Prestosuchus

Name: Prestosuchus ‭(‬fast Crocodile‭)‬.
Phonetic: Press-toe-soo-kus.
Named By: Friedrich von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1942.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Rauisuchia,‭ ‬Paracrocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Prestosuchidae.
Species: P.‭ ‬chiniquensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Usually credited as up to‭ ‬5‭ ‬meters long.‭ ‬An individual discovered in Brazil in‭ ‬2010‭ ‬was credited as the equivalent of‭ ‬6.7‭ ‬meters long at the time of its discovery.
Known locations: Brazil‭ ‬-‭ ‬Santa Maria Formation.
Time period: Ladinian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Several individuals,‭ ‬at least one almost complete.




       There appears to be some confusion regarding the full size of Prestosuchus.‭ ‬Earlier fossil discoveries seemed to point at a total length of around five hundred centimetres for an adult Prestosuchus.‭ ‬However an almost complete specimen reported in‭ ‬2010‭ ‬was stated as being the equivalent of about six hundred and seventy centimetres long.‭ ‬If this is correct,‭ ‬then Prestosuchus would represent one of the largest rauisuchian predators that we know about,‭ ‬with only the genus Saurosuchus being larger.
       Regardless of what the adult size of Prestosuchus was,‭ ‬it was without doubt an apex predator that would have targeted other reasonably large animals.‭ ‬Rauisuchians like Prestosuchus are usually seen as ambush predators,‭ ‬rearing up and delivering a strong bite to the back of a target animal.‭ ‬Evidence does actually support his,‭ ‬as the aforementioned‭ ‬2010‭ ‬specimen of Prestosuchus was found in sedimentary rock that has been perceived to have been‭ ‬a watering hole for local wildlife.‭ ‬Ambush predators are known to haunt such locations as inevitably prey species will come to them in order to drink.
       The key thing about the‭ ‬2010‭ ‬specimen of Prestosuchus is that it included a remarkably well preserved rear leg,‭ ‬so much so that paleontologists were able to accurately reconstruct the muscle groups of the leg,‭ ‬and allowing for a more accurate general reconstruction of the animal.‭ ‬In Prestosuchus the strongest and best developed muscles of the rear leg were for limb rotation,‭ ‬not back and forth movement,‭ ‬which indicates that Prestosuchus had a primarily quadrupedal posture.‭ ‬It should be pointed out however that other types of rauisuchian such as poposaurids like Poposaurus,‭ ‬seem to have been primarily bipedal.




Further reading
-‭ ‬Lieferungen‭ ‬3/4.‭ ‬Pseudosuchia,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Rhynchosauridae und Schlussabschnitt‭ [‬Parts‭ ‬3/4.‭ ‬Pseudosuchia,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Rhynchosauridae,‭ ‬and Conclusions‭]‬.‭ ‬Die Fossilen Reptilien des Südamerikanischen Gondwanalandes.‭ ‬Ergebnisse der Sauriergrabungen in Südbrasilien‭ ‬1928/29‭ [‬The Fossil Reptiles of South American Gondwanaland.‭ ‬Results of the Dinosaur Expeditions in southern Brazil‭ ‬1928/29‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung,‭ ‬München‭ ‬161-332.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Friedrich von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1942.
-‭ ‬A reconstruction of the thigh musculature of the extinct pseudosuchian Prestosuchus chiniquensis from the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone‭ (‬Middle Triassic Epoch‭)‬,‭ ‬Santa Maria‭ ‬1‭ ‬Sequence,‭ ‬southern Brazil.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geological Society,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Special Publications.‭ ‬doi:10.1144/SP379.20.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Liparini‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Schultz‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.
-‭ ‬The braincase of Prestosuchus chiniquensis‭ (‬Archosauria:‭ ‬Suchia‭) ‬-‭ ‬Geological Society of London Special Publications‭ ‬08/2013‭; ‬379‭(‬1‭)‬:425-440.‭ ‬DOI:‭ ‬10.1144/SP379.10‭ ‬-‭ ‬B.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Mastrantonio,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Schultz,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Desojo‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Garcia‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.
- New insights on Prestosuchus chiniquensis Huene, 1942 (Pseudosuchia, Loricata) based on new specimens from the "Tree Sanga" Outcrop, Chiniquá Region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. - PeerJ. 4: e1622. - Marcel B. Lacerda, Bianca M. Mastrantonio, Daniel C. Fortier & Cesar L. Schultz - 2016.
- On the presence of the subnarial foramen in Prestosuchus chiniquensis (Pseudosuchia: Loricata) with remarks on its phylogenetic distribution. - Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 88 (3): 1309–1323. - Lúcio Roberto-Da-Silva, Marco A. G. França, Sérgio F. Cabreira, Rodrigo T. Müller & Sérgio Dias-Da-Silva - 2016.
- An impressive skeleton of the giant top predator Prestosuchus chiniquensis (Pseudosuchia: Loricata) from the Triassic of Southern Brazil, with phylogenetic remarks. - Historical Biology. 0: 1–20. - Lúcio Roberto-Da-Silva, Rodrigo Temp Müller, Aurélio Gallo de Marco, Sérgio Furtado Cabreira & Sérgio Dias-Da-Silva - 2018.
- Anatomy, taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of Prestosuchus chiniquensis (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) from the original collection of von Huene, Middle-Late Triassic of southern Brazil. - Palaeontologia Electronica. 23 (1): 1–55. - Julia Brenda Desojo, María Belén von Baczko & Oliver W.M. Rauhut - 2020.


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