| Ticinosuchus Temporal range: Middle Triassic, | |
|---|---|
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| Holotype of Ticinosuchus ferox at the NMZ | |
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| Life restoration | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Suchia |
| Genus: | † Ticinosuchus Krebs, 1965 |
| Species: | †T. ferox |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ticinosuchus ferox Krebs, 1965 | |
Ticinosuchus is an extinct genus of suchian archosaur from the Middle Triassic (Anisian–Ladinian) of Switzerland and Italy. [1]
One of only a handful of fossil reptiles that have been found in Switzerland, Ticinosuchus (meaning "Ticino crocodile" due to its origin from the Swiss canton Ticino) was about 3 metres (10 ft) long, and its whole body, even the belly, was covered in thick, armoured scutes. These scutes were sometimes considered to have been staggered, alternating between several rows. [2] However, some studies refute this claim, instead purporting that the scutes were aligned in neat rows, with a one-to-one assignment of scutes to vertebrae. [3] 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. [4] 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 Ticinosuchus. It is one of the most famous fossils of Besano. [5]
Fish scales have been preserved in the abdomen of the specimen. This was likely indicative of a piscivorous diet. [6] Ticinosuchus shares many similarities with paracrocodylomorphs, such as certain adaptations of the ischium [1] and possibly (but not certainly) hyposphene-hypantrum articulations. [7] [8]
