Paracyclotosaurus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of temnospondyls}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2022}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = Middle [[Triassic]] {{Fossil range|247.2|242.0}} | image = Paracyclotosaurus_davidi_at_NHM_05.jpg | image_caption = ''Paracyclotosaurus davidi'' in the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum of London]]: specimen NHMUK PV R 6000. | taxon = Paracyclotosaurus | authority = Watson, 1958 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = *{{extinct}}'''''P. davidi''''' Watson, 1958 ([[type species|type]]) *{{extinct}}'''''P. crookshanki''''' Damiani, 2001 *{{extinct}}'''''P. morganorum''''' Damiani and Hancox, 2003 }}

'''''Paracyclotosaurus''''' (meaning "Near Wheeled Lizard") is an [[extinction|extinct]] [[genus]] of [[temnospondyli|temnospondyl]], which would have appeared similar to today's [[salamander]] – but much larger, measuring up to {{cvt|2.45|m|ft}} long and weighing between {{cvt|159|and|365|kg|lbs}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hart|first1=L.J.|last2=Campione|first2=N.E.|last3=McCurry|first3=M.R.|year=2022|title=On the estimation of body mass in temnospondyls: a case study using the large-bodied Eryops and Paracyclotosaurus|journal=Palaeontology|volume=65|issue=6|article-number=e12629|doi=10.1111/pala.12629|doi-access=free|hdl=1959.4/104060|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It lived in the [[Middle Triassic]] period, about 235 million years ago, and fossils have been found in [[Australia]], [[India]], and [[South Africa]].

Although they could live on dry land, ''Paracyclotosaurus'' probably spent most of its time in water. They had flattened bodies and elongated heads, almost {{convert|60|cm|ft|sigfig=1}} long, that vaguely resembled those of modern [[crocodile]]s.<ref name=EoDP>{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 53|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}</ref>

==Discovery and naming== [[Image:Paracyclotosaurus1DB.jpg|thumb|left|''Paracyclotosaurus davidi'' restoration]] The type species ''P. davidi'' is only known from one complete specimen recovered from Australia. It was discovered by quarry miners in a brick pit in [[St Peters, New South Wales|St. Peters in Sydney, New South Wales]]. The discovery, made in 1910, was from a large [[ironstone]] nodule within [[Ashfield Shale]] which contained the nearly complete skeleton. The reconstruction was finished in July 1914, and was initially determined to be closely related to ''[[Cyclotosaurus]]''.<ref name=Watson1958/> The original bone of the ''P. davidi'' holotype specimen was in very bad condition, but after the bone was removed from the hard ironstone matrix, casts were made from the matrix mold, and a mold was made from those casts. Casts of the original bone show a fair amount of detail.

''Paracyclotosaurus davidii'' was named after Sir [[Edgeworth David]], the man who arranged for the [[Natural History Museum, London|British Museum (Natural History)]] to acquire the specimen.<ref name=Watson1958>{{cite journal|year=1958|title=A New Labyrinthodont (''Paracyclotosaurus'') From Trias of New South Wales|journal=Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2290486|author=D. Watson|volume=3 }}</ref>

[[Image:Paracyclotosaurus davidi skeletal diagram.png|thumb|''Paracyclotosaurus davidi'' skeletal diagram|left]] [[Image:Paracyclotosaurus davidi skeleton.png|thumb|''Paracyclotosaurus davidi'' skeletal reconstruction (NHMUK PV R 6000)]] [[Image:Paracyclotosaurus crookshanki life restoration.jpg|thumb|''Paracyclotosaurus crookshanki'' life restoration]]

==References== {{Wikispecies}} {{Commons}} {{Portal|Paleontology}} {{Reflist}} * Patricia Vickers-Rich and Thomas Hewett Rich 1993, Wildlife of Gondwana, {{ISBN|0-7301-0315-3}} Reed.

==External links== *[https://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayCollectionDetails&collection_no=38348 The Paleobiology Database: ''Paracyclotosaurus''] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110702203901/http://www.trieboldpaleontology.com/specimens/natural-history-museum/amphibians-nhm/paracyclotosaurus-davidi-nhm-amphibian/ Paracyclotosaurus davidi at the Natural History Museum]

[[Category:Capitosauria]] [[Category:Triassic temnospondyls of Asia]] [[Category:Triassic temnospondyls of Africa]] [[Category:Triassic temnospondyls of Australia]] [[Category:Prehistoric vertebrates of Oceania]] [[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1958]]