page_title: Saltoposuchus
section_title: Description and Paleobiology
hierarchical_section_title: Saltoposuchus / Description and Paleobiology
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: The dinosaur book&#160;: the ruling reptiles and their relatives Identifier: dinosauruli13colb (find matches) Year: 1945 (1940s) Authors: Colbert, Edwin H. (Edwin Harris), 1905-2001; Germann, John C Subjects: Dinosaurs; Reptiles, Fossil Publisher: New York, N. Y.&#160;: American Museum of Natural History Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library Digitizing Sponsor: IMLS / LSTA / METRO View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: ' Text Appearing After Image: FROM THIS SORT OF PATTERN, all of the varied dinosaurs developed: the skeleton of Saltoposuchus, a Triassic thecodont rep- tile only about four feet long Modified from von Huene specialized in an interesting manner. These were the reptiles known as the phytosaurs (FiTE-o-sawrs), which, like all thecodonts, lived in Triassic times. The phytosaurs are found in various parts of the earth, particu- larly in Europe, Asia, and North America. Whereas the primitive thecodonts were small, the phytosaurs were rather large, ranging in size from six to 20 feet or more in length. And while the primitive theco- donts were mostly two-footed, the phyto- saurs were four-footed. It is perhaps sig- nificant, however, that even in these four- footed phytosaurs, the front limbs were noticeably smaller than the hind limbs. The return of the phytosaurs to the primi- tive four-footed mode of life was only one phase of their adaptation, for these were semi-aquatic reptiles. They lived a croco- dile-like existence in the streams and lakes of the Triassic landscape, spending most of their time in the water, preying upon such hapless animals as might come within their reach, and crawling out on the sandy bars and banks to sun themselves. The phytosaurs had a very crocodile-like ap- pearance, not only in the body but also in the head itself; indeed, to a casual eye, the skeleton of a phvtosaur might easily be mistaken for one of a crocodile. The most noticeable difference is that in the phyto- saur the nostrils are located on the top of the head, immediately in front of the eyes, rather than at the tip of the snout as they are in the crocodiles. It should be empha- sized here that in spite of this similarity of appearance between the phytosaurs and the crocodiles, they were quite distinct groups of reptiles. The phytosaurs were not the ancestors of the crocodiles. Here is a prime example of parallelism in evolution,—the similar development of distinct but related animals. The phytosaurs were like crocodiles, at a time when croco- 62 Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: Saltoposuchus is an extinct genus of small, long-tailed crocodylomorph reptile, from the Norian of Europe. The name translated means "leaping foot crocodile". It has been proposed that Terrestrisuchus gracilis and Saltoposuchus connectens represent different ontogenetic stages of the same genus. Saltoposuchus is commonly referred to in popular literature as the ancestor to dinosaurs, however, recent scientific research show that this is not the case.
context_section_description: Fossil evidence of Sphenosuchia and early crocodylomorphs lead paleontologists to conclude that Saltoposuchus is a terrestrial animal. As a monophyletic group of crocodylomorphs, Saltoposuchidae have many key morphological traits shared with most crocodylomorphs.
caption: skeletal make up of Saltoposuchus
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