Prestosuchus

Press-toe-soo-kus.
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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

Prestosuchus ‭(‬fast Crocodile‭)‬.

Phonetic

Press-toe-soo-kus.

Named By

Friedrich von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1942.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Rauisuchia,‭ ‬Paracrocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Prestosuchidae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

P.‭ ‬chiniquensis‭

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.

In Depth

       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 S�damerikanischen Gondwanalandes.‭ ‬Ergebnisse der Sauriergrabungen in S�dbrasilien‭ ‬1928/29‭ [‬The Fossil Reptiles of South American Gondwanaland.‭ ‬Results of the Dinosaur Expeditions in southern Brazil‭ ‬1928/29‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung,‭ ‬M�nchen‭ ‬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, Chiniqu� 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 Ci�ncias. 88 (3): 1309–1323. – L�cio Roberto-Da-Silva, Marco A. G. Fran�a, S�rgio F. Cabreira, Rodrigo T. M�ller & S�rgio 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. – L�cio Roberto-Da-Silva, Rodrigo Temp M�ller, Aur�lio Gallo de Marco, S�rgio Furtado Cabreira & S�rgio 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, Mar�a Bel�n von Baczko & Oliver W.M. Rauhut – 2020.

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