Litorosuchus

Name: Litorosuchus ‭(‬Littoral crocodile‭)‬.
Phonetic: Li-or-o-su-kus.
Named By: C.‭ ‬Li,‭ ‬X.-C.‭ ‬Wu,‭ ‬L.-J.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Nesbitt,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Stocker‭ & ‬L.-T.‭ ‬Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2016.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Archosauriformes.
Species: L.‭ ‬somnii‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: About‭ ‬2‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Falang Formation.
Time period: Ladinian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Almost complete individual,‭ ‬including soft tissue impressions.




       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 clearly indicate that the tail would have been the primary means of locomotion when swimming in the water.‭ ‬Preserved with the holotype are soft tissue impressions that show the toes on the feet of Litorosuchus were webbed,‭ ‬further adaptation showing that Litorosuchus spent a lot of time in the water.
       All in all,‭ ‬Litorosuchus probably still returned to the land when not hunting in the water.‭ ‬The aquatic adaptations of Litorosuchus however mean that these creatures would have had an easy time moving amongst tidal pools and lagoons when searching for prey.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new armored archosauriform‭ (‬Diapsida:‭ ‬Archosauromorpha‭) ‬from the marine Middle Triassic of China,‭ ‬with implications for the diverse life styles of archosauriforms prior to the diversification of Archosauria.‭ ‬The Science of Nature‭ ‬103‭(‬11-12‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Li,‭ ‬X.-C.‭ ‬Wu,‭ ‬L.-J.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Nesbitt,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Stocker‭ & ‬L.-T.‭ ‬Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2016.



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