Athena Review Image Archive ™
Proterosuchus fergosi skull
Skull of Proterosuchus fergosi (after Foth et al ).
Proterosuchus was an Early Triassic archosaur, of which three species are known in South Africa and another in China. The type species, Proterosuchus fergusi, was named by Robert Broom in 1903 from finds in Tarkastad, in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. It is associated with the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in the South African Karoo, dating from 252-247 mya. The Chinese genus Chasmatosaurus is considered a junior (i.e., later discovered) synonym of Proterosuchus.
Proterosuchus was one of the largest land reptiles during the Early Triassic period, reaching a length of 3.5 m. Its habits were mainly riverine, and its hunting and predatory practices were probably similar to those of crocodiles.
It
skull was large, with a downward curve in the premaxilla, and a
formidable array of teeth used in hunting and tearing prey. The
premaxilla had up to nine teeth on each side, with 59 more teeth on
each side in the maxilla and dentary (upper and lower jaws). As in most
archosauriforms, all the teeth of Proterosuchus were curved and serrated, and of the same pointed shape.
References:
Broom, R. 1903 . On a new reptile (Proterosuchus fergusi) from the Karroo beds of Tarkastad, South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 4: 159–164.
Foth
et al. 2016. Unappreciated diversification of stem archosaurs during
the Middle Triassic predated the dominance of dinosaurs. BMC Evolutionary Biology
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