Ticinosuchus

Ticinosuchus is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur from the Middle Triassic (Anisian - Ladinian) of Switzerland and Italy.[1]

Ticinosuchus
Temporal range: Middle Triassic, Anisian–Ladinian
Ticinosuchus ferox fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Suchia
Genus: †Ticinosuchus
Krebs, 1965
Species:
†T. ferox
Binomial name
†Ticinosuchus ferox
Krebs, 1965
Life restoration
Cheirotherium tracefossil, which might have been made by Ticinosuchus, displayed in Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Description

One of only a handful of fossil reptiles that have been found in Switzerland, Ticinosuchus (meaning "Ticino river crocodile") was about 3 metres (10 ft) long, and its whole body, even the belly, was covered in thick, armoured scutes. These scutes were sometimes considered to have been staggered, alternating between several rows.[2] However, some studies refute this claim, instead purporting that the scutes were aligned in neat rows, with a one-to-one assignment of scutes to vertebrae.[3] The structure of the hips shows that its legs were placed under the body almost vertically. Coupled with the development of a calcaneus and a specialized ankle joint, this would have made Ticinosuchus a fast runner, unlike most earlier reptiles.[4] Ticinosuchus is thought to be very close to or possible even the same species that made the Cheirotherium trace fossils found in Germany. It too shows a narrow track-way, similar to that of Ticinosuchus. It is one of the most famous fossils of Besano.[5]

The broken skull of the holotype

Fish scales have been preserved in the abdomen of the specimen. This was likely indicative of a piscivorous diet.[6] Ticinosuchus shares many similarities with paracrocodylomorphs, such as certain adaptations of the ischium[1] and possibly (but not certainly) hyposphene-hypantrum articulations.[7][8]

References
  1. Sterling J. Nesbitt (2011). "The Early Evolution of Archosaurs: Relationships and the Origin of Major Clades" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 352: 1–292. doi:10.1206/352.1.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Sidor, Christian A.; Angielczyk, Kenneth D.; Smith, Roger M. H.; Tsuji, Linda A. (2014-09-19). "A new archosaur from the Manda beds (Anisian, Middle Triassic) of southern Tanzania and its implications for character state optimizations at Archosauria and Pseudosuchia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (6): 1357–1382. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.859622. ISSN 0272-4634.
  3. Ezcurra, Martín D. (2016-04-28). "The phylogenetic relationships of basal archosauromorphs, with an emphasis on the systematics of proterosuchian archosauriforms". PeerJ. 4: e1778. doi:10.7717/peerj.1778. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 4860341. PMID 27162705.
  4. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.
  5. "Ticinosuco (Ticinosuchus)".
  6. Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Desojo, Julia B.; Liparini, Alexandre; França, Marco A. G. De; Weinbaum, Jonathan C.; Gower, David J. (2013-01-01). "Rauisuchia" (PDF). Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 379 (1): 241–274. doi:10.1144/SP379.1. ISSN 0305-8719.
  7. Lautenschlager, Stephan; Desojo, Julia Brenda (2011-04-13). "Reassessment of the Middle Triassic rauisuchian archosaurs Ticinosuchus ferox and Stagonosuchus nyassicus". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 85 (4): 357–381. doi:10.1007/s12542-011-0105-1. ISSN 0031-0220.
  8. Stefanic, Candice M.; Nesbitt, Sterling J. (2018-02-14). "The axial skeleton of Poposaurus langstoni (Pseudosuchia: Poposauroidea) and its implications for accessory intervertebral articulation evolution in pseudosuchian archosaurs". PeerJ. 6: e4235. doi:10.7717/peerj.4235. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5816584. PMID 29472991.
  • Krebs, B. (1965). Ticinosuchus ferox nov. gen. nov. sp. Ein neuer Pseudosuchier aus der Trias des Monte San Giorgio. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Paläontology, Abhandlungen 81: 1–140.
  • Sill, W.D. (1974). The anatomy of Saurosuchus galilei and the relationships of the rauisuchid thecodonts. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 146: 317–362.


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