Name: Scutosaurus
(Shield lizard).
Phonetic: Scut-o-sore-us.
Named By: Amalitzky - 1922.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Sauropsida,
Procolophonomorpha, Procolophonia, Pareiasauridae.
Species: S. karpinski (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 2.5 meters long.
Known locations: Russia.
Time period: Changhsingian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: Several complete skeletons
along with other remains.
Unlike
other
pareiasaurs, Scutosaurus’s orientation of the legs
was more under the
body as opposed to out to the side. This gave Scutosaurus
a much taller
stance and would be more suitable for a creature that may have spent
its time searching for suitable vegetation to eat in the arid
environment of the time.
Scutosaurus
had a heavy frame
of bones supported by a network of powerful muscles. This in turn was
covered by a tough hide that was covered with osteoderms for enhanced
armour, providing it with its best defence as it was not an animal
built for speed. The
teeth inside its mouth
were evolved for grinding the arid vegetation of the time before being
processed in the gut. Scutosaurus had exceptional
hearing and may have
been able to bellow loudly to call others of its species.
Further reading
- Diagnoses of the new forms of Vertebrates and Plants from the Upper
Permian on North Dvina - Bulletin de l’Acad�mie des Sciences de Russie,
VI�me s�rie [Izvestiya Rossijskoj Akademii Nauk, VI seriya] 16:329-340
- A. P. Amalitzky - 1922.
- Bone histology of two pareiasaurs from Russia (Deltavjatia rossica
and Scutosaurus karpinskii) with implications for pareiasaurian
palaeobiology. - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 128 (2):
289–310. - Elizaveta A. Boitsova, Pavel P. Skutschas, Andrey G.
Sennikov, Valeriy K. Golubev, Vladimir V. Masuytin & Olga A.
Masuytina - 2019.