Rhinesuchus
Sign in to saveRhinesuchus (meaning "rasp crocodile" for the ridged surface texture on its skull bones) is a large temnospondyl. Remains of the genus are known from the Permian of the South African Karoo Basin's Tapinocephalus and Cistecephalus assemblage zones, both belonging to the Beaufort Group. The skull of Rhinesuchus had a flat triangular shape with blunt snout similar to some of the other large temnospondyls, and had a palate filled with small sharp teeth, suggesting that it hunted fish. Also, the small eyes were on top of the head suggesting that it approached its prey from below.
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5 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Description
- Taxonomy
- References
- Further reading
Rhinesuchus (meaning "rasp crocodile" for the ridged surface texture on its skull bones) is a large temnospondyl. Remains of the genus are known from the Permian of the South African Karoo Basin's Tapinocephalus and Cistecephalus assemblage zones, both belonging to the Beaufort Group. The skull of Rhinesuchus had a flat triangular shape with blunt snout similar to some of the other large temnospondyls, and had a palate filled with small sharp teeth, suggesting that it hunted fish. Also, the small eyes were on top of the head suggesting that it approached its prey from below.
==Etymology== thumb|left|Rhinesuchus skull in situ The name Rhinesuchus comes from Greek ῥίνη (rhinē) "file, rasp" plus σούχος (soukhos) "crocodile" for the skull surface texture: "The upper cranial bones are ornamented by a rather fine reticulation of sharp ridges". (The name does not mean "nose crocodile" (as if from Greek rhis, rhinos "nose") or refer to the Rhine River in Germany.)