Rauisuchian material from the lower Elliot Formation of South Africa and Lesotho: Implications for Late Triassic biogeography and biostratigraphy

TOLCHARD, FREDERICK; NESBITT, STERLING J.; DESOJO, JULIA B.; VIGLIETTI, PIA; BUTLER, RICHARD J.; CHOINIERE, JONAH N.

JOURNAL OF AFRICAN EARTH SCIENCES - (Print)

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2019 vol. 160

1464-343X

?Rauisuchians? are non-crocodylomorph pseudosuchian archosaurs that played important roles in terrestrial Triassicecosystems. Because they are generally considered to have gone extinct in the end-Triassic mass extinction,they are potentially useful for relative dating of terrestrial strata. Despite the abundance of fossils of this groupin South America, East Africa and Laurasia, there is currently no published definitive rauisuchian fossil recordfrom southern Africa. However, several fragmentary archosaurian remains representing potential members of thisgrade have been recovered from the latest Triassic lower Elliot Formation of southern Africa. Here, we criticallyreview this material and show that it represents a modest diversity of rauisuchians. These records are the southernmostpalaeolatitudes that these animals are known to have occurred and the first definitive remains fromsouthern Africa.