Elachistosuchus

Elachistosuchus
Temporal range: Late Triassic, Norian
Holotype skull, vertebrae and shoulder girdle (blocks I-II)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Genus: Elachistosuchus
Janensch, 1949
Type species
Elachistosuchus huenei
Janensch, 1949

Elachistosuchus is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile, most likely basal archosauromorph, known from the Late Triassic Arnstadt Formation of Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It contains a single species, Elachistosuchus huenei, known from a single individual E. huenei, originally considered a pseudosuchian archosaur and then a rhynchocephalian lepidosaur, was largely ignored in the scientific literature, as its small size and fragility did not permit further mechanical preparation and examination. More recently however, a non-invasive μCT scanning was performed to resolve its placement within Reptilia, and found it to represent a more basal reptile, potentially closely related to several early archosauromorph clades.[1][2]

  1. ^ Sobral, Gabriela; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Müller, Johannes (2015). "Anatomy of the Enigmatic Reptile Elachistosuchus huenei Janensch, 1949 (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Upper Triassic of Germany and Its Relevance for the Origin of Sauria". PLOS ONE. 10 (9): e0135114. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1035114S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135114. PMC 4564268. PMID 26352985.
  2. ^ Janensch, W (1949). "Ein neues Reptil aus dem Keuper von Halberstadt". N Jb Mineral Geol Palaeont B. 1949: 225–242.