#marasuchus

finished The Dinosaurs, so I'm sketching a few beasties shown there

Tarjadia and Marasuchus.

By José Carlos Cortés on @quetzalcuetzpalin-art​

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Name: Marasuchus lilloensis

Name Meaning: Mara Crocodile

First Described: 1994

Described By: Sereno & Arcucci

Classification: Avemetatarsalia, Ornithodira, Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes

Marasuchus is our first Dinosauriform! Dinosauriformes differed from the more early-derived Dinosauromorphs by having shortened forelimbs, and more of a hole in their hip socket, which would lead to a full hole in Dinosaurs proper that would allow for the fully-upright movement for which they are so famous. Marasuchus, however, would have been almost indistinguishable from Dinosaurs, very upright in its stature and extremely active in its lifestyle, as well as probably covered in filamentous integument. 

By Michael B. H., CC BY-SA 3.0

Interestingly enough, Marasuchus didn’t have a hole in its hip socket, which may indicate a difference in lifestyle from other Dinosauriformes, though it did have other characteristics of this group such as an elongated pubis. Marasuchus lived about 236 to 234 million years ago, in Ladinian to Carnian ages of the Middle to Late Triassic. It was about 30 to 40 centimeters long and was decidedly bipedal, based on the structure of its arms and legs. It was found in the Los Chañares Formation of Argentina, known from every portion of the skeleton except for the skull. 

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marasuchus

A sleepy Marasuchus takes a nap in a log.

The Reptile House is one of the more overlooked areas at Huxley Paleozoo, but it’s probably worth a visit. The building is filled with non-dinosaurian sauropsids, giving a glimpse at the wide variety of reptiles present in Earth’s past and present.

The house is divided into three halls. The E.S. Goodrich Hall is the main hall, and contains a wide variety of reptiles. The center of the hall has a large exhibit for Meiolania, which extends underneath the floor (they like sheltering under it). The room’s walls are lined with numerous exhibits and terraria with animals like Longisquama, Marasuchus and Coelurosauravus.

The Susan Evans Hall focuses on squamates. The sides of the hall contain exhibits for numerous lizards and snakes, from the tiny Tetrapodophis to the komodo dragon-sized Palaeosaniwa. The room terminates with the large partially-flooded exhibit of our Titanoboa, Debra.

The Steve Irwin Memorial Hall specializes in pseudosuchians. A sample of the variety of weird pseudosuchians throughout the ages is present here, with an emphasis on terrestrial stem-crocs from the Cretaceous, including the infamous “boarcroc” Kaprosuchus and the small, lithe Araripesuchus.

Animals here:

Evans Hall

Dinilysia

Gueragama

Obamadon

Palaeosaniwa

Saniwa

Tetrapodophis

Titanoboa

Goodrich Hall

Coelurosauravus

Longisquama

Lagerpeton

Marasuchus

Meiolania

Scleromochlus

Sharovipteryx

Rutiodon

Irwin Hall

Anatosuchus

Araripesuchus rattoides

Araripesuchus wegeneri

Effigia

Kaprosuchus

Marasuchus lilloensis

Argentina, Ladinian Age of the Middle Triassic (Chañares Formation)

A small dinosauromorph archosaur (only about 40 cm long), Marasuchus lived in the shadows of larger animals and frequent volcanic activity. Relatives of Marasuchus, the dinosaurs themselves, would go on to dominate terrestrial ecosystems for millions of years.