Rekonstrukcja czaszki Tatrasuchus kulczyckii Maryańska et Szyszkin, 1996  (A. oryginalna praca, B. na podstawie Sulej 2009).

Diagnoza

Skull broad (breadth to length ratio 0.80). Nares close together (breadth of naris to the minimum internarial breadth ratio about 0.50). Postorbital bears anterolateral projection. Otic notch semiclosed, with its long axis directed anterolateral^. Tabular horn stretched mediolaterally. Posterior and medial borders of the squamosal paratympanic flange form a 90° angle. Dorsal and paroccipital processes of exoccipital set close together, indistinctly separated, expanded rostrocaudally and sloped up and forward; subotic process strongly reduced. Choanae moderately elongated (breadth of choana to its length: 0.45). Muscular cristae of parasphenoid well in front of parasphenoid hind border. Lower jaw wide and shallow in front of articular joint; side walls of adductor fossa nearly equal in depth. Retroarticular process narrow in top view, with its dorsal surface sloped back and downwards. Lingual surface of prearticular subdivided into two nearly separated parts. Hypocentra rhachitomous, poorly ossified.

Porównanie

New genus differs from Cyclotosaurus Fraas in all characters of skull and vertebrae listed in diagnosis. Possible distinctions may also include the lack of both exoccipital-pterygoid suture and expansion of pterygoid forward, beyond the level of conical recess. Position of quadrates with respect to occipital condyles seems to be more caudal in Tatrasuchus.

Autekologia

Full aquatic predator, food: fishes.

Występowanie geograficzne

Tatra Mountains

Zasięg czasowy

Middle Triassic

Materiały muzealne

Fragments of skull and mandible

Literatura

KOTAŃSKI Z. 1996 –– History of discovery and age of labyrinthodont remains in the Tatra Mts., Poland. Pr. Muz. Ziemi, 43: 47–52.

MARYAŃSKA. T. & SZYSZKIN. M.A. 1996 –– New cyclotosaurid (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) from the Middle Triassic of Poland and some problems of interrelationships of capitosauroids. Pr. Muz. Ziemi, 43: 53–83.

RUTA M., PISANI D., LLOYD G.T. & BENTON M.J. 2007 –– A supertree of Temnospondyli: cladogenetic patterns in the most species-rich group of early tetrapods. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B — Biol. Sc., 274: 3087–3095.

SCHOCH R.R. 1997 — A new capitosaur amphibian from the Upper Letten-Keuper (Triassic: Ladinian) of Kupferzell (Southern Germany). N. Jahrb. Geol. Paläontol. Abh., 203: 239–272.

SCHOCH R.R. & MILNER. A.R. 2000 — Stereospondyli. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie Teil 3B. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München.

SCHOCH R.R. 2008 — The Capitosauria (Amphibia): characters, phylogeny, and stratigraphy. Palaeodiversity, 1: 189–226.

SULEJ, T. 2009. Modyfikacja rekonstrukcji czaszki triasowego płaza Tatrasuchus z Tatr na podstawie interpretacji jego pokrewieństw. Przegląd Geologiczny 57, 719-722.