Diandongosuchus

Name: Diandongosuchus ‭(‬Diandong crocodile‭)‬.
Phonetic: De-an-dong-o-soo-kus.
Named By: C.‭ ‬Li,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬-C.‭ ‬Wu,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Sato‭ & ‬L.‭ ‬Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Rauisuchia,‭ ‬Paracrocodylomorpha Poposauroidea.
Species: D.‭ ‬fuyuanensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore.
Size: Total length estimated about‭ ‬1.5‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: China,‭ ‬Yunna Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Falang Formation,‭ ‬Zhuganpo Member.
Time period: Ladinian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skull and skeleton missing the tail.




       Diandongosuchus is classed as a poposaurid rauisuchian,‭ ‬though while most of the members of this group such as Poposaurus,‭ ‬Arizonasaurus and Lotosaurus are terrestrial,‭ ‬Diandongosuchus seems to have been semiaquatic and living in a similar manner to a crocodile.‭ ‬At the time of writing the only other poposaurid thought to be similar to Diandongosuchus is Qianosuchus which was named earlier.‭ ‬However it should be pointed out that the Poposauridae is a group of rauisuchians that is often used to house all of the odds and ends genera that don’t quite fit in anywhere else.
       A semi-aquatic lifestyle for Diandongosuchus has been established upon the basis that the holotype specimen was found in a marine rock deposit,‭ ‬and with the remains of fish within its stomach contents,‭ ‬clearly indicating that Diandongosuchus was a fish eater‭ (‬piscivore‭)‬.‭ ‬The position of the nostrils is also further back on the skull,‭ ‬while the premaxilla‭ (‬the forward tooth bearing bone of the upper jaw‭) ‬has a larger than usual number of teeth.‭ ‬These features are commonly seen upon other fish eating animals as they help facilitate prey capture.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new archosaur‭ (‬Diapsida,‭ ‬Archosauriformes‭) ‬from the marine Triassic of China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬32‭(‬5‭)‬:1064-1081‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Li,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬-C.‭ ‬Wu,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Sato‭ & ‬L.‭ ‬Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.



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