Venkatasuchus: Aetosaur from India
Once more I come bearing croc news. For the second time this year we are getting a new type of aetosaur, you know, those weird stem-crocodiles that somewhat converged with ankylosaurs? Yeah those guys. Much like Kryphioparma from just a few months ago, this new genus Venkatasuchus is a member of the Typothoracinae and known only from osteoderms. Thankfully, in the case of Venkatasuchus a lot more of them at least.
I mean sure 8 associated osteoderms plus the connected lateral elements is not that much, but it sure beats the few remains of Kryphioparma.
Anyhow, Venkatasuchus is from the middle Norian to Rhaetian stages of the Triassic of India, more specifically the Lower Dharmaram Formation in the east of the subcontinent. This is actually quite significant as aetosaurs are generally rare in Gondwanan parts of the world and the Dharmaram Formation actually has two: Venkatasuchus and an as of yet undescribed desmatosuchine. Furthermore, the formation actually represents a melting pot of Laurasian and Gondwanan fauna. The aetosaurs and phytosaurs are of Laurasian origin, but the dinosaurs of the formation are Gondwanan lineages.
Much to my surprise, there is ALREADY an illustration of this guy online courtesy of Scott Reid on Twitter, fantastic art, love how he cheekily hides the head and focuses on the armour.
Venkatasuchus - Wikipedia
Of course I jumped at the opportunity to write its wiki page, so far I do believe I managed to cover every new genus published this year.