Venaticosuchus

Venaticosuchus; Temporal range: Late Triassic
	Venaticosuchus rusconii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Clade:	Pseudosuchia
Family:	†Ornithosuchidae
Genus:	†Venaticosuchus; Bonaparte 1971
Species
	†V. rusconii Bonaparte 1971 (type);

Venaticosuchus is a genus of Late Triassic quadrupedal crurotarsan archosaur. It was a medium-sized predator, reaching up to 2 m (7 ft) in length.^[1] Originally it was thought to be the ancestor to the carnosaur dinosaurs (which then included Tyrannosaurus); however, now it is known to be more closely related to crocodilians than dinosaurs. It was a carnivore.^[2]

Species

A single species of Venaticosuchus has been described, the type species, V. rusconii from the Late Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, around 210 million years ago.

Closely related species

Venaticosuchus is a member of Ornithosuchidae, a family of facultatively bipedal carnivores that were geographically widespread during the Late Triassic. Two other genera, Ornithosuchus and Riojasuchus, are currently known.

References

^ http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/archosauria/ornithosuchidae2.html#Venaticosuchus
^ Bonaparte, JF (1971), Annotated list of the South American Triassic tetrapods, in SH Haughton (ed.), Second Gondwana Symposium, Proceedings and Papers [1970]. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [Praetoria] 2: 665-682.