In Depth There appears to be some confusion regarding the full size of Prestosuchus. Earlier fossil discoveries seemed to point at a total length of around five hundred centimetres for an adult Prestosuchus. However an almost complete specimen reported in 2010 was stated as being the equivalent of about six hundred and seventy centimetres long. … Read more
In Depth The rauisuchians were the top land predators of the Triassic, and remained so until the appearance of the large theropod dinosaurs. These rauisuchians are usually portrayed as long quadrupedal predators, and for the most part this is true. However there is a surprisingly little known group of bipedal rauisuchians called the poposaurids, of … Read more
In Depth Heptasuchus is a genus of fairly large rauiscuhian that lived in what is now Wyoming during the mid/early late Triassic. Rauisuchians were the top predators on land and held onto this title until the appearance of large theropod dinosaurs. Out of these Heptasuchus is usually considered to be most similar to Batrachotomus from … Read more
In Depth Unfortunately Saurosuchus is only known from incomplete remains, but those that are known indicate that it was big. Key to identifying the fossils as being those of a predator is the skull that has several classic predatory characteristics. One is the fact that the skull is wider at the back than at the … Read more
In Depth Known to have lived in Germany during the Triassic, Batrachotomus is one of the largest known rauisuchians from Europe. Sometimes dubbed a European relative of the North American Postosuchus, Batrachotomus was actually quite a bit larger than even the largest estimate for Postosuchus, and at about six meters in length, only shorter than … Read more
In Depth Qianosuchus is a poposaurid rauisuchian that may have been semi-aquatic, similar to the genus Diandongosuchus in ecological niche. Part of this interpretation comes from the fact that the Qianosuchus holotype was discovered in a deposit that was formed from what seems to have been a lagoon. Further Reading - An unusual archosaurian from … Read more
In Depth Bromsgroveia is a genus of poposaurid rauisuchian that lived in England during the early Triassic. Bromsgroveia was named after the Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation where the holotype fossils were discovered. Further Reading - The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus v. Meyer, plus referred specimens mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs, from the Middle Stubensandstein (Upper Triassic) … Read more
In Depth The first poposaurid rauiscuhian to be discovered outside of North America, Sillosuchus was named after Dr. William Sill in recognition of his support for palaeontology within the Province of San Huan. Sillosuchus is a relative of the genus Shuvosaurus, and both of these are members of the Poposauroidea, a group named after the … Read more
In Depth Arizonasaurus has enjoyed a lot of popularity since the discovery of a far more complete specimen in 2002. Before this Arizonasaurus was only known from very partial remains that were only diagnostic enough to classify it as a rauisuchian, reptiles that were the dominant predators of the Triassic while the early dinosaurs were … Read more