Name:
Lewisuchus
(Lewis’s crocodile).
Phonetic: Lew-iss-su-kus.
Named By: A. S. Romer - 1972.
Synonyms: Pseudolagosuchus major?
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Dinosauriformes.
Species: L. admixtus (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly about 1 meter long.
Known locations: Argentina - Cha�ares Formation.
Time period: Ladinian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.
Though the name means ‘Lewis’s crocodile’, Lewisuchus is actually a genus of silesaurid dinosauriforme. In simpler terms, Lewisuchus was closely related to the ancestors of the dinosaurs, though probably not an ancestor itself. Lewisuchus was a fairly small and lightly built predator that probably hunted for small animals such as lizards and primitive mammaliaformes.
Further reading
- The Cha�ares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna; XIV, Lewisuchus
admixtus, gen. et sp. nov., a further thecodont from
the
Cha�ares beds. - Breviora 390:1-13 - A. S. Romer -
1972.
- Ecologically distinct dinosaurian sister group shows early
diversification of Ornithodira. - Nature 464(7285):95-8. -
Sterling J. Nesbitt, Christian A. Sidor, Randal B. Irmis,
Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Roger M. H. Smith & Linda A.
Tsuji - 2010.
- Osteology of the Middle Triassic archosaur Lewisuchus admixtus Romer
(Cha�ares Formation, Argentina), its inclusivity, and relationships
amongst early dinosauromorphs. - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
13 (3): 189–219. - Jonathas Bittencourt, Andrea Arcucci, Claudia
Marsicano & Max Langer - 2014.
- Bone microstructure of Lewisuchus admixtus Romer,
1972 (Archosauria,
Dinosauriformes). - Historical Biology. 31 (2): 157–162. - Jordi Alexis
Garcia Mars�, Federico L. Agnol�n & Fernando Novas - 2017.
- New specimen sheds light on the anatomy and taxonomy of the early
Late Triassic dinosauriforms from the Cha�ares Formation, NW Argentina.
- The Anatomical Record. 303 (5): 1393–1438. - Mart�n D. Ezcurra,
Sterling J. Nesbitt, Lucas E. Fiorelli & Julia B. Desojo -
2019.