Notosuchus

Name: Notosuchus ‭(‬southern crocodile‭)‬.
Phonetic: No-toe-su-kuss.
Named By: Arthur Smith Woodward‭ ‬-‭ ‬1896.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Notosuchia,‭ ‬Notosuchidae.
Species: N.‭ ‬terrestris‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬N.‭ ‬lepidus.
Diet: Uncertain.‭ ‬possible Herbivore/Omnivore.
Size: Roughly about‭ ‬1.5‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Argentina,‭ ‬Patagonia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bajo de la Carpa Formation.
Time period: Coniacian-Santonian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Skull and most of the post cranial skeleton of several individuals,‭ ‬though lower limbs often lacking.




       Notosuchus was named in‭ ‬1896‭ ‬and was the first of what would become known as the notosuchian crocodiles that would be described to science.‭ ‬Attaining sizes up to one and a half meters in length,‭ ‬Notosuchus was small when compared to most other crocodiles,‭ ‬though itself still larger than most known notosuchian genera.‭ ‬Notosuchus was also one of the first crocodiles confirmed as being mostly if not entirely terrestrial.‭ ‬This means that Notosuchus spent most of their time roaming about on dry land,‭ ‬only approaching water to drink.
       One of the most startling discoveries concerning Notosuchus came in‭ ‬2008‭ ‬when a much more complete skull preserving a higher level of detail was discovered.‭ ‬The describers of this study‭ (‬Fiorelli‭ & ‬Calvo‭) ‬showed that not only did the skull lack a bony nasal septum,‭ ‬but it was quite likely that a short muscular trunk probably grew from the end of the snout.‭ ‬The lower jaw also supported the placement of a fleshy lower lip that would have worked in conjunction with the short trunk to grip things.‭ ‬It is also possible that Notosuchus may have also had a fleshy cheek to prevent food from falling out of the sides of the mouth when being chewed.‭ ‬It now seems that Notosuchus would have lived like a modern day‭ ‬wild‭ ‬pig,‭ ‬sniffing through the undergrowth and leaf litter,‭ ‬using smell to identify food that was otherwise hidden from other animals.

Further reading
-‭ ‬On two Mesozoic crocodilians from the red sandstones of the territory of Neuquen‭ (‬Argentina Republic‭)‬.‭ ‬Notosuchus‭ (‬genus novum‭) ‬and Cynodontosuchus‭ (‬genus novum‭)‬.‭ ‬Anales del Museo de La Plata.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Paleontolog�a Argentina‭ ‬4:1-20.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Arthur Smith Woodward‭ ‬-‭ ‬1896.
-‭ ‬Nuevos restos de Notosuchus terrestris Woodward,‭ ‬1896‭ (‬Crocodyliformes:‭ ‬Mesoeucrocodylia‭) ‬del Cret�cico Superior‭ (‬Santoniano‭) ‬de la Provincia de Neuqu�n,‭ ‬Patagonia,‭ ‬Argentina.‭ ‬-‭ ‬79p.‭ ‬Tesis‭ (‬Grado‭) ‬Universidad Nacional de C�rdoba,‭ ‬C�rdoba.‭ ‬-‭ ‬L.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Fiorelli‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005.
-‭ ‬New remains of Notosuchus terrestris Woodward,‭ ‬1896‭ (‬Crocodyliformes:‭ ‬Mesoeucrocodylia‭) ‬from Late Cretaceous of Neuquen,‭ ‬Patagonia,‭ ‬Argentina.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Arquivos do Museu Nacional,‭ ‬Rio de Janeiro‭ ‬66‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬83‭–‬124.‭ ‬-‭ ‬L.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Fiorelli‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Calvo‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.
- Re-description of the cranio-mandibular anatomy of Notosuchus terrestris (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia. - Cretaceous Research. 83: 3–39. - F. Barrios, P. Bona, A. P. Carabajal & Z. Gasparini - 2017.



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