Archovember 2025 Day 18
Archosauriform Erythrosuchus africanus, of Early to Middle Triassic, South Africa!
Before the large pseudosuchians took over the Late Triassic of South Africa, a different kind of archosauromorph ruled the Karoo. This was the big-headed Erythrosuchus africanus, a true giant of its time, at around 4.75–5 m (15.6–16.4 ft) long, including a 1 m (3.3 ft) long head. It walked on all fours and had limbs positioned semivertically under its body, unlike the sprawling gait of most other early reptiles. This apex predator was the largest of its own family, the erythrosuchids. It was not an archosaur, but is thought to be closely related to the last common ancestor of all archosaurs.
Erythrosuchus africanus has been found in the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Burgersdorp Formation. Erythrosuchus was highly successful, its 5 million year rule spanning from the early to middle Triassic, and it would have seen the rise and extinction of multiple species. Its main prey were likely dicynodont synapsids, such as Kannemeyeria and Kombuisia, cynodont synapsids like Bolotridon, Cricodon, Cynognathus, Diademodon, and Lumkuia, and therocephalian synapsids like Bauria and Microgomphodon. It could have also preyed on other reptiles, rhynchosaurs like Eohyosaurus, Howesia, and Mesosuchus, procolophonids like Myocephalus, Teratophon, Theledectes, Thelephon, and Thelerpeton, and others like Euparkeria. Erythrosuchus likely wasn’t picky, and may have also fed on the wealth of large temnospondyl amphibians here, such as Batrachosuchus, Jammerbergia, Laidleria, Microposaurus, Vanastega, and Xenotosuchus.
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