Postosuchus Fossil range: Late Triassic
Postosuchus kirkpatricki
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida (unranked) Crurotarsi Order: Rauisuchia Family: Poposauridae Genus: Postosuchus Species: P. kirkpatricki
Binomial name
Postosuchus kirkpatricki Chatterjee, 1985

Postosuchus was a basal archosaur which lived in what is now North America during the middle through to the late Triassic period (228-202 million years ago). It was a rauisuchian and came from the same ancestry as dinosaurs. Its name means "crocodile from Post", named after the Post Quarry in Texas, where many fossils of the species were found. It was one of the top predators of its area during the Triassic, larger than the small dinosaur predators of its time (such as Megapnosaurus and Coelophysis). It was a hunter which probably preyed on dicynodonts and many other creatures smaller than itself. The Late Triassic (also known as Upper Triassic, or Keuper) is the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Subtaxa Phytosauridae Prestosuchidae Ornithosuchidae Stagonolepididae Rauisuchidae Poposauridae Crocodylomorpha     Sphenosuchia     Crocodilia Crurotarsi (cross-ankles) is a node-based taxon created by Paul Sereno in 1991 to supplant the old term Pseudosuchia. ... Families Family Prestosuchidae Family Rauisuchidae Family Poposauridae Rauisuchia are a poorly known assemblage of predatory and mostly large (often 4 to 6 meters) Triassic archosaurs. ... Genera Bomsgroveia Poposaurus Postosuchus Sillosuchus Shuvosaurus Teratosaurus The Poposauridae are a family of large (around 2. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Sankar Chatterjee is a paleontologist, and is the Paul W. Horn Professor of Geosciences at Texas Tech University and Curator of Paleontology at the Museum of Texas Tech University. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... -1... North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 ± 0. ... Families Family Prestosuchidae Family Rauisuchidae Family Poposauridae Rauisuchia are a poorly known assemblage of predatory and mostly large (often 4 to 6 meters) Triassic archosaurs. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Species (type) Synonyms Syntarsus Raath, 1969 Megapnosaurus (big dead lizard) was a dinosaur of the theropod family coelophysidae, formerly called Syntarsus (named by Raath, 1969). ... // Binomial name Coelophysis bauri Cope, 1889 Synonyms Coelurus bauri Cope, 1887 Tanystropheus bauri (Cope, 1887) ?Podokeesaurus 1911 Rioarribasaurus colberti Hunt & Lucas, 1991 Syntarsus colberti (Hunt & Lucas, 1991) Paul, 1993 One of the earliest known dinosaurs, Coelophysis (see-law-FYS-iss) meaning hollow form in reference to its hollow bones (Greek... Clades & Genera see Taxonomy The Dicynodontia are a taxon of Therapsids or mammal-like reptiles. ...

Postosuchus was a quadrupedal reptile with a wide skull and a long tail. It was about 6 meters long, 2 meters tall, and was held up by columnar legs (a quite uncommon feature in reptiles). A crocodile-like snout, filled with many large-sized dagger-like teeth, was used to kill its prey. Rows of protective plates covering its back formed a defensive shield. Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ...

In popular culture

Head of a CGI Postosuchus from Walking with Dinosaurs

• Postosuchus appears in the first program of the BBC's series Walking with Dinosaurs, where CG animation was used to recreate extinct creatures of the Mesozoic era. In this episode, it appears as the top predator, preying on Placerias, large dicynodonts. In one segment a female Postosuchus sustains a fatal injury when hunting, loses her territory to another Postosuchus, and is finally killed by a swarm of Coelophysis, too weak to defend herself.