Aetosaur
Skeletal reconstruction of Desmatosuchus.
- Worldwide
The Aetosauria ( "Eagle lizards " ), also referred to as Stagonolepididae, are an extinct taxon, medium-sized, herbivorous and heavily armored reptile from the Late Triassic.
Fossil remains of Aetosauria were ( Murrhardt and White quarry ), Greenland, found in Europe, including in Baden- Württemberg in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Morocco and Madagascar. The most important sites are the Chinle Formation in the U.S., where Desmatosuchus was found and Elgin in Scotland, where Aetosaurus and Stagonolepis come. Usually only the bony plates of armor as fossils are preserved.
The Aetosauria died at the end of the Triassic Period ( 203.6 million years ago) from a host of other terrestrial vertebrates. Trace fossils, which are assigned to the Aetosauriern could indicate a survival of the taxon to the law or even to the Lower Cretaceous.
Features
The head of the Aetosaurier is small in proportion to body. He is the front jaded and served perhaps to how to search pigs in the soil after rhizomes and roots. The small leaf-shaped teeth were typical of herbivores.
Aetosaurier had crocodile -like, massive, armored with large, square plates body. The plates were probably covered with horn. The tail was long, similar to the crocodiles. The hind legs of the Aetosaurier were longer than the front legs. Some forms, such as Desmatosuchus were additionally protected by long spines on the flanks. Aetosaurier were one to three meters long, the largest species up to five meters.
Inside systematics
Cladogram according to Parker et al. (2008):
Coahomasuchus
Neoaetosauroides
Stagonolepis
Calyptosuchus
Aetosaurus
Aetosauroides
Tecovasuchus
Rioarribasuchus
Paratypothorax
Typothorax
" Redondasuchus "
Longosuchus
Lucasuchus
Acaenasuchus
Sierritasuchus
Desmatosuchus