Dorosuchus

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Dorosuchus
Temporal range: Middle Triassic
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Family: Euparkeriidae (?)
Genus: Dorosuchus
Sennikov, 1989
Type species
Dorosuchus neoetus
Sennikov, 1989

Dorosuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform previously assigned to the family Euparkeriidae. It lived during the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic. Fossil material is known from Sol-Iletsk in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. [1] The type species is D. neoetus, named in 1989. [2]

Contents

Description

Dorosuchus was considered to be a relative of euparkeriid Euparkeria based on the features of the limbs and pelvic girdle. Most specimens are known from a single block of siltstone from a location known as the Berdyanka I locality by Berdyanka River. Limb and hip elements, sacral and caudal vertebrae, and a braincase are preserved in the block and represent four individuals. A partial ilium is known from another locality. [1]

Classification

Dorosuchus was initially classified as a euparkeriid in 1989 with its first description. [2] The family Euparkeriidae is best represented by the genus Euparkeria from the Early Triassic of South Africa. Several other genera in the past have been assigned to the family, including Turfanosuchus , Halazhaisuchus , and Wangisuchus . However, most of these genera have been excluded from the family on the basis of anatomical features such as those found in the ankle (e.g. Turfanosuchus and Wangisuchus) or are known from specimens that are too poorly preserved to offer many features that could include them within the family (e.g. Halazbaisuchus and Wangisuchus). Doubts have also been raised about the assignment of Dorosuchus to the family Euparkeriidae because of a lack of defining characteristics. [1] Nevertheless, a 2009 paper describing the anatomy of Osmolskina, the euparkeriid classification of Dorosuchus was reaffirmed. [3] However, a 2016 review of Euparkeriidae recovered Dorosuchus in a polytomy with Euparkeriidae, Archosauria, and Phytosauria. [4]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proterosuchidae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

Proterosuchidae is an early family of basal archosauriforms whose fossils are known from the Late Permian and the Early Triassic. The highest diversity of genera is known from European Russia, but fossils are also known from South Africa, India, China, Australia, Brazil and possibly Argentina. The name comes from Greek πρότερο- ("first") and σοῦχος ("crocodile").

Mesosuchus is an extinct genus of basal Rhynchosaur from early Middle Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM 5882, a partial skeleton, and from the paratypes SAM 6046, SAM 6536, SAM 7416 and SAM 7701 from the Aliwal North Euparkeria site. Mesosuchus is quite small, spanning around 30 cm in length. Mesosuchus was discovered and named by David Meredith Seares Watson in 1912.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euparkeriidae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

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<i>Halazhaisuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Polymorphodon</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Polymorphodon is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Middle Triassic of Germany. The only known species is Polymorphodon adorfi, discovered in Lower Keuper deposits at a quarry in Eschenau, Germany. Polymorphodon is notable for its heterodont dentition, with long and conical premaxillary teeth followed by thin maxillary teeth with large serrations. Maxillary teeth near the back of the mouth are short and leaf-shaped, similar to some living and extinct reptiles with a herbivorous or omnivorous diet. This may suggest that Polymorphodon had some reliance on plants in its diet, a rarity among basal archosauriforms, most of which are carnivores.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gower, D.J.; Sennikov, A.G. (2003). "Early archosaurs from Russia". In Benton, M.J.; Shishkin, M.A.; Unwin, D.M. (eds.). The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–159.
  2. 1 2 Sennikov, A.G. (1989). "Novyy euparkeriid (Thecodontia) iz srednego triasa Yuzhnogo Priural'ya". Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal. 1989: 71–78.
  3. Borsuk−Białynicka, M.; Evans, S.E. (2009). "Cranial and mandibular osteology of the Early Triassic archosauriform Osmolskina czatkowicensis from Poland" (PDF). Palaeontologia Polonica. 65: 235–281.
  4. Sookias, Roland B. (2016). "The relationships of the Euparkeriidae and the rise of Archosauria". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (3): 150674. Bibcode:2016RSOS....350674S. doi:10.1098/rsos.150674. PMC   4821269 . PMID   27069658.