''Hupehsuchus'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of small marine reptiles, about 1 m (3 ft) long, found in the area of

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

in China. This marine reptile lived in the

Olenekian In the geologic timescale, the Olenekian is an age in the Early Triassic epoch; in chronostratigraphy, it is a stage in the Lower Triassic series. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). The Olenekian is sometimes divided i ...

stage of the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a un ...

period.

Description

HupehsuchusNanchangensis-PaleozoologicalMuseumOfChina-May23-08

''Hupehsuchus'' was similar to its close relative, '' Nanchangosaurus'', but differed from it in a number of ways. For example, ''Hupehsuchus'' had heavier armor on its back than ''Nanchangosaurus'', and its back spines were more finely divided, giving it a more crocodile-like appearance than ''Nanchangosaurus''. It had a thin, long snout like a gharial,

river dolphin River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant riv ...

, or ichthyosaur, which it probably used to snag fish or probe for aquatic invertebrates.

Classification

Exactly to what species ''Hupehsuchus'' is related is unknown. Fairly clearly, it shares a close relationship with ''Nanchangosaurus'', but other relations are unknown. Many features, including the discovery of polydactyly, suggest that ''Hupehsuchus'' is related to the ichthyosaurs, but the fact that ''Hupehsuchus extra digits include more bones in the hand, rather than just the fingers as in the ichthyosaurs, may discredit that theory. It, along with ''Nanchangosaurus'', seems to be so different from any other reptile that a new order has been constructed for the two genera called

Hupehsuchia Hupehsuchia is an order of diapsid reptiles closely related to ichthyosaurs. The group was short-lasting, with a temporal range restricted to the late Olenekian age, spanning only a few million years of the Early Triassic. The order gets its na ...

References

* ''Chinese Fossil Vertebrates'' by Spencer G. Lucas * ''The World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures'' by Dougal Dixon Triassic ichthyosauromorphs Early Triassic reptiles of Asia Hupehsuchians Ichthyosauromorph genera {{triassic-reptile-stub