Dagasuchus

Dah-gah-soo-kus.
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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

Dagasuchus.

Phonetic

Dah-gah-soo-kus.

Named By

M.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Lacerda,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Schultz‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬Bertoni-Machado‭ ‬-‭ ‬2015.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Archosauria,‭ ‬Pseudosuchia,‭ ‬Suchia,‭ ‬Paracrocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Loricata.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

D.‭ ‬santacruzensis‭

Size

Uncertain.

Known locations

Brazil‭ ‬-‭ ‬Santa Maria Formation.

Time Period

Mid Triassic.

Fossil representation

Partial hip.

In Depth

       While loricatan paracrocodylomorphs are fairly well known from the Santa maria Formation,‭ ‬Dagasuchus is the first rauisuchian genus known from the Santacruzodon assemblage zone,‭ ‬something which has enabled this genus to fill an evolutionary gap.‭ ‬So far Dagasuchus is only known from a partial hip which make reconstructions fairly difficult.‭ ‬However since the genus is related to genera such as Saurosuchus,‭ ‬Prestosuchus and Fasolasuchus,‭ ‬Dagasuchus was likely‭ ‬a large predator of other moderately large animals.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬First‭ ‘‬Rauisuchian‭’ ‬archosaur‭ (‬Pseudosuchia,‭ ‬Loricata‭) ‬for the Middle Triassic Santacruzodon Assemblage Zone‭ (‬Santa Maria Supersequence‭)‬,‭ ‬Rio Grande do Sul State,‭ ‬Brazil.‭ ‬-‭ ‬PLoS ONE‭ ‬10‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬e0118563.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Lacerda,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Schultz‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬Bertoni-Machado‭ ‬-‭ ‬2015.

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