#Archovember Day 20 - Prestosuchus chiniquensis
The Triassic was truly when Pseudosuchians ruled the earth. They came in a variety of different shapes and sizes and filled almost every niche. During this period, nearly every apex predator was a pseudosuchian. In the Middle Triassic of Brazil, this niche was filled by Prestosuchus chiniquensis. Originally estimated at around 5 meters long, a Prestosuchus specimen found in 2010 now places their upper size limits at nearly 7 meters (23 feet) long, making them one of the largest Triassic pseudosuchians, only surpassed by Saurosuchus. Like the crocodilians who would come later Prestosuchus walked on four legs, but in a more dinosaurian upright stance. Large Prestosuchians are assumed to be ambush predators, and this is supported by the finding of one Prestosuchus specimen in a fossil deposit assumed to be a local watering hole, a location ambush predators would have frequently haunted. This particular specimen had such a well-preserved hind leg that paleontologists were able to study its precise muscle groupings and confirm that Prestosuchus would have only been able to walk quadrupedally, unlike the related bipedal Poposaurus.
Prestosuchus chiniquensis could have preyed on most anything in Middle Triassic Brazil. Dicynodonts like Dinodontosaurus and Stahleckeria would have been their largest prey items. It could have hunted smaller pseudosuchians like Decuriasuchus, Pagosvenator, and Procerosuchus. Other archosauromorphs would have included silesaurids like Gamatavus, aphanosaurs like Spondylosoma, and rhyncosaurs like Brasinorhynchus. Cynodonts like the carnivorous Chiniquodon and the herbivorous Exaeretodon would have also been on the menu.
