#rauisuchids

The largest carnivorous archosaur of late Triassic central Europe, Smok wawelski may be a rauisuchid (large predatory Triassic archosaur), prestosuchid (active terrestrial Triassic apex predator), ornithosuchid pseudosuchian (distant relative of crocodilians), or a primitive theropod dinosaur. However, its relation to other archosaurs has not been thoroughly studied, so its status as dinosaur, crocodile, or other remains a mystery.

Smok is an archosaur of indeterminate classification.  Since it might not actually be a member of Suchia, I didn’t want to include it in Crocodylo-Month proper, but since @the-british-kiwi suggested it to me, I decided to make it a bonus day.

(This skeletal reconstruction of Smok, by Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki, Tomasz Sulej, and Jerzy Dzik, shows the known bones in white.)

As I said above, Smok’s classification is uncertain.  It might have been a rauisuchid like Teratosaurus, a prestosuchid like Saurosuchus, a more primitive archosauromorph, or a theropod dinosaur.  It shares anatomical features with all of these groups, making it difficult to definitively place anywhere on the archosaur evolutionary tree.

(A reconstruction of Smok as a crocodile relative, with speculative osteoderms.  Image by karkemish00.)

Smok lived in the Late Triassic of Poland, from 205 to 200 million years ago.  Its genus name means “dragon” in Polish, and its binomial nomenclature, Smok wawelski, is a reference to the mythical Dragon of Wawel Hill.

At about 20 feet long, Smok was the largest predator of its time and place, and was one of the largest carnivores in the world during the Late Triassic.  Its main competition would probably have been Polonosuchus, a rauisuchid that was almost as long (although nowhere near as tall).

Last year, a new species of crocodilian relative was discovered from Late Triassic North Carolina.  Dubbed Carnufex carolinensis - “the Carolina butcher” - this animal grew up to nine feet long, and was capable of walking on its hind legs.

Carnufex is interesting for being a basal crocodylomorph - a member of the clade that includes modern crocodilians.  This proves that crocodylomorphs were vying for apex-predator positions during the Late Triassic, along with early theropods, as well as several other groups of pseudosuchians known as rauisuchids and poposauroids.