Trucidocynodon
Name:
Trucidocynodon.
Phonetic: Tru-die-cy-no-don.
Named By: T. V. de Oliveira, M. B. Soares
& C. L. Schultz - 2010.
Classification: Chordata, Synapsida,
Therapsida, Cynodontia, Ecteniniidae.
Species: T. riograndensis
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly about 1.2 meters long.
Known locations: Brazil - Santa Maria Formation.
Time period: Carnian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.
If
Trucidocynodon could be notable for just one thing
it would be size.
At over a meter in length Trucidocynodon was
positively huge for a
cynodont as most of its relatives were rarely more than about half a
meter. The large size growth of Trucidocynodon
may have been a result
of continuing divergence of archosaurs in South America, particularly
the larger rauisuchians
and emerging dinosaurs. By growing slightly
larger, Trucidocynodon would have been able to
hunt larger prey to
keep up with these new predators, and Trucidocynodon
may have hunted
the smaller and juvenile ancestors of the dinosaurs.
Trucidocynodon
is classed within the Ecteniniidae group of cynodonts upon the basis of
similarity with the genus Ecteninion
Further reading
- Trucidocynodon riograndensis gen. nov. et
sp. nov.
(Eucynodontia), a new cynodont from the Brazilian Upper Triassic
(Santa Maria Formation). - Zootaxa 2382:1-71. - T. V.
de Oliveira, M. B. Soares & C. L. Schultz -
2010.
- Functional morphology and biomechanics of the cynodont Trucidocynodon
riograndensis from the Triassic of Southern Brazil: Pectoral girdle and
forelimb. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61 (2): 377–386. - T�o Veiga
De Oliveira & Cesar Leandro Schultz - 2016.
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