Redondasaurus

Re-don-dah-sore-us.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Redondasaurus ‭(‬Redonda lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Re-don-dah-sore-us.

Named By

A.‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Hunt‭ & ‬S.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Lucas‭ ‬-‭ ‬1993.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Phytosauria,‭ ‬Phytosauridae,‭ ‬Leptosuchomorpha,‭ ‬Pseudopalatinae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

R.‭ ‬bermani,‭ ‬R.‭ ‬gregorii

Size

Largest known skulls up to 120‭ ‬centimetres long,‭ ‬total body size approximately up to about‭ ‬6.4‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

USA,‭ ‬New Mexico‭ ‬-‭ ‬Chinle Formation,‭ ‬Redonda Formation,‭ ‬Travesser Formation.‭ ‬Utah‭ ‬-‭ ‬Wingate Sandstone Formation.

Time Period

Norian to Rhaetian of the Triassic.

Fossil representation

Fossil remains of several individuals.

In Depth

       Redondasaurus was a large phytosaur that is known to have lived in the USA during the late Triassic period.‭ ‬The largest known skull at the time of writing is about eighty centimetres long,‭ ‬and is very robustly formed.‭ ‬This alone indicates that Redondasaurus was a predator of large vertebrates,‭ ‬perhaps lurking in Late Triassic waters and jumping out at‭ ‬other creatures as they came to‭ ‬the water to drink.‭ ‬Redondasaurus was among the last phytosaurs known to have lived,‭ ‬and features several adaptations that make it notably more advanced than other phytosaurs.

       Redondasaurus was named after the Redonda Formation where the holotype fossils were first recovered from.‭ ‬Care should be taken not to confuse Redondasaurus with Redondavenator,‭ ‬a similarly named predator from the same Formation.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new phytosaur‭ (‬Reptilia:‭ ‬Archosauria‭) ‬genus from the uppermost Triassic of the western United States and its biochonological significance.‭ ‬-‭ ‬The Nonmarine Triassic.‭ ‬New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin‭ ‬3:193-196.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Hunt‭ & ‬S.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Lucas‭ ‬-‭ ‬1993. – Juvenile skull of the phytosaur Redondasaurus from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, and phytosaur ontogeny. – New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin. 61. – Spencer G. Lucas, Justin A. Spielmann & Larry F. Rinehart – 2013.

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