In Depth
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.
