Mystriosuchus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = [[Late Triassic]] {{fossil range|228|212}} | image = Mystriosuchus planirostris 1906.png | image_upright = 1.15 | image_caption = Skull of ''M. planirostris'' | image2 = Mystriosuchus planirostris skeletal.png | taxon = Mystriosuchus | authority = Fraas, 1896 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = *{{extinct}}'''''M. planirostris''''' ([[Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer|von Meyer]], 1863 [originally ''[[Belodon]] planirostris'']) ([[type species|type]]) *{{extinct}}'''''M. steinbergeri''''' Butler ''et al.'', 2019 *{{extinct}}'''''M. westphali''''' Hungerbuhler, 2000 *{{extinct}}'''''M. alleroq''''' López-Rojas ''et al''., 2023 }}

'''''Mystriosuchus''''' (meaning "spoon-crocodile")<ref name="Dipbsf">[http://dipbsf.uninsubria.it/paleo/mystriosuchus1.htm dipbsf.uninsubria.it Mystriosuchus planirostris description] Retrieved on May 25th, 2008.</ref> is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of [[phytosaur]] that lived in the [[Late Triassic]] (middle [[Norian]]) in [[Europe]] and [[Greenland]]. It was first named by Eberhard Fraas in 1896, and includes four [[species]]: ''M. planirostris'' (the [[type species]]), ''M. westphali'', ''M. steinbergeri'', and ''M. alleroq''.<ref name="Hungerbühler, 2002">Hungerbühler, A. 2002. The Late Triassic phytosaur ''Mystriosuchus westphali'', with a revision of the genus. ''Palaeontology'' '''45'''(2): 377-418.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=López-Rojas |first1=Víctor |last2=Clemmensen |first2=Lars B. |last3=Milàn |first3=Jesper |last4=Wings |first4=Oliver |last5=Klein |first5=Nicole |last6=Mateus |first6=Octávio |date=2023-03-24 |title=A new phytosaur species (Archosauriformes) from the Upper Triassic of Jameson Land, central East Greenland |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=42 |issue=3 |article-number=e2181086 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2023.2181086 |s2cid=257756028 |issn=0272-4634|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Description== [[File:Mystriosuchus size comparison.png|left|thumb|Size comparison of the different species]] ''Mystriosuchus planirostris'' measured about {{convert|4|m|ft|abbr=on}}, according to a complete [[skeleton]] which was found in 1995.<ref name=gozzi03>{{cite journal|last1=Gozzi|first1=E.|last2=Renesto|first2=S.A.|year=2003|title=Complete specimen of ''Mystriosuchus'' (Reptilia, Phytosauria) from the Norian (Late Triassic) of Lombardy (Northern Italy)|journal=Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia|volume=109|issue=3|pages=475–498}}</ref> The [[postcrania]]l anatomy of the skeleton suggests that ''Mystriosuchus'' was more adapted to aquatic life than other known phytosaurs, possessing shorter and more paddle-like limbs as well as just two type of osteoderms as opposed to the higher diversity of other phytosaurs.<ref name=gozzi03/> Cranial morphology is suggestive of a primarily [[piscivore|fish eating diet]], having long jaws like those of the modern [[gharial]]s.<ref name="Hungerbühler, 2002"/> Several specimens have been recovered from marine fossil sites.<ref name=gozzi03/><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/187/1/198/5487160?redirectedFrom=fulltext | doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz014 | title=Description and phylogenetic placement of a new marine species of phytosaur (Archosauriformes: Phytosauria) from the Late Triassic of Austria | year=2019 | last1=Butler | first1=Richard J. | last2=Jones | first2=Andrew S. | last3=Buffetaut | first3=Eric | last4=Mandl | first4=Gerhard W. | last5=Scheyer | first5=Torsten M. | last6=Schultz | first6=Ortwin | journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume=187 | pages=198–228 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> A study on phytosaur microwear shows a preference towards softer invertebrates.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12515|doi=10.1111/pala.12515| issn=0031-0239|title=Dietary constraints of phytosaurian reptiles revealed by dental microwear textural analysis|year=2021|last1=Bestwick|first1=Jordan|last2=Jones|first2=Andrew S.|last3=Purnell|first3=Mark A.|last4=Butler|first4=Richard J.|journal=Palaeontology|volume=64|issue=1 |pages=119–136|bibcode=2021Palgy..64..119B |s2cid=229504989|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[File:Mystriosuchus planirostris 19O6.png|thumb|Partial skull and skeleton of ''M. planirostris'']] ''M. planirostris'', as the name implies, has a rather "plain" snout, without osseous ornamentation or crests. ''M. westphali'', on the other hand, has multiple bony crests along the upper jaw, most prominently at the base and tip of the snout. As keratinous crests are known in phytosaurs,<ref>Stocker, M. R. & Butler, R. J. 2013. Phytosauria. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 379, 91-117.</ref> it is possible that ''M. planirostris'' had soft tissue ornamentation.

===Vertebrae=== [[File:Belodon planirostris scutes.JPG|thumb|250px|''M. planirostris'' [[scute]]s]] ''Mystriosuchus'' possesses many [[vertebrae]], with 25 in the neck and torso, two in the [[pelvis]], and 74 in the tail. The vertebral column is complete and nearly all articulated, although a portion of the tail can only be seen from top view. The vertebrae behind the [[axis (vertebra)|axis vertebra]] are [[wikt:platycoel|platycoelous]] (one surface flat and one concave), and are approximately rectangular in shape. Because of incomplete preservation, it can't be distinguished where the neck meets the torso, although at least 17 of the 25 vertebrae come from the latter. The trunk vertebrae are lower and wider than the neck vertebrae, but are still lightly built. The pelvic vertebrae have wide ribs which attach to the [[ilium (bone)|ilium]] (largest pelvis bone). The tail is longer than the rest of the body, being 51% of the total length of the taxon. The first 17 vertebrae of the tail are similar to those of the neck and trunk, being platycoelous and subrectangular. [[Chevron (anatomy)|Chevron]]s are present after the fourth vertebra, but are only loosely attached for the beginning of the tail. At the end of the tail the vertebrae become more slanted, and the chevrons form an inverted 'T' shape, which is not seen in other phytosaurs but in [[sauropterygians]] or some [[crocodilians]].<ref name=gozzi03/>

==Classification== [[File:Mystriosuchus westphali skull.JPG|thumb|''M. westphali'' skull]] ''Mystriosuchus'' used to be placed in its own [[Family (taxonomy)|subfamily]], Mystriosuchidae,<ref name="von Huene, 1915">von Huene, F. 1915. On reptiles of the New Mexican Trias in the Cope Collection. ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' '''34''': 485-507.</ref><ref name="Long & Murry, 1995">Long, R.A. & Murry, P.A. 1995. Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the southwestern United States. ''Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science'' '''4''' 254 pp.</ref> but subsequent cladistic analysis grouped it with other members of Pseudopalatinae, despite having several physical differences from most of the genera in this group.<ref name="Hungerbühler, 2002"/> Originally considered to be a freshwater genus, a recent specimen from Northern [[Italy]] has shown that some ''Mystriosuchus'' specimens lived a completely marine life.<ref name="Gozzi & Renesto, 2003">Gozzi, E. & Renesto, S.A. 2003. Complete specimen of ''Mystriosuchus'' (Reptilia, Phytosauria) from the Norian (Late Triassic) of Lombardy (Northern Italy). ''Rivista Italiana Di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia'' '''109'''(3): 475-498.</ref> In their paper on ''[[Parasuchus]]'', Christian Kammerer and colleagues noted that Mystriosuchini has priority over Pseudopalatinae, so synonymized Pseudopalatinae with Mystriosuchini.<ref>Kammerer, C. F., Butler, R. J., Bandyopadhyay, S., Stocker, M. R. (2016), Relationships of the Indian phytosaur Parasuchus hislopi Lydekker, 1885. Papers in Palaeontology, 2: 1–23. doi: 10.1002/spp2.1022 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1022/abstract</ref>

Below is a [[cladogram]] from Stocker (2012):<ref name=SMR12>{{Cite journal | last1 = Stocker | first1 = M. R. | title = A new phytosaur (Archosauriformes, Phytosauria) from the Lot's Wife beds (Sonsela Member) within the Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic) of Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona | doi = 10.1080/02724634.2012.649815 | journal = Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology | volume = 32 | issue = 3 | pages = 573–586 | year = 2012 | bibcode = 2012JVPal..32..573S | s2cid = 129527672 }}</ref> {{clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:85% |label1=[[Phytosauria]] |1={{clade |1=''[[Wannia|Wannia scurriensis]]'' |2={{clade |1=''[[Paleorhinus bransoni]]'' |2={{clade |1=''[[Paleorhinus|"Paleorhinus" sawini]]'' |label2=[[Phytosauridae]] |2={{clade |1=''[[Brachysuchus megalodon]]'' |2=''[[Angistorhinus]]'' |3={{clade |1=''[[Rutiodon carolinensis]]'' |2=''[[Rutiodon|"Machaeroprosopus" zunii]]'' |3=''[[Protome batalaria]]'' |label4='''Leptosuchomorpha''' |4={{clade |1=''[[Phytosaurus|"Phytosaurus" doughtyi]]'' |2=TMM 31173-120 |3={{clade |1=''[[Leptosuchus crosbiensis]]'' |2=''[[Leptosuchus studeri]]''}} |4={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Smilosuchus lithodendrorum]]'' |2={{clade |1=''[[Smilosuchus adamanensis]]'' |2=''[[Smilosuchus gregorii]]''}} }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Pravusuchus hortus]]'' |label2=[[Pseudopalatinae]] |2={{clade |1=''[[Machaeroprosopus|Machaeroprosopus mccauleyi]]'' |2={{clade |1='''''Mystriosuchus westphali''''' |2=''[[Machaeroprosopus|Machaeroprosopus pristinus]]'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.paleodatabase.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_no=38296&is_real_user=0 www.paleodatabase.org]

[[Category:Phytosauria]] [[Category:Prehistoric marine reptiles]] [[Category:Prehistoric reptile genera]] [[Category:Norian genera]] [[Category:Late Triassic reptiles of Europe]] [[Category:Late Triassic reptiles of North America]] [[Category:Triassic Greenland]] [[Category:Fossils of Greenland]] [[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1896]] [[Category:Taxa named by Eberhard Fraas]]