Tematica Animali preistorici

Proterosuchus fergusi Broom, 1903

Phylum: Chordata Haeckel, 1874

Subphylum: Vertebrata Cuvier, 1812

Classe: Reptilia Laurenti, 1768

Ordine: Archosauriformes Gauthier, 1986

Famiglia: Proterosuchidae von Huene, 1914

Genere: Proterosuchus Broom, 1903

Specie e sottospecie

Il genere annovera attualmente le seguenti specie: Proterosuchus yuani (Young, 1936) - Proterosuchus alexanderi - Proterosuchus goweri.

Descrizione

Il proterosuco è il più antico tecodonte ben noto. Assomigliava a un coccodrillo attuale e probabilmente si comportava in modo analogo. Gli arti robusti avevano 5 dita e si dipartivano orizzontalmente dai lati del corpo, quindi l'animale si spostava strisciando come una lucertola. Pur essendo in grado di camminare sul terreno, trascorreva molto tempo nei fiumi dove nuotava inseguendo i pesci, sue prede, con movimenti serpeggianti del corpo e della lunga coda. Denti affilati e curvi all'indietro, ognuno alloggiato in un alveo poco profondo, erano presenti su mandibola e mascella; quest'ultima era decisamente incurvata verso il basso all'estremità. Aveva denti anche sul palato, una caratteristica primitiva che non si riscontra nei tecodonti successivi. Poteva raggiungere una lunghezza di 2 m.

Diffusione

Rettile arcosauromorfo della famiglia dei Proterosuchidi, vissuto in Africa (Sudafrica) e in Asia (Cina) nel Triassico inferiore.

Sinonimi

= Chasmatosaurus Haughton, 1924 = Elaphrosuchus Broom, 1946.

Bibliografia

–Sullivan, Corwin (2015). "Evolution of hind limb posture in Triassic archosauriforms". In Dial, Kenneth P.; Shubin, Neil; Brainerd, Elizabeth L. (eds.). Great Transformations in Vertebrate Evolution. University of Chicago Press.
–Ezcurra, Martín D.; Butler, Richard J. (2015). "Taxonomy of the proterosuchid archosauriforms (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the earliest Triassic of South Africa, and implications for the early archosauriform radiation". Palaeontology. 58 (1): 141-170.
–Julia Brenda Desojo, Randall B. Irmis, Sterling J. Nesbitt (2013). Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and Their Kin. Geological Society. p. 20.
–Thornley, A. L. (1970). "Epidermal remnants of Proterosuchus vanhoepeni". Palaeontologia Africana. 13: 57-60.
–Butler, Richard J.; Sennikov, Andrey G.; Dunne, Emma M.; Ezcurra, Martin D.; Hedrick, Brandon P.; Maidment, Susannah C. R.; Meade, Luke E.; Raven, Thomas J.; Gower, David J. (2019). "Cranial anatomy and taxonomy of the erythrosuchid archosauriform 'Vjushkovia triplicostata' Huene, 1960, from the Early Triassic of European Russia". Royal Society Open Science. 6 (11): 191289.
–Charig, Alan J.; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Charig, Alan J.; Krebs, Bernard; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Westphal, Frank (1976). "Suborder Proterosuchia Broom 1906b". In Oskar Kuhn (ed.). Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie: Teil 13: Thecodontia (1st ed.). Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag. pp. 11-39.
–Ezcurra, Martín D. (2017). "Can social and sexual selection explain the bizarre snout of proterosuchid archosauriforms?". Historical Biology. 29 (3): 348-358.
–Ezcurra, Martín D.; Butler, Richard J. (2015). "Post-hatchling cranial ontogeny in the Early Triassic diapsid reptile Proterosuchus fergusi". Journal of Anatomy. 226 (5): 387-402.
–Welman, J. (1998). "The taxonomy of the South African proterosuchids (Reptilia, Archosauromorpha)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 18 (2): 340-347.
–Ezcurra, Martín D. (2016). "The phylogenetic relationships of basal archosauromorphs, with an emphasis on the systematics of proterosuchian archosauriforms". PeerJ. 4: e1778.
–Pinheiro, Felipe L.; de Simão-Oliveira, Daniel; Butler, Richard J. (2019). "Osteology of the archosauromorph Teyujagua paradoxa and the early evolution of the archosauriform skull". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 189: 378-417.
–Nesbitt, Sterling J. (2011). "The early evolution of archosaurs: relationships and the origin of major clades". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 352: 1-292.
–Ezcurra, Martín D.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Sengupta, Dhurjati P.; Sen, Kasturi; Sennikov, Andrey G.; Sookias, Roland B.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Butler, Richard J. (25 October 2023). "A new archosauriform species from the Panchet Formation of India and the diversification of Proterosuchidae after the end-Permian mass extinction". Royal Society Open Science. 10 (10).
–Broom, R. (1903). "On a new reptile (Proterosuchus fergusi) from the Karroo beds of Tarkastad, South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 4: 159-164.
–Hoffmann, A.C. (1965). "On the discovery of a new thecodont from the Middle Beaufort Beds". Researches of the National Museum, Bloemfontein. 2: 33-40.
–Huxley, Thomas H. (1865). "On a collection of vertebrate fossils from the Panchet Rocks, Ranigunj, Bengal". Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India.
–Charig, A. J.; Reig, O. A. (1970). "The classification of the Proterosuchia". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 2 (2): 125-171.
–Haughton, S.H. (1924). "On a new type of thecodont from the Middle Beaufort Beds". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 11: 93-97.
–Young, C. C. (1936). "On a new Chasmatosaurus from Sinkiang". Bulletin of the Geological Society of China. 15 (3): 291-311.
–Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Flynn, John J.; Pritchard, Adam C.; Parrish, J. Michael; Ranivoharimanana, Lovasoa; Wyss, André R. (2015). "Postcranial osteology of Azendohsaurus madagaskarensis (?Middle to Upper Triassic, Isalo Group, Madagascar) and its systematic position among stem archosaur reptiles". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 398: 1-126.
–Broom, R. (1946). "A new primitive proterosuchid reptile". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 20: 343-346.
–Young, C.-C. (1964). "The pseudosuchians in China". Palaeontologia Sinica, New Series C. 151 (19): 1-205.
–Liu, Jun; Butler, Richard; Sullivan, Corwin; Ezcurra, Martin (2015). "'Chasmatosaurus ultimus,' a putative proterosuchid archosauriform from the Middle Triassic, is an indeterminate crown archosaur". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (5): -965779.
–Ezcurra, Martín D.; Butler, Richard J.; Gower, David J. (2013). "'Proterosuchia': the origin and early history of Archosauriformes". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 379 (1): 9-33.

	Data: 01/12/2011 Emissione: Animali preistorici Stato: Burundi Nota: Emesso in un foglietto di 4 v. diversi

	Data: 01/08/1999 Emissione: Animali preistorici Stato: Gambia

	Data: 31/10/2012 Emissione: Coccodrilli estinti Stato: Guinea-Bissau

	Data: 01/12/2011 Emissione: Animali preistorici Stato: Burundi