Rauisuchidae

Rauisuchidae

Rauisuchidae

Extinct family of reptiles

Rauisuchidae is a group of large (up to 6 metres (20 ft)[1]) predatory Triassic archosaurs. Some disagreement exists over which genera should be included in the Rauisuchidae and which should be in the related Prestosuchidae and Poposauridae, and indeed whether these should even be thought of as separate valid families. Rauisuchids occurred throughout much of the Triassic, and may have first occurred in the Early Triassic if some archosaurian taxa such as Scythosuchus and Tsylmosuchus are considered to be within the family.[2]

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Genera ...

An early cladistic analysis of crocodylotarsan (pseudosuchian) archosaurs included Lotosaurus, Fasolasuchus, Rauisuchus, and "the Kupferzell rauisuchid" (later called Batrachotomus) within the Rauisuchidae.[3] However, a later study found that Batrachotomus was a more basal pseudosuchian only slightly more "advanced" than Prestosuchus.[4] In addition, the toothless Lotosaurus has been found to be more closely related to the Ctenosauriscidae, a clade of poposauroids with sails on their backs.[5]

Two genera, previously classified as poposaurids, are in fact rauisuchids. These include Teratosaurus[6][7] and Postosuchus.[8]

Genera

More information Genus, Status ...

References

  1. [1]
    Weinbaum, J. C. (2013). "Postcranial skeleton of Postosuchus kirkpatricki (Archosauria: Paracrocodylomorpha), from the upper Triassic of the United States". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 379 (1): 525–553. Bibcode:2013GSLSP.379..525W. doi:10.1144/SP379.7. S2CID 129092753.
  2. [2]
    Gower, D. J.; Sennikov, A. G. (2003). "Early archosaurs from Russia". In Benton, M. J.; Shishkin, M. A.; Unwin, D. M. (eds.). The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–159.
  3. [3]
    Parrish, J. M. (1993). "Phylogeny of the Crocodylotarsi, with reference to archosaurian and crurotarsan monophyly". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13 (3): 287–308. doi:10.1080/02724634.1993.10011511. S2CID 84288744.
  4. [4]
    Gower, David J. (2002). "Braincase evolution in Suchian Archosaurs (Reptilia: Diapsida): Evidence from the Rauisuchian Batrachotomus kupferzellensis". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 136 (1): 49–76. doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00025.x.
  5. [5]
    Nesbitt, S.J. (2005). "Osteology of the Middle Triassic pseudosuchian archosaur Arizonasaurus babbitti". Historical Biology. 8 (1): 19–47. doi:10.1080/08912960500476499. S2CID 84326151.
  6. [6]
    Long, Robert A.; Murry, Phillip. A. (1995). "Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the southwestern United States". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin. 4: 1–254.
  7. [7]
    Galton PM, Walker AD. (November 1996). "Bromsgroveia from the Middle Triassic of England, the earliest record of a poposaurid thecodontian reptile (Archosauria: Rauisuchia)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 201 (3): 303–325. doi:10.1127/njgpa/201/1996/303.
  8. [8]
    Weinbaum, J.C.; Hungerbühler, A. (2007). "A revision of Poposaurus gracilis (Archosauria: Suchia) based on two new specimens from the Late Triassic of the southwestern U.S.A." Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 81 (2): 131–145. doi:10.1007/BF02988388. S2CID 84822632.
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