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Reconstitution of the artist of two Rauisuchiens fighting for the dried corpse of a mammal parent in the Triassic of Southern Africa. In the background, dinosaurs and mammalian reptiles form other parts of the ecosystem. Credit: Viktor Radermacher
The Rauisuchiens fed on vegetarian dinosaurs according to Rick Tolchard, a Wits student.
Gigantic, fang-like predators that lived during the Triassic Period in southern Africa were feeding on the first dinosaurs and their mammals 210 million years ago. According to Rick Tolchard, a Wits Masters student, these predators, known as "rauisuchians," ate primitive herbivorous dinosaurs and their mammal relatives living at the time.
"These ancient fossils provide us with evidence of how at least two species of predators hunted these vegetarian dinosaurs 210 million years ago. It's amazing to follow the clues left in the teeth, jaws, limbs and other fossilized fossils to help us tell the ancient story of life in southern Africa, "Tolchard said.
The fossils studied by Tolchard include teeth, jaw pieces, hind limbs and bulletproof vests, all of which can be described as parts of Rauisuchiens.
Rick Tolchard studies Rauisuchiens at the Geological Survey of Namibia. Credit: Helke Mocke
The Rauisuchiens are closely related to crocodiles as we know them today. They had a variety of body shapes and sizes during the Triassic Period. The specimens described in this research include some of the largest carnivorous members of this group, which could measure up to 10 meters long, with huge skulls full of curved and curved teeth.
The study, published online in the Journal of Earth Sciences in Africa last week, shows that the Rauisuchiens were among the last survivors of their group and that, when they were alive, they prospered near the Antarctic Circle – the theoretical limit of their physiology.
Example of rauisuchiennes teeth in the collections of Wits. Credit: Wits University
"At the time of the Triassic, Rauisuchiens were widespread and their fossils were known to all continents except Antarctica," said Tolchard. "They died out about 200 million years ago, paving the way for dinosaurs to become the dominant land animals."
"Rick's study demonstrates the value of re-examining old specimens and we finally know what all these herbivorous dinosaurs were attacking!" Says Rick's professor Jonah Choiniere, a professor of paleobiology compared to Wits Evolutionary Studies. Institute.
Tolchard has studied fossils from collections at the University of the Witwatersrand, the South African Museum of Iziko and the National Museum of Bloemfontein. An international team consisting of researchers from the United States, Argentina and the United Kingdom is joining the research.
Reference: "Hardware & # 39; Rauisuchian & # 39; of the lower Elliot Formation in South Africa and Lesotho: implications for biogeography and biostratigraphy of the Late Triassic "by Frederick Tolchard, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Julia B. Desojo, Pia Vigliettie, Richard J. Butler, and Jonah N. Choiniere, August 27, 2019, Journal of Earth Sciences in Africa.
DOI: 10.1016 / j.jafrearsci.2019.103610
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