Fasolasuchus
Name:
Fasolasuchus.
Phonetic:Fah-so-loe-soo-kus.
Named By: Jos� Bonaparte - 1981.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Diapsida,
Crurotarsi, Rauisuchidae.
Species: F. tenax (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated between 8 and 10 meters long.
Known locations: Argentina.
Time period: Rhaetian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.
Fasolasuchus
was not only one of the last but it was possibly the largest of the
rauisuchians.
Unfortunately however incomplete remains mean that only
a range estimate of between eight and ten meters is possible. The
next largest rauisuchian is Saurosuchus
which is also from Argentina
and is estimated at seven meters long, however, Saurosuchus
is
also known only from incomplete remains, and analysis of these has
yielded an upper estimate of up to nine meters long. This means that
there is an outside chance that Saurosuchus is
actually larger than
Fasolasuchus although without more complete material
for either one it
remains impossible to be certain.
Despite
the lack of certainty about its size, Fasolasuchus
is still one of
the larger rauisuchians and as such it would have been the apex
predator of its ecosystem. This would have seen Fasolasuchus
dominant
over newly emerging predatory dinosaurs like Herrerasaurus
that even at
its maximum size estimate, would have been smaller, lighter and
overall been less powerful predators than Fasolasuchus.
However
despite the advantages that Fasolasuchus had, it
was a heavy
quadrupedal predator that did not have speed on its side. This means
that it would have had to focus upon hunting other reptile groups that
were larger and slower, the disappearance of which at the end of the
Triassic may have caused the disappearance of Fasolasuchus
itself when
it found it was too slow to catch the new and faster dinosaurs that
were taking over the planet as the dominant creatures.
An
interesting thing to note about Fasolasuchus is the
single row of
osteoderms that rand down its back. Usually rauisuchians had more
than
this so that they would have some form of defence against attacks from
other rauisuchians as they tried to deliver bites to the neck and the
spine. As one of the largest rauisuchians in its ecosystem however,
Fasolasuchus may have only had to worry about
conflict with others of
its species, perhaps in contests of carcasses or mating.
Further reading
- Description de Fasolasuchus tenax y su
significado en la sistemarica
y evolucion de los thecodontia. - Revista del Museo Argentino de
Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia 3:55–101. - Jose F. Bonaparte -
1981.
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