Batrachotomus
Name:
Batrachotomus
(Frog slicing).
Phonetic: Ba-trak-o-to-mus.
Named By: David J. Gower - 1999.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Rauisuchia,
Paracrocodylomorpha, Loricata.
Species: B. kupferzellensis
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Up to about 6 meters long.
Known locations: Germany - Erfurt Formation.
Time period: Ladinian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Several individuals, some
almost complete.
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
South American rauisuchians such as Saurosuchus
and Prestosuchus.
Batrachotomus
is credited as being a prestosuchid rauisuchian, which means that the
genus is perceived as being close to Prestosuchus
in form and posture.
By this association this means that Batrachotomus
is likely to have
been quadrupedal in stance and movement, a mode of locomotion
supported by analysis of an exceptionally well preserved Prestosuchus
which allowed palaeontologists to establish that the rear leg muscles
were suited for limb rotation instead of mostly back and forth
movement. Batrachotomus however still has fairly
small forelimbs
compared to the back, and when attacking prey, it is plausible that
Batrachotomus would have been capable of rearing up
on their hind
legs. While Batrachotomus were probably
quadrupedal, bipedal
rauisuchians are known, with Poposaurus
the best example.
Batrachotomus
means ‘frog slicer’, a name that is quite unusual for a large
rauisuchian predator. The idea for this name comes from the fact that
fossils of the temnospondyl amphibian Mastodonsaurus
have been found
near the location of Batrachotomus fossils, and
the fossils of
Mastodonsaurus have tooth marks upon them that match
up to the teeth of
Batrachotomus. It is not clear if this feeding was
a case of
scavenging or actual hunting, but what should be remembered here is
that at up to six meters long, Mastodonsaurus
were comparable to
large Batrachotomus, and also predators in their
own right.
Mastodonsaurus however seem to have been more
suited to hunting
softer bodied prey such as fish and other temnospondyls, and it is
debateable how useful the teeth of Mastodonsaurus
would have been
against the armoured skin of Batrachotomus.
Another
famous prehistoric amphibian that Batrachotomus
shared the same habitat
with is Gerrothorax,
while various other amphibians and fish are also
known. These animals as well the known plant fossils from the
location indicate that back in the Triassic this part of Germany would
have been an extensive swamp wetland. In addition to this, fossils
of nothosaurs
as well as Tanystropheus
have also been found, all
marine reptiles which indicate that this ecosystem would have been
close to and perhaps even part of the coast.
Further reading
- The cranial and mandibular osteology of a new rauisuchian archosaur
from the Middle Triassic of southern Germany. - Stuttgarter
Beitr�ge zur Naturkunde Serie B (Geologie und Pal�ontologie)
280:1-49. - David J. Gower - 1999.
- Postcranial Anatomy of the Rauisuchian Archosaur Batrachotomus
kupferzellensis - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
29(1):103-122. 2009 doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1671/039.029.0122. - David J. Gower
& Rainer R. Schoch - 2009.
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