Kalisuchus
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| Kalisuchus Fossil range: Early Triassic |
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Kalisuchus rewanensis ('Kali's crocodile from the Rewan', Thulborn 1979) was an archosaur of the family Proterosuchidae, known from remains unearthed from the Arcadia Formation (Rewan Group) of the Early Triassic of the Crater, Southwest of Rolleston, south central Queensland, Australia. It was named after Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction, a reference to the fact that the remains, including skull, vertebrae, limb and girdle were found as small fragments. Kalisuchus is the oldest archosaur known in Australia. It and Tasmaniosaurus, another proterosuchid, are the only (with the unlikely exception of Agrosaurus) archosaurs known from the Triassic of Australia. It's body length is estimated at about 3 metres. The ankle bones are strikingly similar to those of a crocodile, and it is surmised that like other proterosuchids, it lived an amphibious and predatory life. It had a broad snout which curved slightly over the lower jaw. Its limbs were slender, and its neck was longer than is typical in a proterosuchid. Thulborn (1979) believes it to be closely related to the Chinese and African proterosuchid Chasmatosaurus.
[edit] References
Long, J.A., Dinosaurs of Australia and New Zealand, UNSW Press 1998
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