Editing Protosuchus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}}
{{Distinguish|Postosuchus}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Early Jurassic]]
| image = Protosuchus richardsoni AMNH 3024 cast.jpg
| image_upright = 1.15
| image_caption = A cast of ''Protosuchus richardsoni'' (AMNH 3024) in the [[American Museum of Natural History]]
| taxon = Protosuchus
| authority = Brown, [[1934 in paleontology|1934]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * ''P. richardsoni'' <small>(Brown, 1933) ([[type species|type]])</small>
* ''P. haughtoni'' <small>(Busbey and Gow, 1984)</small>
* ''P. micmac'' <small>Sues ''et al.'' 1996</small>
| synonyms = * ''Archaeosuchus'' <small>Brown, 1933 (preoccupied)</small>
* ''Baroqueosuchus'' <small>Busbey and Gow, 1984</small>
* ''Lesothosuchus'' <small>Whetstone and Whybrow, 1983</small>
}}

'''''Protosuchus''''' (from {{langx|el|protos}}, "first" and {{langx|el|souchos}}, "crocodile")<ref>{{cite book |last1=Colbert |first1=Edwin H. (Edwin Harris) |last2=Knight |first2=Charles Robert |title=The dinosaur book: the ruling reptiles and their relatives |date=1951 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York |page=153 |url=https://archive.org/details/bookruli00colb/page/152/mode/2up}}</ref> is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of [[carnivorous]] [[crocodyliform]] from the Early [[Jurassic]]. It is among the earliest animals that resemble crocodilians. ''Protosuchus'' was about {{convert|1|m|ft}} in length and about {{convert|40|kg|lb}} in weight.
[[Image:Protosuchus BW.jpg|thumb|left|Life restoration of ''Protosuchus'']]
[[Image:Protosuchus richardsoni AMNH 3024 cast skull.jpg|thumb|left|The skull of ''Protosuchus richardsoni'' (AMNH 3024)]]
[[Image:Protosuchus richardsoni AMNH 3024 cast pelvis.jpg|thumb|left|The pelvis and hindlimbs of ''Protosuchus richardsoni'' (AMNH 3024)]]
[[Image:Protosuchus.jpg|thumb|right|''Protosuchus richardsoni'' fossil AMNH 3024]]
As an early [[crocodilian]] relative, its skull featured more crocodilian characteristics than its earlier ancestors; it had short jaws that broadened out at the base of the skull, providing a large surface to which its jaw muscles could attach. This increased the maximum gape of the animal's mouth and the force with which the jaws could be closed. The dentition of the animal also resembled modern crocodiles, including the [[teeth]] in the lower jaw that fitted into notches on either side of the upper jaw when the mouth was closed.<ref name=EoDP>{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 99|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}</ref> It also possessed a powerful tail which later developed into a propulsion mechanism through water in its descendants.

The body was covered and reinforced by osteoderms in a double row along the back and covering the bottom of the body and the entire tail. It was an unusual quadrupedal reptile whose legs were columnar, with the rear legs longer than the front legs. Its five toes were clawed and it is believed that they were good runners and good swimmers.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}

==Species==
Three species of ''Protosuchus'' have been described: the [[type species]] ''P. richardsoni'' <ref name="richarsoni">[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=180582 "FossilWorks: Protosuchus richardsoni" ], retrieved 26 Feb 2014</ref> from [[Arizona]], United States, ''P. micmac''<ref name="micmac">[http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~polsen/nbcp/NAPC_new_sm.pdf "Triassic-Jurassic faunal and floral transition in the Fundy Basin, Nova Scotia"], Authors: Paul E. Olsen, Jessica H. Whiteside, Timothy Fedak, retrieved 26 Feb 2014</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gow |first1=C. E. |date=17 April 2000 |title=The Skull of Protosuchus haughtoni, an Early Jurassic Crocodyliform from Southern Africa |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=49–56 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0049:TSOPHA]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=4524063 |s2cid=130186626 }}</ref> from [[Nova Scotia]], Canada and ''P. haughtoni'' <ref name="haughtoni">[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=171914 "FossilWorks: Protosuchus haughtoni"], retrieved 26 Feb 2014</ref> from [[South Africa]].

==References==
{{Commons category|Protosuchus}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Paleontology}}
{{Pseudosuchia|L.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q134947}}

[[Category:Crocodyliformes]]
[[Category:Early Jurassic crocodylomorphs]]
[[Category:Terrestrial crocodylomorphs]]
[[Category:Early Jurassic reptiles of North America]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1934]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Barnum Brown]]
[[Category:Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera]]