STL Science Center

STL Science Center

11 April 2014

Allow Me To Continue

The past few weeks there have not been any dinosaurs here. There was a plesiosaur and then an early crocodilian and now, this week, there is an archosaur of wonderful proportions. A suggested herbivore with offensive/defensive structures on its shoulders (we know by now that this occurs over and over in the history of evolution) and significantly evident dorsal plating, this Aetosaur is unearthed fairly regularly in the central region of North America consisting of a swath of land from Arizona to Texas. The Late Triassic genus Desmatosuchus (Link Crocodile) was not a crocodile, but is certainly an archosaur with a commanding presence. The genus contains three recognized species: D. haplocerus (Cope, 1892), D. spurensis Case, 1921 (type), and D. smalli Parker, 2005.
Petrified Forest National Park

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