Desmatosuchus

The Desmatosuchus is a distant relative to modern crocodiles but with a much smaller skull, a herbivorous diet, and many more defensive adaptions. Its carapace is formed of two rows of bony scutes (scale like armour), and the two large shoulder spikes prove an effective deterrent to potential predators.

Discovery

Famed paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope first uncovered fossils of the Desmatosuchus in 1892, naming the species Episcoposaurus haplocerus. Some years later, in 1920, Ermine Cowles Case discovered fossils at a different dig site and described them as a new species again: Desmatosuchus spurensis. A review of these two pieces of research in 1953 established that the two studies were describing the same species, and validated both discoveries under the singular name of Desmatosuchus haplocerus.

Palaeoecology

The Desmatosuchus lived in the Triassic period, and its dense armour would have been an effective defence against its carnivorous relative the Postosuchus. The Desmatosuchus was a specialised herbivore, with its peg-like teeth and narrow, shovel-like snout allowing it to dig for energy rich roots and tubers. While grazing, it likely travelled in herds as a further defence against ambushing carnivores.