Chanaresuchus bonapartei (Romer 1971) Anisian, Early Middle Triassic, skull length up to 26 cm, is derived from BPI 2871. It is a sister to Tropidosuchus and Teraterpeton.
Distinct from BPI 2871, Chanaresuchus was a terrestrial predator that retained its croc-like skull shape. The broad cheeks rotated the orbits anteriorly giving better binocular vision.
The cervicals had tall neural spines. Only two sacrals were present. The tail was greatly reduced.
The scapula was narrow.
The pelvis included a pubic apron. The femur had a large, sharp fourth trochanter. The most robust metatarsal was mtII. Digit III was the longest. Metatarsal IV was extremely gracile and digit V was absent. |
