Erythrosuchus africanus
Erythrosuchus (from , 'red' and , 'crocodile') is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptiles from the early to middle Triassic of South Africa. Remains have been found in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in the Karoo of South Africa. In the Late Triassic, the ecological niche left by Erythrosuchus was filled by archosaurs including Saurosuchus and Postosuchus.
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- Description
- Discovery
- Classification
- References
Erythrosuchus (from , 'red' and , 'crocodile') is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptiles from the early to middle Triassic of South Africa. Remains have been found in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in the Karoo of South Africa. In the Late Triassic, the ecological niche left by Erythrosuchus was filled by archosaurs including Saurosuchus and Postosuchus.
==Description== left|thumb|Skull diagrams of two specimens Erythrosuchus was the largest predator of its time, at more than 4 meters (13.1 ft) in length, with a singular neural arch suggesting possible lengths of . It walked on all fours and had limbs positioned semi-vertically under its body, unlike the more sprawling gait of most earlier reptiles. Its head was large and theropod-like, possibly able to reach a length of , and had sharp, conical teeth.