Ticinosuchus
Ticinosuchus Temporal range: Middle Triassic, Anisian–Ladinian | |
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Ticinosuchus ferox fossil | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauria |
Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
Clade: | Suchia |
Genus: | †Ticinosuchus Krebs, 1965 |
Species | |
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Ticinosuchus is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur from the Middle Triassic (Anisian - Ladinian) of Switzerland and Italy.[1]
Discovery
One of only a handful of fossil reptiles that have been found in Switzerland, Ticinosuchus (meaning "Ticino river crocodile") was about 3 metres (10 ft) long, and its whole body, even the belly, was covered in thick, armoured scutes. The structure of the hips shows that its legs were placed under the body almost vertically. Coupled with the development of a calcaneus and a specialized ankle joint, this would have made Ticinosuchus a fast runner, unlike most earlier reptiles.[2]
Ticinosuchus is thought to be very close to or possible even the same species that made the Cheirotherium trace fossils found in Germany. It too shows a narrow track-way, similar to that of Tinicosuchus.
References
- ↑ Sterling J. Nesbitt (2011). "The Early Evolution of Archosaurs: Relationships and the Origin of Major Clades" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 352: 1–292. doi:10.1206/352.1.
- ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 95. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- Krebs, B. (1965). Ticinosuchus ferox nov. gen. nov. sp. Ein neuer Pseudosuchier aus der Trias des Monte San Giorgio. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Paläontology, Abhandlungen 81: 1-140.
- Sill, W.D. (1974). The anatomy of Saurosuchus galilei and the relationships of the rauisuchid thecodonts. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 146: 317-362.