Postosuchus
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| iPostosuchus |
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Postosuchus kirkpatricki Chatterjee, 1985 |
Postosuchus was a basal archosaur which lived in what is now North America during the end of the Triassic period (220-205 million years ago). It was a running carnivore which preyed on cynodonts and other creatures smaller than itself. Its name means "crocodile from Post", named after the Post Quarry in Texas, where many fossils of the species were found.
Postosuchus was a quadrupedal reptile with a wide skull and a long tail. It was about 6 meters long, 2 meters tall, and was held up by columnar legs (a quite uncommon feature in reptiles). A crocodile-like snout, filled with many large-sized dagger-like teeth, was used to kill its prey. Rows of protective plates covering its back formed a defensive shield.
[edit] In popular culture
- Postosuchus appears in the first program of the BBC's series Walking with Dinosaurs, where CG animation was used to recreate extinct creatures of the Mesozoic era. In this episode, it appears as the top predator, preying on Placerias, large dicynodonts. In one segment a female Postosuchus sustains a fatal injury when hunting, loses her territory to another Postosuchus, and is finally killed by a swarm of Coelophysis, too weak to defend herself.
