Aristosuchus

Aristosuchus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
Assigned elements as figured by Owen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Clade:Dinosauria
Order:Saurischia
Suborder:Theropoda
Family:†Compsognathidae
Genus:†Aristosuchus
Owen, 1876
Species: †A. pusillus
Binomial name
Aristosuchus pusillus
Owen, 1876

Aristosuchus was a small coelurosaurian dinosaur whose name was derived from the Greek ἄριστος (meaning bravest, best, noblest) and σουχος (the Ancient Greek corruption of the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed god Sobek). It shared many characteristics with birds.

Description

Hypothetical restoration.

Aristosuchus was a bipedal, meat-eating (carnivorous) theropod dinosaur. This predator is thought to have been about 2 meters in length (about 6.5 feet) and is estimated to have weighed about 30 kg (about 65 lbs). According to Gregory S. Paul, its weight was 7 kg.[1]

The femur of Aristosuchus has a wing-like anterior trochanter and a markedly reduced fourth trochanter.

Classification

It was similar to its close relative Compsognathus in appearance and size and some authors have argued that it belongs to that genus. It has also been confused with Calamospondylus, including when Richard Lydekker assumed that Reverend William D. Fox had named it Calamospondylus oweni in 1866. However, on the basis of the pubis, it is considered by Darren Naish to be a valid compsognathid. Since some species are only represented by a few skeletal fragments, this sort of discussion is not uncommon in dinosaur palaeontology. Aristosuchus is known from holotype BMNH R178: a sacrum, a pubis, a femur and a few vertebrae. Two ungual phalanges were found nearby, which may have been from the same animal and would suggest long claws.

Discovery

Sacrum and pubes as figured by Seeley

The type species, Aristosuchus pusillus, was described in 1876 by Richard Owen and named Poekilopleuron pusillus.[2] The specific epithet means "small" in Latin. Harry Govier Seeley (1839–1909) gave it the name Aristosuchus in 1887.[3]

It was found in deposits from the Early Cretaceous of England, on the Isle of Wight, i.e. from about 125 million years ago.

References

  1. ↑ Paul, G.S., 2010, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 122
  2. ↑ Owen, R. (1876). "Supplement (No. VII) to the Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations. (Poikilopleuron and Chondrosteosaurus)". Palaeontographical Society Monograph. 30: 1–7.
  3. ↑ Seeley, H. G. (1887). "On Aristosuchus pusillus (Owen), being further notes on the fossils described by Sir R. Owen as Poikilopleuron pusillus, Owen". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 43: 221–228. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1887.043.01-04.22.

Sources

  • Naish, D. (2011). "Theropod dinosaurs". In Batten, D. J. English Wealden Fossils. London: The Palaeontological Association. pp. 526–559.
  • Naish, D. (2001). "The historical taxonomy of the Lower Cretaceous theropods (Dinosauria) Calamospondylus and Aristosuchus from the Isle of Wight". Proceedings of the Geologist’s Association. London: Elsevier. 113: 153–163.
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