Thursday, August 1, 2013

[Paleontology • 1999] Batrachotomus kupferzellensis • Cranial osteology of a new Rauisuchian Archosaur from the Middle Triassic of southern Germany


Batrachotomus kupferzellensis Gower, 1999
Batrachotomus: a genus of prehistoric archosaur ("rauisuchian" crurotarsan). Fossils of this animal have been found in southern Germany and dated from the Ladinian stage of the Middle Triassic period, around 228 to 231 million years ago. Batrachotomus was described by palaeontologist David J. Gower 22 years after its discovery.

The locality where Batrachotomus lived was a swampy region and the name comes from the Greek batrachos/βάτραχος (frog) and tome/τομή (cutting, slicing), which refers to its preying on the large amphibian Mastodonsaurus.

  Batrachotomus kupferzellensis


Gower, David J. 1999. Cranial osteology of a new Rauisuchian Archosaur from the Middle Triassic of southern Germany. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. B 280: 1–9.
Gower, David J.; Schoch, Rainer R. 2009. Postcranial Anatomy of the Rauisuchian Archosaur Batrachotomus kupferzellensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (1): 103–122.