Kuehneosuchus
| Kuehneosuchus Temporal range: Late Triassic, Norian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Life restoration of Kuehneosuchus (left) and Kuehneosaurus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Eolacertilia |
| Family: | †Kuehneosauridae |
| Genus: | †Kuehneosuchus Robinson, 1967 |
| Type species | |
| †Kuehneosuchus latissimus Robinson, 1967 | |
Kuehneosuchus is an extinct genus of Late Triassic kuehneosaurid reptile known from the Late Triassic (Norian stage) of southwest England. It was named by P. L. Robinson in 1967 and the type and only species is Kuehneosuchus latissimus. It is known from the holotype BMNH R611, a set of associated vertebrae and ribs.[1] It is a derived kuehneosaurid, most closely related to Kuehneosaurus. The genera are very similar and can be distinguished from one another primarily on the length of their "wing" ribs, relatively short and massive in Kuehneosaurus but up to 4 times longer and more gracile in Kuehneosuchus. However, the skull and major postcranial bones are identical in both taxa, as their age and horizon.[2] According to aerodynamic studies Kuehneosuchus, unlike Kuehneosaurus which may be a species of the same genus or represent a different sexual morph, was probably a glider.[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.
- ↑ Stein, K., Palmer, C., Gill, P.G., and Benton, M.J. (2008). "The aerodynamics of the British Late Triassic Kuehneosauridae." Palaeontology, 51(4): 967-981. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00783.x