Chirotherium or Cheirotherium is an pseudosuchian trace fossil found in the Triassic period.
Discovery[]
The first footprints of Chirotherium were found in Germany in 1834. In 1838, footprints were found in the Triassic Sandstone beds. In 1842, Richard Owen suggested that the tracks were made by a labyrinthodont amphibian. A few years later, new discoveries of archosaurian reptiles indicated that Chirotherium tracks were from a pseudosuchian. The print's resemblance to mammals was apparent. The thumb of Chirotherium resembles was Triassic archosaurs' thumbs.
Paleobiology[]
Chirotherium tracks were found in German sandstones that were washed up on flood plains. The tracks were with early horseshoe crabs. The Chirotherium track maker probably fed on them as it walked.