Rhinesuchus (meaning "rasp crocodile" for the ridged surface texture on its skull bones) is a large temnospondyl. Remains of the genus are known from the Permian of the South AfricanKaroo Basin's Tapinocephalus and Cistecephalus assemblage zones, both belonging to the Beaufort Group. The skull of Rhinesuchus had a flat triangular shape with blunt snout similar to some of the other large temnospondyls, and had a palate filled with small sharp teeth, suggesting that it hunted fish. Also, the small eyes were on top of the head suggesting that it approached its prey from below.
The name Rhinesuchus comes from Greek ῥίνη (rhinē) "file, rasp" plus σούχος (soukhos) "crocodile" for the skull surface texture: "The upper cranial bones are ornamented by a rather fine reticulation of sharp ridges".[1] (The name does not mean "nose crocodile" (as if from Greek rhis, rhinos "nose") or refer to the Rhine River in Germany.)
Descriptionedit
Restoration of Rhinesuchus
Rhinesuchus whaitsi probably reached a mass of 100 kg.[2] Counts of lines of arrested growth (LAG) indicate that like many amphibians, Rhinesuchus grew seasonally and was able to live more than 30 years. They also indicate that Rhinesuchus was able to sustain prolonged periods of stress, either climatic or nutritional, and that portions of its skeleton may have experienced more sustained growth.[3]
Taxonomyedit
The type species is Rhinesuchus whaitsi. Two more species, R. africanus and R. wadiai, are considered to be nomina dubia. R. broomianus and R. beaufortensis have been synonymized with R. whaitsi, while R. capensis has been moved out of the genus into Rhinesuchoides. Muchocephalus has also been synonymized with R. whaitsi.[4]
The first rhinesuchid from outside southern Africa was described as Rhinesuchus wolgodvinensis (Yacovlev, 1916). The specimen, collected from Early Triassic beds from Russia, was considered the first Rhinesuchus from the Triassic, although currently it is considered, instead, a wetlugasaurid.[4]
Referencesedit
^Broom, R. (1908). "On a new Labyrinthodont Rhinesuchus whaitsi from the Permian beds of South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 4: 373–376.
^. palaeos.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008.
^McHugh, J.B. (2014). "Paleohistology and histovariability of the Permian stereospondyl Rhinesuchus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (1): 59–68. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.787429.
^ abMariscano, C.A.; Latimer, E.; Rubidge, B.; Smith, R.M.H. (2017). "The Rhinesuchidae and early history of the Stereospondyli (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) at the end of the Palaeozoic". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlw032.
^E. M. Latimer, P. J. Hancox, B. S. Rubidge, M. A. Shishkin, and J. W. Kitching (2002). "The temnospondyl amphibian Uranocentrodon, another victim of the end-Permian extinction event". South African Journal of Science. 98 (3–4): 191.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
rhinesuchus, meaning, rasp, crocodile, ridged, surface, texture, skull, bones, large, temnospondyl, remains, genus, known, from, permian, south, african, karoo, basin, tapinocephalus, cistecephalus, assemblage, zones, both, belonging, beaufort, group, skull, f. Rhinesuchus meaning rasp crocodile for the ridged surface texture on its skull bones is a large temnospondyl Remains of the genus are known from the Permian of the South African Karoo Basin s Tapinocephalus and Cistecephalus assemblage zones both belonging to the Beaufort Group The skull of Rhinesuchus had a flat triangular shape with blunt snout similar to some of the other large temnospondyls and had a palate filled with small sharp teeth suggesting that it hunted fish Also the small eyes were on top of the head suggesting that it approached its prey from below RhinesuchusTemporal range Guadalupian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NRestoration of RhinesuchusScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataOrder TemnospondyliSuborder StereospondyliFamily RhinesuchidaeGenus RhinesuchusBroom 1908Type species Rhinesuchus whaitsiBroom 1908Synonyms R beaufortensis Boonstra 1940 R broomianus von Huene 1931 Muchocephalus muchos Watson 1962 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Description 3 Taxonomy 4 References 5 Further readingEtymology edit nbsp Rhinesuchus skull in situThe name Rhinesuchus comes from Greek ῥinh rhine file rasp plus soyxos soukhos crocodile for the skull surface texture The upper cranial bones are ornamented by a rather fine reticulation of sharp ridges 1 The name does not mean nose crocodile as if from Greek rhis rhinos nose or refer to the Rhine River in Germany Description edit nbsp Restoration of RhinesuchusRhinesuchus whaitsi probably reached a mass of 100 kg 2 Counts of lines of arrested growth LAG indicate that like many amphibians Rhinesuchus grew seasonally and was able to live more than 30 years They also indicate that Rhinesuchus was able to sustain prolonged periods of stress either climatic or nutritional and that portions of its skeleton may have experienced more sustained growth 3 Taxonomy editThe type species is Rhinesuchus whaitsi Two more species R africanus and R wadiai are considered to be nomina dubia R broomianus and R beaufortensis have been synonymized with R whaitsi while R capensis has been moved out of the genus into Rhinesuchoides Muchocephalus has also been synonymized with R whaitsi 4 Rhinesuchus major Broom 1911 from the Free State was later synonymized with Uranocentrodon senekalensis 5 The first rhinesuchid from outside southern Africa was described as Rhinesuchus wolgodvinensis Yacovlev 1916 The specimen collected from Early Triassic beds from Russia was considered the first Rhinesuchus from the Triassic although currently it is considered instead a wetlugasaurid 4 References edit Broom R 1908 On a new Labyrinthodont Rhinesuchus whaitsi from the Permian beds of South Africa Annals of the South African Museum 4 373 376 Rhinesuchids amp Capitosaurs palaeos com Archived from the original on November 6 2008 McHugh J B 2014 Paleohistology and histovariability of the Permian stereospondyl Rhinesuchus Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34 1 59 68 doi 10 1080 02724634 2013 787429 a b Mariscano C A Latimer E Rubidge B Smith R M H 2017 The Rhinesuchidae and early history of the Stereospondyli Amphibia Temnospondyli at the end of the Palaeozoic Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society doi 10 1093 zoolinnean zlw032 E M Latimer P J Hancox B S Rubidge M A Shishkin and J W Kitching 2002 The temnospondyl amphibian Uranocentrodon another victim of the end Permian extinction event South African Journal of Science 98 3 4 191 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Further reading edit nbsp Paleontology portalS H Haughton 1925 Investigations in South African fossil reptiles and amphibians Part 13 Annals of the South African Museum 22 227 261 R Schoch and A R Milner 2000 Stereospondyli Handbuch der Palaoherpetologie Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology 3B 1 203 R J Damiani and B S Rubidge 2003 A review of the South African temnospondyl amphibian record Palaeontologia africana 39 21 36 nbsp This Temnospondyli related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article related to a Permian animal is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rhinesuchus amp oldid 1212629611, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
