Desmatosuchus triassicus (name meaning Triassic link crocodile) is a species of archosaur belonging to the Order Aetosauria. It originally lived during the Late Triassic of North America, and was once extinct, but has since been brought back by SciiFii and now lives in the Triassic Dinosaurs section of Cretaceous Park located at Sacramento, California. Desmatosuchus triassicus is a large quadruped upwards of 4.5 meters in length, and is a herbivore, unlike (most) crocodilians and relatives, feeding mainly on leaves, fruits, shrubs, cycads, ferns, and horsetails. It is heavily armored, and its carapace is made up of two rows of median scutes surrounded by two more rows of lateral scutes. The lateral scutes have well-developed spine-like processes which pointes out laterally and dorso-posteriorly, used for protection against predators. Desmatosuchus triassicus is unique among aetosaurs in that its species are the only known aetosaurs that lack teeth on their premaxillae, instead, being covered by a horny forked beak-like sheath. In most of its life, Desmatosuchus triassicus behaves very similar to an over-sized iguana, being normally solitary, but during mating seasons, males clash each other by ramming one another hip-to-hip, until one backs down and the other wins a right to mate. The lifecycle of a Desmatosuchus triassicus is similar to that of crocodilians, where mothers take care of the eggs for around 2-4 months until they hatch into baby Desmatosuchus triassicus, the mothers care for their hatchlings until they are old enough to fend for themselves.
Advertisement