Archeopelta

Name: Archeopelta ‭(‬Ancient shield‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ar-kay-o-pel-tah.
Named By: J.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Desojo,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Ezcurra‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Schultz‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Archosauriformes, Erpetosuchidae.
Species: A.‭ ‬arborensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly about 2 meters long.
Known locations: Brazil,‭ ‬Santa Maria Formation.
Time period: Ladinian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Braincase and partial skeleton.

       Archeopelta was a quadrupedal low slung reptile with a build similar to that of a crocodile.‭ ‬Archeopelta also would have had armoured scutes protecting its body in a similar manner to a crocodile.‭ ‬‭ A predator of smaller animals,‭ the armour may have protected them from rauisuchians and the early ancestors of the dinosaurs.

Further reading
-‭ ‬An unusual new archosauriform from the Middle–Late Triassic of southern Brazil and the monophyly of Doswelliidae,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Desojo,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Ezcurra‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Schultz‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.
- Doswelliidae: a clade of unusual armoured archosauriforms from the Middle and Late Triassic. - Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 379 (1): 49–58. - Hans-Dieter Sues, Julia B. Desojo & Martin D. Ezcurra - 2013
- Deep faunistic turnovers preceded the rise of dinosaurs in southwestern Pangaea. - Nature Ecology & Evolution. 1 (10): 1477–1483. - Mart�n D. Ezcurra, Lucas E. Fiorelli, Agust�n G. Martinelli, Sebasti�n Rocher, M. Bel�n von Baczko, Miguel Ezpeleta, Jerem�as R. A. Taborda, E. Mart�n Hechenleitner, M. Jimena Trotteyn & Julia B. Desojo - 2017.



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