Thalattoarchon
Name:
Thalattoarchon
(Sea sovereign).
Phonetic: Fal-lat-o-ar-kon.
Named By: N. B. Fr�bisch, J. R.
Fr�bisch, P. M. Sander, L. Schmitz & O.
Rieppel - 2013.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Ichthyosauria, Merriamosauria.
Species: T. saurophagis
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: At least 8.6 meters long, possibly
larger.
Known locations: USA, Nevada - Favret
Formation - Fossil Hill Member.
Time period: Anisian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Skull, most of the spine,
pelvis and partial rear limbs.
Thalattoarchon
was a genus of primitive ichthyosaur
that stands out as one of the
earliest marine reptiles to be an apex predator of large aquatic
organisms. What this means is that rather than focusing upon small
prey like shoaling fish and squid like smaller ichthyosaurs,
Thalattoarchon most probably hunted the smaller
ichthyosaurs
themselves as well as probably nothosaurs
and other large aquatic
creatures approaching Thalattoarchon itself in size.
There
are two main clues about the presumed lifestyle of Thalattoarchon,
the first is the immense size of the skull. In terms of body
proportions, Thalattoarchon has been considered
to have been similar
to another ichthyosaur named Cymbospondylus
in physical proportions,
with the clear exception of the skull, which in Thalattoarchon
is
twice the size of Cymbospondylus. Second, the
teeth of
Thalattoarchon are large, flattened and have
cutting edges on the
front and rear. These are not the teeth of a piscivore (fish
eater) since predators that hunt fish usually have thin needle-like
teeth to pierce the slippery skin and scales of fish. The teeth of
Thalattoarchon instead were supremely adapted to
slicing through the
flesh and muscle of other marine reptiles.
The
teeth of Thalattoarchon have also given
additionally credence to other
large early Triassic ichhthyosaur genera. One example is the
potentially colossal Himalayasaurus
which in the past has been
considered to be a dubious genus of ichthyosaur. Himalayasaurus
was
noted as being unusual because of the shape of the teeth, which are
similar to those of Thalattoarchon, but with
additional grooves of
the tooth crowns. The tooth crowns of Thalattoarchon
are smooth.
There is little doubt that Thalattoarchon was a major predator of its day, but Earth’s history is full of large oceanic predators. A very short selection of them can be seen here on Top Ten Marine Predators.
Further reading
- Macropredatory ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic and the origin
of modern trophic networks - Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences - N. B. Fr�bisca, J. R. Fr�bisch, P. M.
Sander, L. Schmitz, O. Rieppel - 2013.
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