Are Phytosaurs crocodiles?

Is a phytosaur a dinosaur?

phytosaur, heavily armoured semiaquatic reptiles found as fossils from the Late Triassic Period (about 229 million to 200 million years ago). Phytosaurs were not dinosaurs; rather both groups were archosaurs, a larger grouping that also includes crocodiles and pterosaurs (flying reptiles).

Are there any phytosaurs in South Africa?

Looking a lot like modern crocodiles, their fossils are well known from North America and Europe, as well as Morocco, Brazil, Madagascar and India. But despite southern Africa containing ample rocks from the right age and plenty of Triassic fossil sites, the remains of phytosaurs have been conspicuously absent from this region.

Why was the Phytosaurus called a plant lizard?

They evolved in the mid Triassic period and survived to the early Jurassic for unknown reasons. When Phytosaurus was first discovered in the early 1850s. The scientist that discovered them saw that its teeth were blunt and serrated like plant eaters so he gave it the name Phytosaurus which means plant lizard.

Is phytosaur a type of crocodile?

Phytosaurs are generally regarded as the most basal group of Crurotarsi, a clade of archosaurs that includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives. Phytosaurs are often excluded from a clade called Suchia, which usually encompasses all other crurotarsans, including aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and crocodylomorphs.

When did phytosaur live?

Phytosaur, heavily armoured semiaquatic reptiles found as fossils from the Late Triassic Period (about 229 million to 200 million years ago).

How are crocodiles and phytosaurs similar?

Like crocodiles, they had several rows of bony armour embedded in the skin along the back. The nostrils in the phytosaurs were set on a crest high on the skull in front of the eyes; this adaptation allowed them to float just underneath the water’s surface, with only the nostrils protruding above it.

What did phytosaurs look like?

Phytosaurs were long-snouted and heavily armoured, bearing a remarkable resemblance to modern crocodilians in size, appearance, and lifestyle, as an example of convergence or parallel evolution. The name “phytosaur” means “plant reptile”, as the first fossils of phytosaurs were mistakenly thought to belong to plant eaters.

What kind of animal is a phytosaur?

Phytosaurs belong to the family Phytosauridae and the order Phytosauria. Phytosauria and Phytosauridae are often considered to be equivalent groupings containing the same species, but some studies have identified non-phytosaurid phytosaurians.

What was the first phytosaur species known to science?

The first phytosaur species known to science was named Phytosaurus cylindricodon – “plant lizard with cylindrical teeth” – by G. Jaeger in 1828 because he mistakenly believed that petrified mud fillings in the jaw were herbivore teeth. The specimen is too poor to be diagnostic, and this species name is no longer valid.

What kind of lizards live in South Africa?

List of lizards of South Africa 1 Agama armata 2 Bibron’s thick-toed gecko 3 Broadley’s flat lizard 4 Cape dwarf gecko 5 Cape flat lizard 6 Cape grass lizard 7 Common flat lizard 8 Dwarf flat lizard 9 Hemicordylus 10 Lebombo flat lizard More items…

What is a phytosaur?

Phytosaurs are a group of extinct semi-aquatic animals that thrived during the Late Triassic. While superficially they look similar to crocodiles as they played a similar role in the environment, they are far more ancient. It is thought that phytosaurs evolved before dinosaurs and crocodiles separated.

How widely distributed were phytosaurs?

The first evidence of crocodile-like phytosaurs from southern Africa shows that the animals were far more widely distributed than previously thought. The Late Triassic Period (237-201 million years ago) was a time of great diversity.

What does †† Termatosaurus stand for?

† Termatosaurus? Phytosaurs (Φυτόσαυροι in greek) are an extinct group of large, mostly semiaquatic Late Triassic archosauriform reptiles. Phytosaurs belong to the family Phytosauridae and the order Phytosauria.

What is the phytosaur’s name?

The name “phytosaur” means “plant reptile”, as the first fossils of phytosaurs were mistakenly thought to belong to plant eaters. The name is misleading because the sharp teeth in phytosaur jaws clearly show that they were predators .

How is a phytosaur different from a crocodile?

For one thing, the phytosaur ankle structure is much more primitive than that of any crocodile. Also, phytosaurs lack the bony secondary palate that enables crocodiles to breathe even when the mouth is full of water. However, it is possible that phytosaurs had a fleshy palate, as many Mesozoic crocodiles are presumed to have had.

How many species are there in South Africa?

South Africa is home to some 24 000 species, around 7% of the world’s vertebrate species, and 5,5% of the world’s known insect species (only about half of the latter have been described).

Which South African aquariums have the most reptiles?

The aquarium at uShaka Marine World in Durban incorporates both fresh and sea-water species. The Port Elizabeth Snake Park at Bayworld has a wide variety of South African and foreign reptiles. The Aquarium and Reptile Park at the NZG in Pretoria houses 80 reptile species from all over the world.

What kind of animal was the first phytosaur?

When the first phytosaur fossils were found, it was not immediately obvious what kind of animal/species they were. The first phytosaur species known to science was named Phytosaurus cylindricodon – “plant lizard with cylindrical teeth” – by G. Jaeger in 1828 because he mistakenly believed that petrified mud fillings in the jaw were herbivore teeth.

What was the first reptile to evolve?

Some paleontologists argue that the phytosaurs (“plant reptiles”), also known as parasuchians, were the first lineage to evolve; they were semiaquatic and possessed extended snouts similar to those found in modern gavials. Phytosaurs were so named because petrified mud filled in the grooves and leveled the teeth of the first fossil specimen.

What is the difference between Crocodilia and Testudines?

On the other hand, reptiles have three main categories Crocodilia, Squamata, Testudines, Rhynchocephalia. Crocodilia includes crocodiles and alligators. Squamata includes lizards, snake. Testudines includes all turtles.

Where are phytosaur fossils found?

Phytosaur fossils occur in North America, Europe, and India, but their remains have not been found in the southern continents. Familiar genera include Phytosaurus, Belodon, and Rutiodon, which was more than 3 metres (10 feet) long and whose skull alone measured about 1 metre.

What did phytosaurs eat?

You might guess from their name that phytosaurs were vegetarians, but in fact, these reptiles subsisted on fish and marine organisms in freshwater lakes and rivers worldwide. Among the most noteworthy phytosaurs were Rutiodon and Mystriosuchus .

What did dinosaurs look like?

Dinosaurs were clearly lizards, the reasoning went, and so they must have looked like lizards as well. For over a century afterward, well into the 1950s, dinosaurs continued to be depicted (in movies, books, magazines, and TV shows) as greenish, scaly, reptilian giants.

Where do flat lizards live in Africa?

The Augrabies Flat Lizard, also known as Broadley’s Flat Lizard, is endemic to South Africa. It ranges from the Augrabies Falls and Pella to the North Cape in South Africa. Their habitats are rocky savannas. The backs of females and juveniles are dark brown, with three thick cream stripes on the back.

What kind of lizard is a flat lizard?

A multicolored Augrabies Flat Lizard. There are over 350 species of reptiles in South Africa, a country along the southern tip of Africa and flanked by the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Reptiles are cold-blooded vertebrates of the Class Reptilia, and include lizards, snakes, crocodiles, tortoises, chameleons, and turtles.