The postcranial skeleton of the erythrosuchid archosauriform Garjainia prima from the Early Triassic of European Russia

Erythrosuchidae were large-bodied, quadrupedal, predatory archosauriforms that dominated the hypercarnivorous niche in the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. , one of the oldest members of the clade, is known from the late Olenekian of European Russia. The holotype of comprises a well-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Royal Society open science Vol. 7; no. 12; p. 201089
Main Authors:	Maidment, Susannah C R, Sennikov, Andrey G, Ezcurra, Martín D, Dunne, Emma M, Gower, David J, Hedrick, Brandon P, Meade, Luke E, Raven, Thomas J, Paschchenko, Dmitriy I, Butler, Richard J
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England The Royal Society 01-12-2020
Subjects:	erythrosuchidae Organismal and Evolutionary Biology osteology permo-triassic mass extinction vjushkovia triplicostata Permo-Triassic mass extinction osteology Vjushkovia triplicostata Erythrosuchidae
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Summary:	Erythrosuchidae were large-bodied, quadrupedal, predatory archosauriforms that dominated the hypercarnivorous niche in the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. , one of the oldest members of the clade, is known from the late Olenekian of European Russia. The holotype of comprises a well-preserved skull, but highly incomplete postcranium. Recent taxonomic reappraisal demonstrates that material from a bone bed found close to the type locality, previously referred to as ' ', is referable to At least, seven individuals comprising cranial remains and virtually the entire postcranium are represented, and we describe this material in detail for the first time. An updated phylogenetic analysis confirms previous results that a monophyletic is the sister taxon to a clade containing and . Muscle scars on many limb elements are clear, allowing reconstruction of the proximal locomotor musculature. We calculate the body mass of to have been 147-248 kg, similar to that of an adult male lion. Large body size in erythrosuchids may have been attained as part of a trend of increasing body size after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction and allowed erythrosuchids to become the dominant carnivores of the Early and Middle Triassic.
Bibliography:	Electronic supplementary material is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5221451.
ISSN:	2054-5703 2054-5703
DOI:	10.1098/rsos.201089