Doswellia
Name: Doswellia
(after Doswell).
Phonetic: Dos-wel-le-ah.
Named By: R. E. Weems - 1980.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Archosauriformes, Doswelliidae.
Species: D. kaltenbachi
(type), D. sixmilensis.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Up to 2 meters long.
Known locations: USA, including New Mexico,
Texas, Utah & Virginia.
Time period: Carnian to Norian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Many individuals.
Doswellia
was a two meter long reptile that had an elongated body that was
protected by a covering of bony scutes in a similar manner to a
crocodile. Doswellia had a triangular shaped
skull when viewed from
above, the snout being much narrower than the posterior regions of
the skull. The skull of Doswellia also identifies
it as a euryapsid,
a member of the Euryapsida, a group of reptiles similar to
diapsids, but where the lower temporal fenestra has closed in on
itself. These reptiles became quite common in the past with members
including plesiosaurs and the placodonts, though today there are no
known surviving members of this group. Doswellia
has in the past been
considered as uncertain in its ecological role, though it has often
been mentioned as a predator of small animals. The narrow snout of
Doswellia would have been of particular use for
reaching into crevices
to pluck out hiding prey.
Doswellia
is the type genus of the Doswelliidae, a group of archosauriforms
that also includes Archeopelta
and Tarjadia.
Further reading
- An unusual newly discovered archosaur from the Upper Triassic of
Virginia, U.S.A. - R. E. Weems - 1980.
- A new species of the enigmatic archosauromorph Doswellia
from the
Upper Triassic Bluewater Creek Formation, New Mexico,,USA. -
Andrew
B. Heckert, Spencer G.Lucas & Justin A.Spielmann -
2012.
- Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of Doswellia
kaltenbachi(Diapsida: Archosauriformes) from the Upper
Triassic of
Virginia. - D. Dilkes & H. D. Sues - 2009.
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