#prestosuchus

Triassic landscape with a friendly Prestosuchus

[ Presto ]

#Archovember Day 20 - Prestosuchus chiniquensis

The Triassic was truly when Pseudosuchians ruled the earth. They came in a variety of different shapes and sizes and filled almost every niche. During this period, nearly every apex predator was a pseudosuchian. In the Middle Triassic of Brazil, this niche was filled by Prestosuchus chiniquensis. Originally estimated at around 5 meters long, a Prestosuchus specimen found in 2010 now places their upper size limits at nearly 7 meters (23 feet) long, making them one of the largest Triassic pseudosuchians, only surpassed by Saurosuchus. Like the crocodilians who would come later Prestosuchus walked on four legs, but in a more dinosaurian upright stance. Large Prestosuchians are assumed to be ambush predators, and this is supported by the finding of one Prestosuchus specimen in a fossil deposit assumed to be a local watering hole, a location ambush predators would have frequently haunted. This particular specimen had such a well-preserved hind leg that paleontologists were able to study its precise muscle groupings and confirm that Prestosuchus would have only been able to walk quadrupedally, unlike the related bipedal Poposaurus.