In Depth Protoalligator is a genus of alligator that lived in China during the Paleocene. Further Reading - Taxonomic revision of Eoalligator (Crocodylia, Brevirostres) and the paleogeographic origins of the Chinese alligatoroids. - PeerJ 4:e2356:1-43/ - Y.-Y. Wang, C. Sullivan & J. Liu - 2016.
In Depth Teleocrater is a genus of meat eating archosaur that lived in Africa during the Triassic. Further Reading - The earliest bird-line archosaurs and the assembly of the dinosaur body plan. - Nature 544(27):484-487. - S. J. Nesbitt, R. J. Butler, M. D. Ezcurra, P. M. Barrett, M. R. Stocker, K. D. Angielczyk, R. … Read more
In Depth Zhejiangopterus belongs to the Azhdarchidae group of pterosuars, the same group that includes the huge Quetzalcoatlus. With the large number of fossils of Zhejiangopterus discovered, it is one of the better represented of all the azhdarchids. Initially thought to have had a 5 meter wingspan, study of available fossil material has called for … Read more
In Depth Gorgetosuchus is a genus of aetosaur that lived in North America during the late Triassic. At the time of its description, Gorgetosuchus was named upon the basis of osteoderms (bony plates) that would have gone around the skin. These plates are unique from other aetosaurs in that they reach almost all the way … Read more
In Depth Venaticosuchus is a genus of pseudosuchian archosaur that lived in Argentina during the Triassic. Venaticosuchus is related to Riojasuchus and Ornithosuchus. Further Reading - Annotated list of the South American Triassic tetrapods, by J. F. Bonaparte. In Second Gondwana Symposium, Proceedings and Papers, S. H. Haughton (ed) – 1971. – Anatomy and phylogenetic … Read more
In Depth Just like the later crocodiles, the phytosaurs evolved a variety of different head shapes that saw some of them becoming specialised hunters. In this respect Mystriosuchus developed a very thin snout that saw it take on a resemblance to a modern day gavial, but did so long before the crocodiles. This is a … Read more