Africa

Solotocephalosuchus

In 1934, two Dutch paleontologists were digging and excavating along the Angola-Mediterranean coast, near the Kem-Kem beds. Soon after, Coronosaurus aferocanis (The Crowned Lizard of Africa) was named. C. aferocanis was a species of large Cenozoic archosaur during the early Neogene period. It was thought that it was about 4.6 feet tall and an impressive 16.7 feet long, however, recent fossils along the Mediterranean of more fossils reveal this was, in fact, not a bipedal, saurischian Archosaur, but instead a basal crocodylian.

The species was reclassed to Solotocephalosuchus angolii, (Sun-Headed Crocodile of Angola) and has been found in coasts all along the Mediterranean. Its name stems from the “crown” of three osteoderms along the back of the head that sort of form a sun. A lower osteoderm on either cheek also helped this allusion. It is likely that Solotocephalosuchus hunter in freshwater marshes, using its habitat to blend in as it got close to its prey.

Little indents found on the neotype’s humerus and fragmented femur (PIMUZ 6 783) suggests robust muscle connection that we believe was used to chase down prey quickly on land. Specimen PIMUZ 7 438 also has a preserved forelimb, with sharp claws likely used to grip wood to get in and out of water, and of course pin prey on marsh floor and drown them. A fossil found on July 3rd, 1967 found a Solotocephalosuchus’ stomach ripped open by predators, but it was found that its lungs, identifiable by slight grooves in the rock, were relatively large, and indicated it could likely go a long while without air, perhaps longer than modern crocodiles.

Due to Solotocephalosuchus being slightly fragmented, and one of the only creatures found in this specific formation, it is unknown its prey and predators, however, from its thin conical teeth and sharp claws, it has been inferred that it ate and hunted aquatic or semi-aquatic fauna. Its predators are unknown, but some believe the ravaged specimen was from another Solotocephalosuchus.

It has been theorized, however never had any solid backing, that males would enter stand-offs through rearing up, using their tail as support while they roared/snarled at competitors, using their thick, hypothetical throat pouches to reach deep tones. Some believe that they were social to all, others believe they were social to only species with a close genetic and emotional bond, while others believe they were hostile to anything but mates. Due to CAT scans of the skull, we know that they were socially capable of any of them.

Due to it being very close to Ceratosuchus burdoshi, the two have been classed under Ceratosuchinae, a subfamily of horned crocodylians, which is related to Voay robustus and Crocodylus rhombifer.

In 1976, the previously mentioned specimens, PIMUZ 6 783 and PIMUZ 7 438, were bought by PIMUZ, and were transported to Switzerland in 1978.

In the late 1980s, a dig site in Panama proved worthwhile when they found a formation which was thought to be a massive Miocene marsh. In it, several fossils of turtle and mammal species were found, along with a Solotocephalosuchus specimen. This was a little bit larger and more terrestrial than its African brothers. It was proved to be of the same genus after a hard battle with other paleontologists over “Andre”, PIMUZ 3 489.

Andre was officially accepted as a valid species (Solotocephalosuchus panamensii) in June of 2001, and was transported to PIMUZ along with their other species. Since then, more and more specimens are found of S. panamensii and S. angolii every year.

But since we know that T-rex is the king of the dinosaurs, and that the lion is the king of the animals today. I have 2 questions.

1. Who would be the king of the animals in the Cenozoic Era? (I just realized that we live in this era, in the Quaternary Period while writing this question. So, no modern animals allowed)

2. And who would be the king of the animals in the Paleozoic Era?

I feel like the first question is kinda unorthodox because again, we still live in the Quaternary Period, which means that African lions live along with us in this period and Era.

I recently created a map showing the distribution of Lystrosaurus in Lopingian and Early Triassic. Having completed the creation, I thought about where else these animals could live and where, in theory, they could be found in the future?

As can be seen from finds in the southern hemisphere, these animals lived around the subrolar region, where suitable vegetation probably grew and where the last relict lakes from the Karoo Ice Age probably remained (South Africa, India, East Antarctica). In the northern hemisphere, they also lived near the subpolar region (western Russia, northwestern China), where similar climatic conditions were probably observed, but due to the proximity of the ocean, especially between Siberia and Eastern Europe (on some maps, the authors show a sea strait between these regions, but this is unlikely, because there was already a land connection between Europe and China). So, taking into account the already known places of discoveries, I imagined the habitat zone of Lystrosaurus in Early Triassic (purple) and marked with "˅" places where they most likely lived and where we are likely to find their fossils in the future:

1) Southern part of South America (Chile, Argentina). ~250 Ma, it was located not far from South Africa and, most likely, the animals could get there by land.

2) East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and other countries). Location located between South Africa and India. I believe the likelihood of finding a Lystrosaurus fossil there is very high.

3) Northern Europe (Norway, Sweden, Finland). This region was not separated by sea and mountains from Eastern Europe.

4) Finally, the territories located between Eastern Europe and China: western Siberia, southern Siberia and Mongolia.

However, you noticed that there are still no finds of Lystrosaurus skeletons from the equatorial part of Pangaea, right? There is no doubt that they lived there, and it is a matter of time before we find them there. I marked "?" suggested places where Lystrosaurus might have lived, but the certainty is not so high. Since scientists believe that El Niño in Panthalassa occurred at the Permian-Triassic boundary, the climate on the western coasts was likely drier than on the eastern. The same thing is observed today: the driest deserts are located in the west of Australia, South America and sub-equatorial Africa. For this reason, I believe that Lystrosaurus lived mainly in the east of Pangea, on the coast of Tethys. Here are the proposed locations:

1) Australia. It was located by south of Tethys and probably had similar conditions to India and Antarctica.

2) New Guinea. It was probably connected to Australia.

3) Eastern territories in central Pangaea: northeastern Africa, Arabia, southern Mediterranean, northern Africa, Spain and eastern North America.

4) Greenland. This region was located in northern latitudes, not far from modern Europe.

5) South China. There is a high probability that it was connected to Northern China.

What do you think about it? Can we really find Lystrosaurus there, or did they inhabit a smaller area?