belongs to the Batung Formation (or alternatively Xinlingzhen Formation of the Badong Group). Further excavations in 2018 revealed many more specimens, as well as geological and environmental details of the ''Lotosaurus'' site. At least 38 individuals of various ages died within this one location. ''Lotosaurus'' was first named by Fa-kui Zhang in 1975 and the type species is ''Lotosaurus adentus''. ''Lotosaur ... [...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] |
Shuvosaurinae
Shuvosauridae is an extinct family of theropod-like pseudosuchians within the clade Poposauroidea. Shuvosaurids existed in North America (United States) and South America (Argentina) during the Late Triassic period (late Carnian to Rhaetian stages). Shuvosauridae was named by Sankar Chatterjee in 1993 to include the genus ''Shuvosaurus''. In a 2007 study ''Chatterjeea'' was demonstrated to be a junior synonym of ''Shuvosaurus'', and the therein cladistic analysis found that ''Shuvosaurus'', '' Effigia'' and '' Sillosuchus'' all form a closely related group. However, this group was left nameless, and simply referred to as Group Y. However, in accordance with ICZN rules of naming priority Shuvosauridae has priority over Chatterjeeidae (Shuvosauridae being named in 1993, while Chatterjeeidae was named in 1995). In 2011, Sterling J. Nesbitt proposed a new definition to this clade: "The least inclusive clade containing ''Shuvosaurus ''Shuvosaurus'' (meaning "Shuvo hatterjees liz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aetosaurus Ferratus
''Aetosaurus'' is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian reptile belonging to the order (biology), order Aetosauria. It is generally considered to be the most primitive aetosaur. Three species are currently recognized: ''A. ferratus'', the type species from Germany and Italy; ''A. crassicauda'' from Germany; and ''A. arcuatus'' from eastern North America. Additional specimens referred to ''Aetosaurus'' have been found in the Chinle Group of the southwestern United States, and the Fleming Fjord Formation of Greenland. Specimens of ''Aetosaurus'' occur in Norian-age strata. Description ''Aetosaurus'' was a small, primitive aetosaur. Unlike more Synapomorphy, derived aetosaurs such as ''Desmatosuchus'' or ''Typothorax'', the carapace was long and narrow and lacked spikes. The paramedian scutes that covered the back (with one row on each side of the vertebrae) are considerably wider than they are long. The lateral scutes, which are beneath the paramedian and formed a row on either side of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithosuchus Woodwardi
''Ornithosuchus'' (from , "bird" and , "crocodile") is an extinct genus of pseudosuchians from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Lossiemouth Sandstone of Scotland. It was originally thought to be the ancestor to the carnosaurian dinosaurs (such as ''Allosaurus''), but it is now known to be more closely related to crocodilians than to dinosaurs. Description Despite this relationship to crocodiles, ''Ornithosuchus'' was able to walk on its hind legs, like many dinosaurs. It probably spent most of its time on all fours, though, only moving bipedally when it needed to run rapidly. Its skull also resembled those of theropod dinosaurs, but its more primitive features included the presence of five toes on each foot and a double row of armoured plates along the animal's back. ''Ornithosuchus'' has traditionally been estimated at a length around . Classification A single species of ''Ornithosuchus'' is recognized, ''O. woodwardi''; ''O. taylori'' is a synonym.M. Belén von Baczko and M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylus Niloticus
The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and central regions of the continent, and lives in different types of aquatic environments such as lakes, rivers, swamps and marshlands. It occasionally inhabits deltas, brackish lakes and rarely also saltwater. Its range once stretched from the Nile Delta throughout the Nile River. Lake Turkana in Kenya has one of the largest undisturbed Nile crocodile populations. Generally, the adult male Nile crocodile is between in length and weighs . However, specimens exceeding in length and in weight have been recorded. It is the largest predator in Africa, and may be considered the second-largest extant taxon, extant reptile in the world, after the saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'').Wood, G. (1983). ''The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Postosuchus Kirkpatricki
''Postosuchus'', meaning "Crocodile from Post", is an extinct genus of rauisuchid reptiles comprising two species, ''P. kirkpatricki'' and ''P. alisonae'', that lived in what is now North America during the Late Triassic. ''Postosuchus'' is a member of the clade Pseudosuchia, the lineage of archosaurs that includes modern crocodilians (the other main group of archosaurs is Avemetatarsalia, the lineage that includes all archosaurs more closely related to birds than to crocodilians). Its name refers to Post Quarry, a place in Texas where many fossils of the type species, ''P. kirkpatricki'', were found. It was one of the apex predators of its area during the Triassic, larger than the small dinosaur predators of its time (such as ''Coelophysis''). It was a hunter that probably preyed on large, bulky herbivores such as dicynodonts and many other creatures smaller than itself (such as early dinosaurs). The skeleton of ''Postosuchus'' is large and robust, with a deep skull and a long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poposaurus Gracilis
''Poposaurus'' is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur from the Late Triassic of the southwestern and eastern United States. It belongs to the clade Poposauroidea, an unusual group of Triassic pseudosuchians that includes sail-backed, beaked, and aquatic forms. Fossils have been found in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Texas, and Virginia. Except for the skull, most parts of the skeleton are known. The type species, ''P. gracilis'', was described and named by Maurice Goldsmith Mehl in 1915. A second species, ''P. langstoni'', was originally the type species of the genus ''Lythrosuchus''. Since it was first described, ''Poposaurus'' has been variously classified as a dinosaur, a phytosaur, and a " rauisuchian". Like theropod dinosaurs, ''Poposaurus'' was an obligate biped, meaning that it walked on two legs rather than four. However, as a pseudosuchian, it is more closely related to living crocodilians than to dinosaurs. ''Poposaurus'' is thought to have evolved this form of loco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paracrocodylomorpha
Paracrocodylomorpha is a clade of pseudosuchian archosaurs. The clade includes the diverse and unusual group Poposauroidea as well as the generally carnivorous and quadrupedal members of Loricata, including modern crocodylians. Paracrocodylomorpha was named by paleontologist J. Michael Parrish in 1993, although the group is now considered to encompass more reptiles than his original definition intended. The most recent definition of Paracrocodylomorpha, as defined by Sterling Nesbitt in 2011, is "the least inclusive clade containing ''Poposaurus'' and ''Crocodylus niloticus'' (the Nile crocodile). Most groups of paracrocodylomorphs became extinct at the end of the Triassic period, with the exception of the crocodylomorphs, from which crocodylians such as crocodiles and alligators evolved in the latter part of the Mesozoic. History and definition Parrish (1993) defined Paracrocodylomorpha as the last common ancestor of " Poposauridae" and Crocodylomorpha and all of its descend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and taxon B are sister groups to each other. Taxa A and B, together with any other extant or extinct descendants of their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), form a monophyletic group, the clade AB. Clade AB and taxon C are also sister groups. Taxa A, B, and C, together with all other descendants of their MRCA form the clade ABC. The whole clade ABC is itself a subtree of a larger tree which offers yet more sister group relationships, both among the leaves and among larger, more deeply rooted clades. The tree structure shown connects through its root to the rest of the universal tree of life. In cladistic standards, taxa A, B, and C may represent specimens, species, genera, or any other taxonomic units. If A and B are at the same taxono ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loricata
Loricata is a clade of archosaur reptiles that includes crocodilians and some of their Triassic relatives, such as ''Postosuchus'' and ''Prestosuchus''. More specifically, Loricata includes Crocodylomorpha (the persistent archosaur subset which crocodilians belong to) and most "rauisuchians", a paraphyletic grade of large terrestrial pseudosuchians which were alive in the Triassic period and ancestral to crocodylomorphs. Loricata is one branch of the group Paracrocodylomorpha; the other branch is the clade Poposauroidea, an unusual collection of strange "rauisuchians" including bipedal, herbivorous, and sail-backed forms. The vast majority of typical "rauisuchians", which were usually quadrupedal predators, occupy basal (early-branching) rungs of Loricata leading up to crocodylomorphs. History and Classification Loricata was initially named in a completely different context by German naturalist Blasius Merrem in his 1820 ''Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien''. Merrem consid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylomorpha
Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. Extinct crocodylomorphs were considerably more ecologically diverse than modern crocodillians. The earliest and most primitive crocodylomorphs are represented by " sphenosuchians", a paraphyletic assemblage containing small-bodied, slender forms with elongated limbs that walked upright, which represents the ancestral morphology of Crocodylomorpha. These forms persisted until the end of the Jurassic. During the Jurassic, crocodylomorphs morphologically diversified into numerous niches, with the subgroups Neosuchia (which includes modern crocodilians) and the extinct Thalattosuchia adapting to aquatic life, while some terrestrial groups adopted herbivorous and omnivorous lifestyles. Terrestrial crocodylomorphs would continue to co-exist alongside aquatic forms until becoming extinct d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
