Erythrosuchidae

Erythrosuchus

• Russia
• China
• Southern Africa

The Erythrosuchidae are an extinct group of carnivorous reptiles from the lower to middle Triassic. They were large 2.5 to 5 meter long animals with massive bodies. As living in Perm, Anteosaurus from the group of Dinocephalia and many Temnospondyli had the Erythrosuchidae particularly large, reaching a meter long heads. The heads reached for some species, half of the body length (excluding tail). The neck of the animals was massive and short, the cervical vertebrae to support the great weight, extremely short. Since the articular surfaces between the leg bones and the ossified only weakly between leg and carpal bones were one assumes an aquatic lifestyle. In the Lower Triassic Erythrosuchidae were the largest terrestrial vertebrates.

They share a number of synapomorphies with later archosaurs that the early Archosauromorphen as the Protorosauria, missing and are therefore placed in the anatomically advanced Archosauriformes.

Genera

• Chalishevia
• Cuyosuchus
• Dongusia
• Erythrosuchus
• Fugusuchus
• Garjainia
• Shansisuchus
• Uralosaurus
• Vjushkovia