Gracilisuchus

Name: Gracilisuchus ‭(‬Graceful crocodile‭)‬.
Phonetic: Gras-sil-e-soo-kus.
Named By: Alfred S.‭ ‬Romer‭ ‬-‭ ‬1972.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Archosauria,‭ ‬Pseudosuchia,‭ ‬Suchia,‭ ‬Gracilisuchidae.
Species: G.‭ ‬stipanicicorum‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Insectivore‭?
Size: Skull‭ ‬9‭ ‬centimetres long,‭ ‬partial remains of the post cranial skeleton combined with skull yield a length of up‭ ‬28‭ ‬centimetres for the preserved elements of the holotype.‭ ‬Full length roughly estimated at about‭ ‬60+‭ ‬centimetres.
Known locations: Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cha�ares Formation.
Time period: Anisian to Ladinian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Holotype based upon a skull‭ ‬and partially preserved anterior portion of the skeleton.‭ ‬Note‭*‬-‭ ‬many fossils once attributed to Gracilisuchus have been moved to other genera.

       Gracilisuchus is a very‭ ‬Ancient,‭ ‬and very small relative of the crocodiles that we know today.‭ ‬Gracilisuchus however seems to have been mostly terrestrial walking‭ ‬about on four legs,‭ ‬but also having the ability to rear up and walk on just the two rear legs.‭ ‬The small size and gracile‭ (‬hence the name‭) ‬build of Gracilisuchus meant that it would have been limited to hunting only small vertebrates,‭ ‬and possibly larger invertebrates.

Further reading
-‭ ‬The Cha�ares‭ (‬Argentina‭) ‬Triassic reptile fauna.‭ ‬An early ornithosuchid pseudosuchian,‭ ‬Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum,‭ ‬gen.‭ ‬et sp.‭ ‬nov.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Breviora‭ ‬389:1-24.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Alfred S.‭ ‬Romer‭ ‬-‭ ‬1972.
-‭ ‬Hind limb osteology of Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum‭ (‬Archosauria:‭ ‬Pseudosuchia‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh‭ ‬102‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬105‭–‬128‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Lecuona‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Desojo‭ ‬-‭ ‬1972.
- Hind limb osteology of Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia)". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 102 (2): 105–128. - A. Lecuona & J. B. Desojo - 2012.
- New information on the postcranial skeleton of Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum (Archosauria: Suchia) and reappraisal of its phylogenetic position. - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 181 (3): 638–677. - A. Lecuona, J. B. Desojo & D. Pol - 2017.

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