Notosuchus
Live reconstruction of Notosuchus
- Bajo de la Carpa - Formation ( Argentina)
- Notosuchus terrestris
- Notosuchus lepidus
Notosuchus (Greek: "Crocodile of the South"; notos = "South"; suchus = " crocodile " ) is an extinct genus of Crocodylomorpha from the group of Notosuchia. Fossils were in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation found in Argentina and dated to the Upper Cretaceous period about 86 to 83 million years. Notosuchus lived terrestrial, which means that it lived in the countryside. Arthur Smith Woodward described Notosuchus in 1896; he was there the first known Notosuchia. The type species is Notosuchus terrestris. Another way Notosuchus lepidus was described in 1957 by Saez.
Features
2008 described Fiorelli and Calvo more remains of Notosuchus terrestris. They suspected that the snout of the pig resembled the Notosuchus. The forward nostrils and the absence of an osseous nasal septum, which probably consisted of cartilage in Notosuchus support this theory. Grooves on the surface of the nasal bones and the mandible were most likely as a way of heading nasolabial muscles and Depressormuskel. In addition, Fiorelli and Calvo suggest that Notosuchus had soft cheeks of muscle tissue. The porcine snout should have served foraging, similar to today's wild boar, while the cheeks that served that the food in his mouth was not lost.
System
Notosuchus is the eponymous genus of Notosuchia. These are a basal group of Metasuchia, so the group that make up today's crocodiles have developed. Within the Notosuchia the systematic position of Notosuchus is very controversial. Thus, a study by Sereno et al. (2001) that Notosuchus is a derived Notosuchia whose sister taxon is the genus African Malawisuchus. In 2009, Sereno and Larsson to the conclusion that Notosuchus is a basal Notosuchia; but the sister taxon is still Malawisuchus. Below is a cladogram by Sereno and Larrson (2009):
Sphagesaurus
Notosuchus
Malawisuchus
Mariliasuchus
Comahuesuchus
Uruguaysuchus
Anatosuchus
Araripesuchus buitreraensis
Araripesuchus gomesii
Paleoecology
The fossils of Notosuchus were found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation. They are estimated at an age of about 86 bis 83 million. Probably the most common carnivores ( Carnivora ) were more Notosuchia as Comahuesuchus and Cynodontosuchus. Other Crocodylomorpha were the Sebecia Lomasuchus and Peirosaurus and Protosuchia Neuquensuchus. In addition, there was the very bad sustaining Noasauride Velocisaurus and Alvarezsauride Alvarezsaurus. Primitive birds were Neuquenornis to which small nests and eggs are associated, and Patagopteryx. Herbivores ( plant eaters ), were represented only by Bonita aura, a Titanosaurier.