Name: Koolasuchus
(Kool's crocodile).
Phonetic: Cool-ah-su-kus.
Named By: Warren et al - 1997.
Classification: Chordata, Amphibia, Temnospondyli,
Stereospondyli, Chigutisauridae.
Species: K. cleelandi (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 4-5 meters long.
Known locations: Australia, Victoria, Wonthaggi
Formation.
Time period: Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Skull fragments and partial
post cranial remains including ribs and vertebrae.
Koolasuchus
is a good example of a late surviving temnospondyl. Most of the other
members of this group had been long extinct by the time of the Aptian,
but Koolasuchus had managed to hang on in the
cooler climate of what
would become Australia. However when the climate warmed, crocodiles
that were becoming increasingly common were able to move into the area.
It is thought that crocodiles out competed Koolasuchus
as the top
aquatic predators leading to its ultimate demise.
Koolasuchus
was named after
the palaeontologist Lesley Kool, whereas the tye species is named after
the geologist Mike Cleeland.
Further reading
- The last, last labyrinthodonts?. - Palaeontographica A 247: 1–24. -
A. A. Warren, P. V. Rich & T. H. Rich - 1997.
- A giant brachyopoid temnospondyl from the Upper Triassic or Lower
Jurassic of Lesotho. - Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France 176
(3): 243–248 - J. S. Steyer & R. Damiani - 2005.
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