| Desmatosuchus | |
|---|---|
| |
| A restoration of Desmatosuchus spurensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Aetosauria |
| Family: | †Stagonolepididae |
| Subfamily: | †Desmatosuchinae |
| Genus: | †Desmatosuchus Case, 1920 |
| Type species | |
| †Desmatosuchus spurensis Case, 1921 | |
| Referred species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
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Desmatosuchus (dez-MAT-oh-SUE-kuss) was a herbivorous Pseudosuchian closely related to modern-day crocodiles.
Desmatosuchus
It's heavily armoured, and wasn't very fast. It grew up from 3 to 4.5 meters long. It lived in prehistoric North America during the Late Triassic Period (200 mya) while the Earth was one large supercontinent called Pangaea.
Paleobiology
Desmatosuchus shows a resemblance to the ankylosaurid dinosaurs such as Ankylosaurus, but it isn't very related to them, and is a much older species.
It was heavily armoured, with even its under-belly protected. Not even ankylosaurs had that. It had a long snout made for digging through the ground and pulling up roots and shrubs. It had a plated, whip-like tail that was designed to whip predators and keep them away. It's back was completely covered in armor plating, and not even the large Phytosaur Rutiodon could have bitten through it. The plates were a second defense if a predator could even get past its 18 inches (45 centimeters.) shoulder spikes. It lived in either forested areas or desert land, and lived alongside herbivores like Placerias and Plateosaurus, predators like Coelophysis, Rutiodon, and Postosuchus, and also small protomammals like Megazostrodon.
In the Media
- Desmatosuchus made a minor appearance in The Dinosaurs episode 3 Nature of the Beasts.
- Desmatosuchus made an appearance in When Dinosaurs Roamed America, and drove off a Rutiodon and Coelophysis.
- It also starred in Animal Armageddon, where it shows how it became extinct during the Triassic Extinction and was overwhelmed by Triassic dinosaurs called Staurikosaurus.
- It also starred in both Mammals vs. Dinos Age of Gigantism & Life After Dinosaurs.
Gallery
References
Websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmatosuchus
http://forgottenarchosaurs.blogspot.com/2010/04/desmatosuchus.html
http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/d/desmatosuchus.html
http://whatafy.com/the-herbivore-desmatosuchus-a-relative-of-the-prehistoric-crocodiles.html
Documentaries:
When Dinosaurs Roamed America
Animal Armageddon