In Depth At the time of the genus description very little is known about Triopticus. Only known from a partially preserved braincase, we don’t know the size of Triopticus, what it ate, or even what kind of creature it was other than just giving it the tentatively cautious title of being an archosauriform. What we … Read more
In Depth The large size of Erythrosuchus meant that it was an apex predator capable of tackling large herbivores such as Kannemeyeria and Lystrosaurus that were active in at the same time and location. Erythrosuchus was probably a relatively slow moving predator, although given the types of large prey available, speed would not have been … Read more
In Depth Doswellia was a two meter long reptile that had an elongated body that was protected by a covering of bony scutes in a similar manner to a crocodile. Doswellia had a triangular shaped skull when viewed from above, the snout being much narrower than the posterior regions of the skull. The skull of … Read more
In Depth The name Litorosuchus means ‘littoral crocodile’, reference to the littoral (coastal) habitat that Litorosuchus is thought to have lived in. Litorosuchus measured about two meters long, though just over half of this was tail. The vertebrae of the tail had strongly developed and enlarged neural arches, and these combined with the proportionate length … Read more
In Depth Vancleavea is a quite unusual genus of reptile as it is quite unlike any other known reptile. Vancleavea had a long body, thick bones, short limbs and a particularly dense and robust skull. Thick bones such as these are commonly seen in reptiles that spend lots of time swimming under the surface of … Read more
In Depth Most study about Tarjadia so far has been concerning the osteoderms (sometimes called scutes), pieces of bone that resided within the skin. The osteoderms of Tarjadia are very distinctive in that they have heavy pitting on their surface. These osteoderms likely afforded Tarjadia a fair amount of protection from other predators of the … Read more
In Depth Bharitalasuchus is a genus of erythrosuchid reptile that lived in South Asia during the middle Triassic. Erythrosuchids are noted for proportionately large heads and were among the key predators of the early and mid-Triassic. Further reading A new erythrosuchid archosauriform from the middle Triassic Yerrapalli Formation of south-central India. - Ameghiniana. 58 (2). … Read more
In Depth Francosuchus has been established as a possibly primitive phytosaur that lived in Europe during the Triassic. The genus is based upon two species, but described from a single partial skull each. However, these skulls were destroyed during World War Two, and since these are now unavailable for study and comparison, Francosuchus is now … Read more
In Depth A European relative of Doswellia, Jaxtasuchus were doswellian archosaurs that may have been semi aquatic in the behaviour. This is indicated by the observation that the remains of aquatic invertebrates and temnospondyl amphibians were found alongside the holotype remains of Jaxtasuchus which were preserved in mudstone. Isolated teeth and a relation to other … Read more
In Depth Koilamasuchus is a genus of archosauriform that lived in Argentina during the Triassic. Further Reading - A new basal archosauriform diapsid from the Lower Triassic of Argentina. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(5):1433-1450. - M. D. Ezcurra, A. Lecuona & A. Martinelli - 2010.