Kuehneosuchus
| Kuehneosuchus Temporal range: Late Triassic, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Life restoration of Kuehneosuchus (left) and Kuehneosaurus (right) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Family: | †Kuehneosauridae |
| Genus: | †Kuehneosuchus Robinson, 1967 |
| Type species | |
| †Kuehneosuchus latissimus (Robinson, 1962) | |
Kuehneosuchus is an extinct genus of Late Triassic kuehneosaurid reptile known from the Late Triassic (Norian stage) of southwest England. It was named by Pamela Lamplugh Robinson in 1967 and the type and only species is Kuehneosuchus latissimus. It is known from the holotype NHMUK PV R 6111, a set of associated vertebrae and ribs.[1] It is a derived kuehneosaurid, most closely related to Kuehneosaurus. The genera can be distinguished from one another primarily on the length of their elongate ribs, relatively short and massive in Kuehneosaurus but up to 4 times longer and more gracile in Kuehneosuchus, reaching a wingspan of 40 centimetres (16 in). The skull, size (reaching a head and body length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in)) and major postcranial bones are essentially identical in both Kuehneosuchus and Kuehneosaurus, as their age and horizon.[2][3] According to aerodynamic studies Kuehneosuchus, unlike Kuehneosaurus which may be a species of the same genus or represent a different sexual morph, was probably an effective glider, similar to the much smaller living gliding lizards.[3]
References
- ↑ P. L. Robinson (1967). "Triassic vertebrates from upland and lowland". Science and Culture. 33: 169–173.
- ↑ Susan E. Evans (2009). "An early kuehneosaurid reptile (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Early Triassic of Poland" (PDF). Paleontologica Polonica. 65: 145–178.
- 1 2 Stein, Koen; Palmer, Colin; Gill, Pamela G.; Benton, Michael J. (July 2008). "The aerodynamics of the British Late Triassic Kuehneosauridae". Palaeontology. 51 (4): 967–981. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00783.x. ISSN 0031-0239.
