Indosuchus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70–66 Ma
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Life restoration in resting pose
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Abelisauridae
Genus: †Indosuchus
Huene & Matley, 1933
Species:
†I. raptorius
Binomial name
†Indosuchus raptorius
Huene & Matley, 1933

Indosuchus (lit. 'Indian crocodile') is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period (70 to 66 million years ago – the Maastrichtian), a theropod related to Abelisaurus. Like most theropods, Indosuchus was a bipedal carnivore. It was about 7 metres long, weighed about 1.2 tonnes,[1] and had a crested skull, flattened on the top.

Naming

Right premaxilla of I. raptorius (specimen AMNH 1753)

Indosuchus was named by Friedrich von Huene in 1932[2] and was described by Huene and Charles Alfred Matley in 1933 from three partial skulls found by Matley in India near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh in strata of the Lameta Formation.[3] The lectotype is GSI K27/685, consisting of the parietals and frontals of a single individual.[4] Two paralectotypes were referred, both including material from the posterior skull, with the fossils referred based on the parietal morphology.[5][3]

The generic name is derived from Indos, Ancient Greek for the Indus and Soukhos, Ancient Greek for the Egyptian crocodile god. The specific name raptorius means "raptorial" in Latin.[3]

Classification

Because only some skull elements have been found, Indosuchus placement has been somewhat erratic. Although it is now somewhat firmly placed within the Abelisauridae, it was originally assigned by von Huene to the Allosauridae. Alick Walker thought in 1964 it was a member of the Tyrannosauridae. The discovery of other abelisaurids like Carnotaurus has helped clarify its position; in 1986 José Bonaparte concluded it was an abelisaurid.

Indosuchus is defined based on how the frontonasal suture is placed anteriorly compared to lacrimal, according to Novas et al., 2004.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Paul, G.S., (2010), The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 78
  2. ^ Huene, F. von, 1932, Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte: Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie, 1e Serie, Heft 4, pp. 1-361
  3. ^ a b c F. v. Huene and C. A. Matley, 1933, "The Cretaceous Saurischia and Ornithischia of the Central Provinces of India", Palaeontologica Indica (New Series), Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India 21(1): 1-74
  4. ^ S. Chatterjee, 1978, "Indosuchus and Indosaurus, Cretaceous carnosaurs from India", Journal of Paleontology 52(3): 570-580
  5. ^ Sebastian, D., & Gishlick, A. (2011, January). THEROPOD MATERIAL FROM LAMETA, INDIA, IN THE COLLECTION OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND ITS BEARING ON THE DIAGNOSIS AND PHYLOGENETIC AND TAXONOMIC STATUS OF INDOSUCHUS RAPTORIUS. In JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY (Vol. 31, pp. 95-95). 60 REVERE DR, STE 500, NORTHBROOK, IL 60062 USA: SOC VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY.
  6. ^ Novas, F., Agnolin, F., & Bandyopadhyay, S. (2004). Cretaceous theropods from India: a review of specimens described by Huene and Matley (1933). Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales nueva serie, 6(1), 67-103.

External links


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