Suchitherium

Suchitherium pburadius (meaning "Pburadi's crocodile beast") was a medium sized carnivorous Pseudosuchian from the middle Dracian period. The only known species of Suchitherium, pburadius, is known from an excavated cliffside in the Federal Republic of Cognia, and in mineral deposits from the Helsian Peninsula.
The first creature of its kind discovered, it was initially mistaken for a dinosaur, before being determined by scientists overseas to be more related to crocodilians than any known dinosaur. The first specimen discovered measured 6 meters in length, however new fragmented fossils suggest this number may have been much bigger.
== Description ==
==== Discovery ====
The first fossils of Suchitherium pburadius were discovered beneath sand dunes which had been dug up in the Cognian city of Buchwych, found by construction workers sent from the Socialist Republic of Aspella. These bones were reported to the authorities of The Eldham Union for study, where they were falsely identified as the bones of a Venatopod dinosaur, before later studies showed that the pelvis was completely different to one of any known dinosaur, and resembled that of crocodiles. This information let scientists place it firmly within the order of Pseudosuchia.
After much debate about the species' place in the ecosystem, many tests were conducted near the canyons and chasms that surround the Cognian environment, these tests concluded that during the Quintassic, almost all of north east Eldham was separated from other landmasses, this helped scientists propose the theory that dinosaurs simply failed in these lands and were outcompeted by animals like Suchitherium and it's cousins.
==== Body Posture ====
There is much debate on how Suchitherium pburadius positioned itself in life, the most commonly accepted answer is that it converged on the familiar stance of Venatopod dinosaurs, due to the similar torso anatomy, however some people think that it would have stood with its neck and ribs closer to the ground, slouching like its other bipedal cousins in the same order, despite seemingly being built for an upright posture. This fundamental difference in anatomy from any other known Pseudosuchian specimen allowed scientists to place it within its own family dubbed "Suchitheridae."
==== Diet and Ecology ====
Suchitherium pburadius is believed to have been an apex predator, hunting down prey that was too slow or weak to fight back, these included small therapsids, dicynodonts, and off-guard pterosaurs. Specimens of Suchitherium have included hair or scales, although this has only been observed in particularly well preserved specimens.
Category:Animals
Category:Fauna
Category:Traveler's Era