| Wangisuchus Temporal range: Middle Triassic | |
|---|---|
| |
| Known fossils of Wangisuchus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
| Clade: | Archosauriformes |
| Family: | Euparkeriidae? |
| Genus: | †Wangisuchus Young, 1964 |
| Species: | †W. tzeyi |
| Type species | |
| †Wangisuchus tzeyi Young, 1964 | |
Wangisuchus is a genus of archosauriform from the Triassic of China.
History[]
The scant remains of Wangisuchus were discovered in the Ermaying Formation at the Hsishihwa locality. This location dated to the Triassic, around 242 million B.C.
In 1964, paleontologist Yang Zhongjian (also known as C.C. Young) described the fossils. He named them Wangisuchus tzeyi.[1] He classified this species as a member of the Euparkeriidae family.
Classification[]
Wangisuchus is no likely a primitive archosauriform, but whether it's a Euparkeriid isn't entirely clear. Zhonjian diagnosed the specimen based on features like: long and low shape of the maxilla; pointed posterior process of the maxilla; rounded anterior margin of the maxilla; thecodont tooth implantation; crurotarsal structure of the ankle.[2]
Other scientists noted that that the ankle bone allegedly of Wangisuchus more closely resembled a Suchian archosaur. Richard Butler, in 2014, reviewed the various Euparkariid species known from China, and concluded that Wangisuchus was a nobem dubium, because "the holotype is undiagnostic and there is no convincing evidence that the previously referred additional specimens represent the same taxon as the holotype".[3]
Paleoecology[]
Despite Wangisuchus' dubiousness, its remains had to come from some animal. It lived in China about 242 million years ago. The formation from which it is known yielded other reptiles and synapsids, such as the dicynodont Shaanbeikannemeyeria, the dicynodont Sinokannemeyeria, and a dubious species previously classified as Chastmatosuchus (C. ultimus).
Wangisuchus was probably insectivorous like Euparkeria, although teeth remains are absent.
References[]
- ↑ Sookias, R. B.; Butler, R. J. (2013). "Euparkeriidae". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 379 (1): 35–48. Bibcode:2013GSLSP.379...35S. doi:10.1144/SP379.6. S2CID 219205317.
- ↑ Young, CC (1964). "The pseudosuchians in China". Palaeontologia Sinica. 151: 1–205.
- ↑ Systematics of putative euparkeriids (Diapsida: Archosauriformes) from the Triassic of China - PMC (nih.gov)
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