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Phytosauria
Fossil range: Late Triassic
Rutiodon BW
Restoration of Rutiodon carolinensis
Scientific classification

Class:

Sauropsida

Infraclass:

Archosauromorpha

(Unranked) :

Crurotarsi

Order:

Phytosauria
von Meyer, 1861

Family:

Phytosauridae
Jaeger, 1828

Phytosaurs - family Phytosauridae or Parasuchidae - were a group of large (2 to 12 meters long - average size 3 to 4 meters) semi-aquatic predatory archosaurs that flourished during the Late Triassic period. These long snouted and heavily armoured archosaurs bore a remarkable resemblance to modern crocodiles in size, appearance, and (clearly) lifestyle, an example of convergence or parallel evolution. The name "phytosaur" (plant reptile) is very misleading, and their snapping jaws clearly show that phytosaurs were predators. The person who first described them mistakenly thought the specimens he was working with were plant-eaters [citation needed].

Although phytosaurs were not true crocodilians themselves, they were related to the crocodilians, as both phytosaurs and proto-crocodiles share a common ancestor among the early Crurotarsi. Crocodiles did not become 'phytosaur'-like until the Early Jurassic.

These animals were widely distributed, fossils being recovered from Europe, North America (namely Alberta), India, Morocco, Thailand, and Madagascar.

Early Discoveries[]

Smilosuchus BW

Smilosuchus gregorii

When the first phytosaur fossils were found, it was not immediately obvious what kind of animal/species they were. The first phytosaur species known to science was named Phytosaurus cylindricodon - "plant lizard with cylindrical teeth" - by G. Jaeger in 1828 because he mistakenly believed that petrified mud fillings in the jaw were herbivore teeth. The specimen is too poor to be diagnostic, and this species name is no longer valid. The name of the group - Phytosauria - was coined by the German paleontologist Hermann von Meyer in 1861, on the basis of this first species.

The next species to be described was Belodon plieningeri by von Meyer in von Meyer and Plieninger 1844. The altogether more appropriate name Parasuchia ("alongside the crocodiles", as they resembled crocodiles to a great degree) was coined by Thomas Huxley in 1875 along with his discovery and naming of the Indian species Parasuchus hislopi (Chatterjee, 1978), on the basis of a partial snout. The specimen also is usually considered non-diagnostic, and the name Parasuchus replaced by Paleorhinus. Although the names Parasuchidae and Phytosauridae are variously still used by different specialists, "phytosaur" is the standard generic name for these animals, despite the fact that these animals have been clearly shown to be carnivorous.

Differences from Crocodiles[]

Despite their great similarities in appearance and lifestyle, there are still a number of minor differences that distinguish phytosaurs from true crocodiles. For one thing, the phytosaur ankle structure is much more primitive than that of any crocodile. Also, phytosaurs lack the bony secondary palate that crocodiles have that enables them to breathe even when the mouth is full of water. It is possible however that phytosaurs had a fleshy palate, as many Mesozoic crocodiles are presumed to have had. Finally, and most noticeably, phytosaurs had nostrils placed near or above the level of the eyes, in contrast to crocodiles where the nostrils are near the end of the snout. This adaptation may have developed to allow them to breathe while the rest of the body was submerged.

Three Morphotypes[]

Mystriosuchus

Illustration of a phytosaur, 1914.

The phytosaur skull was characterized by three distinct morphotypes, which relate to feeding and habits and not (as was once thought) evolutionary relationships. These skull patterns are linked to characteristics of the dentition; specifically the differentiation or similarity of the teeth along the jaws.

Dolichorostral ("long snouted") types have a long, slender snout and a large number of conical teeth that are the same throughout. These were most likely piscivorous, able to capture fast slippery prey, but not so good at tackling a land animal. Some examples are Paleorhinus, Rutiodon carolinensis, and Mystriosuchus. At one time it was believed that Paleorhinus and Mystriosuchus belonged to a distinct group of phytosaurs (subfamily of family Mystriosuchinae/Mystriosuchidae Huene, 1915) characterised by this adaptation, but it is now known that Mystriosuchus is actually more closely related to Pseudopalatus, an "altirostral" form (Hungerbühler, 2002).

Brachyrostral ("short snouted") forms are the opposite, they have a massive, broad snout, and a very strong skull and jaws, with the front teeth like fangs for holding the prey, and the rear teeth blade-like for slicing the meat into chunks that can easily be swallowed (an animal with different types of teeth like this is called heterodont). These were powerful animals specialised for feeding on strong struggling prey, such as terrestrial animals that come to the water to drink. Examples of this type are Nicrosaurus and Smilosuchus

Altirostral ("high snouted") animals are intermediate between the two. They had heterodont dentition but not as extremely developed as the brachyrostral type. Angistorhinus and Pseudopalatus are typical examples here. These were most likely generalist feeders.

Modern crocodiles exhibit a similar morphological diversity, for example the broad snouted altirostral alligator and the long snouted dolichorostral gavial.

Phytosaurs were even better armoured than crocodiles, protected by heavy bony scutes (often found as fossils), and the belly reinforced with a dense arrangement of gastralia (abdominal ribs).

Evolutionary History and Relationships[]

Phytosaur skull

Phytosaur skull

Phytosaurs first appear during the Carnian age, evolving from an unspecified crurotarsan ancestor. There are no clear intermediate forms, as the first phytosaurs found were already fully-formed and highly specialised.

The earliest phytosaurs belong to the primitive and comparatively unspecialised but very widely distributed genus Paleorhinus. A somewhat more advanced and larger form, Angistorhinus appears at the same time or soon after. Later in the Carnian, both these animals were replaced by more specialised forms like Rutiodon, Leptosuchus, and the huge Smilosuchus (Lucas 1998). The Carnian-Norian extinction meant that these animals died off, and the Early Norian sees new genera like Nicrosaurus and Pseudopalatus, both of which belong to the most derived clade of phytosaurs, the Pseudopalatinae. Later in the middle Norian the advanced and specialised fish-eater Mystriosuchus appears. Fossil remains of this widespread animal is known from Germany, northern Italy, and Thailand. Finally the large Redondasaurus in south-west North America and the long-snouted (altirostral) Angistorhinopsis ruetimeyeri in Europe continued the group into the Rhaetian. Phytosaur footprints (the ichnotaxon Apatopus) are also known from the latest Rhaetian of the East Coast of USA (the Newark Supergroup) (Olsen et al. 2002). This indicates that phytosaurs continued as successful animals until the very end of the Triassic, when, along with other large crurotarsan archosaurs, they were killed off by the end Triassic extinction event. It was to be some fifty million years or so before any similar reptiles would appear (early true crocodiles of the early and middle Jurassic were either small and fully terrestrial or completely marine).


List[]

Genus Status Age Location Notes Images

Angistorhinopsis

Nomen dubium.

Late Triassic.

Named because von Huene believed it looked like the older phytosaur Angistorhinus. The name is now considered dubious. pseudopalatine
Angistorhinus BW

Reconstruction of Angistorhinus grandis


Belodon

Illustration of "Belodon", 1894


Nicrosaurus1Zittel

Illustration of Nicrosaurus skull, 1913


Redondasaurus bermani at CMNH 04

Mounted skeleton of Redondasaurus bermani at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History


Rutiodon validus 21DB

Reconstruction of Rutiodon validus

Angistorhinus

Valid.

Late Triassic.

Referred to both Rutiodon and Leptosuchus[citation needed]

Arribasuchus

Junior synonym.
  1. N/A.
N/A. Junior synonym of Pseudopalatus.

Belodon

Nomen dubium. Late Triassic. A european pseudopalatine genus of dubious utility. Many of the remains attributed to Belodon have since been attributed to other animals or given their own genera. The name Belodon means "arrow tooth."

Brachysuchus

Valid.

Centemodon

Valid.

Late Triassic.

Coburgosuchus

Valid.

Ebrachosuchus

Valid.

Leptosuchus

Valid.

Mesorhinosaurus

Valid.

Mystriosuchus

Valid. Late Triassic. pseudopalatine

Nicrosaurus

Valid. Late Triassic. pseudopalatine

Paleorhinus

Valid. Late Triassic.

Parasuchus

Valid.

Pseudopalatus

Valid. pseudopalatine

Redondasaurus

Valid. — possible junior synonym of Typothorax pseudopalatine

Rutiodon

Valid. Late Triassic.

Smilosuchus

Valid.

References[]

  • Carroll, R.L. (1988). Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, WH Freeman & Co.
  • Chatterjee, S. (1978). A primitive parasuchid (phytosaur) reptile from the Upper Triassic Maleri Formation of India, Palaeontology 21: 83-127
  • Hungerbühler, A. (2002). The Late Triassic phytosaur Mystriosuchus Westphali, with a revision of the genus. Palaeontology 45 (2): 377-418
  • Lucas, S.G. (1998). Global Triassic tetrapod biostratigraphy and biochronology. Paleogeog. Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 143: 347-384.
  • Olsen, P.E., Kent, D.V., H.-D.Sues,, Koeberl, C., Huber, H., Montanari, E.C.Rainforth, A., Fowell, S.J., Szajna, M.J., and Hartline, B.W., (2002). Ascent of dinosaurs linked to an iridium anomaly at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Science 296: 1305-1307.

External links[]

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