Nundasuchus

Nun-dah-su-kuss.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Nundasuchus ‭(‬Predator crocodile‭)‬.

Phonetic

Nun-dah-su-kuss.

Named By

Sterling J.‭ ‬Nesbitt,‭ ‬Christian A.‭ ‬Sidor,‭ ‬Kenneth D.‭ ‬Angielczyk,‭ ‬Roger M.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Smith‭ & ‬Linda A.‭ ‬Tsuji‭ ‬-‭ ‬2014.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Pseudosuchia.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

N.‭ ‬songeaensis‭

Size

Roughly estimated at about‭ ‬2.7‭ ‬to‭ ‬3‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

Tanzania‭ ‬-‭ ‬Manda Formation.

Time Period

Mid Triassic.

Fossil representation

Mostly known from partial post cranial fossils,‭ ‬but partial maxilla and lower jaw bones also found.

In Depth

       Nundasuchus is a genus of archosaurian predator that lived in Tanzania during the mid Triassic.‭ ‬Nundasuchus superficially resembles a rauisuchian,‭ ‬however the exact phylogenetic position of Nundasuchus is still uncertain at the time of writing.‭ ‬Currently most prefer to consider it a member of the Pseudosuchia,‭ ‬the same group that also includes the rauisuchians.

       Nundasuchus lived at a point in the Triassic that was the golden age for large archosaurian predators,‭ ‬and like other similar animals was probably an ambush predator of relatively slow moving herbivores such as dicynodonts.‭ ‬At this time the immediate ancestors of the dinosaurs were already roaming the land,‭ ‬and developing into more and more advanced forms as the Triassic moved on.‭ ‬By the end of the Triassic,‭ archosaurs like Nundasuchus and related genera were largely replaced by the Dinosaurs as top predators on land.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new archosaur from the Manda beds‭ (‬Anisian,‭ ‬Middle Triassic‭) ‬of southern Tanzania and its implications for character state optimizations at Archosauria and Pseudosuchia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬34‭ (‬6‭)‬:‭ ‬1357‭–‬1382.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Sterling J.‭ ‬Nesbitt,‭ ‬Christian A.‭ ‬Sidor,‭ ‬Kenneth D.‭ ‬Angielczyk,‭ ‬Roger M.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Smith‭ & ‬Linda A.‭ ‬Tsuji‭ ‬-‭ ‬2014.

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