Ornithosuchus
Name:
Ornithosuchus
(Bird crocodile).
Phonetic: Or-nif-oh-soo-kus.
Named By: Thomas Henry Huxley - 1877.
Synonyms: Dasygnathus longidens,
Ornithosuchus taylori.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Archosauria, Crurotarsi, Pseudosuchia, Ornithosuchidae.
Species: O. woodwardi
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly estimated at up to 2.2 meters long.
Known locations: Scotland.
Time period: Carnian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: At least three specimens.
Although
the last part of the name, suchus, translates to English as
crocodile, Ornithosuchus was actually an
archosaur. These were the
dominant reptiles of the Triassic some of which would diverge into true
crocodiles, while others would take different paths to evolve into
the dinosaurs. In fact the long hind legs that would have allowed for
a bipedal stance were once taken as a sign that Ornithosuchus
was a
very primitive dinosaur, although modern analysis places it more
firmly within the Archosauria. This identification is based upon the
five towed feet, the number of skull fenestra (holes) as well as
the joints of the ankles and spine to the hips.
Because
the long hind legs were directly underneath the hips Ornithosuchus
was
easily able to attain a bipedal stance. However it’s more likely that
the typical resting posture of Ornithosuchus was
quadrupedal, with
bipedal posture only taking over when Ornithosuchus
was chasing after
and attacking prey. This would have allowed for greater speed as well
as reach for Ornithosuchus to find a weaker spot on
the prey. This
high bite angle could explain why the archosaurs developed bony armour
along their backs, particularly in herbivorous members such as as
Desmatosuchus.
Ornithosuchus
was roughly the smaller average in size for the archosaurs and since it
was
larger than many of the other known archosaurs. However Ornithosuchus
probably had to mind its step when dealing with other larger members
of the group which could grow up to five to six meters long as seen
with the Polish archosaur Smok.
Further reading
- Triassic reptiles from the Elgin area: Ornithosuchus
and the origin
of carnosaurs - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of
London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 248(744): 53-134. - A. D. Walker
- 1964.
- Taxonomy of the archosaur Ornithosuchus:
reassessing Ornithosuchus
woodwardi Newton, 1894 and Dasygnathoides longidens (Huxley
1877). -
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of
Edinburgh 106(3): 199-205. - M. Bel�n von Baczko & Mart�n D.
Ezcurra - 2016.
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