| Venkatasuchus Temporal range: Late Triassic, 228.0–201.3Ma | |
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| Life restoration by DaDinoNerdBoi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchians |
| Order: | †Aetosauria |
| Family: | †Stagonolepididae |
| Tribe: | †Paratypothoracini |
| Genus: | †Venkatasuchus Haldar, Ray & Bandyopadhyay, 2023 |
| Species: | †V. armatum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Venkatasuchus armatum Haldar, Ray & Bandyopadhyay, 2023 | |
Venkatasuchus ("N. Venkata Raja Reddy's crocodile") is an extinct genus of aetosaur from Lower Dharmaram Formation of Late Triassic of Telangana, India. The type and the only known species is V. armatum. It is one of the very few and recently described Gondwanan aetosaur known to date.
Description[]
Though only the osteoderms of Venkatasuchus are known, the features present on its osteoderms makes it quite distinguishable from other aetosaurs. the entire mendial part of one of its osteoderm shows similarities to Paratypothorax, and the posterior part of the same osteoderm is far more distinctive in form and forms a bevel which is seen in the osteoderms of Tecovasuchus well as Kocurypelta. Due to these features, Venkatasuchus is classified as a member of the tribe Paratypothoracini.
Discovery and Naming[]
The holotype was discovered near the village of Rampur, located in Aliabad district, Telangana, India. The holotype (ISIR267/1—7) consist of eight paramedian armor, along side the specimen ISIR286 which is an isolated osteoderm, which shares similarities to the holotype and is believed that both specimens belong to the same species of animal.
In 2023, Atrayee Haldar,Sanghamitra Ray & Saswati Bandyopadhyay describes the remains as of a new species of aetosaur Venkatasuchus armatum where the genus name Venkata is in honor for N. Venkata Raja Reddy for his fossils discoveries and paleontological contribution in Pranhita-Godavari Basin, suchus is the greek word for crocodile and the species name armatum means armor.
Classification[]
Venkatasuchus is currently classified as a paratypothoracin aetosaurian in the family Stagonolepididae. Its closest relative is its sister taxon Kocurypelta.
Paleoecology[]
Since Venkatasuchus was discovered in the Triassic rocks of Lower Dharmanram Formation, it coexisted with dinosaurs and other pseudosuchians. It might have competed resources with sauropodomorphs Jaklapallisaurus and an indeterminate one, and with its fellow aetosaurs like cf. Paratypothorax sp. and an indeterminate Desmatosuchinae and might be preyed by a phytosaur cf. Nicrosaurus sp. and an indeterminate neotheropod.