''Dorosuchus'' 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 archosauriform previously assigned to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Euparkeriidae. It lived during the

Anisian In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage or earliest age of the Middle Triassic series or epoch and lasted from million years ago until million years ago. The Anisian Age succeeds the Olenekian Age (part of the Lower Triassic ...

stage of the

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between Ma and ...

. Fossil material is known from

Sol-Iletsk Sol-Iletsk (russian: Соль-Иле́цк) is a town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Ilek River ( Ural's tributary), south of Orenburg, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 22,000 (1975); 11,802 ( ...

in Orenburg Oblast,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

is ''D. neoetus'', named in 1989.

Description

''Dorosuchus'' was considered to be a relative of euparkeriid ''

Euparkeria ''Euparkeria'' (; meaning "Parker's good animal", named in honor of W.K. Parker) is an extinct genus of archosauriform from the Middle Triassic of South Africa. It was a small reptile that lived between 245-230 million years ago, and was close to ...

'' based on the features of the limbs and pelvic girdle. Most specimens are known from a single block of siltstone from a location known as the Berdyanka I locality by Berdyanka River. Limb and hip elements,

sacral Sacral may refer to: *Sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property ...

and caudal

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...

, and a braincase are preserved in the block and represent four individuals. A partial ilium is known from another locality.

Classification

''Dorosuchus'' was initially classified as a euparkeriid in 1989 with its first description. The family Euparkeriidae is best represented by the genus ''Euparkeria'' from 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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Several other genera in the past have been assigned to the family, including ''

Turfanosuchus ''Turfanosuchus'' is a genus of archosauriform reptile, likely a Gracilisuchidae, gracilisuchid archosaur, which lived during the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of northwestern China. The type species, ''T. dabanensis'', was described by Yang Zhongjia ...

'', ''

Halazhaisuchus ''Halazhaisuchus'' is an extinct genus of archosauriform from the Early Triassic of China. It is known from a single species, ''Halazhaisuchus qiaoensis'', which was named in 1982 from the lower Ermaying Formation in Shaanxi. It was assigned to ...

'', and ''

Wangisuchus ''Wangisuchus'' is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Middle Triassic of China that is known from fragmentary fossil jaw bones. These bones were found at the Hsishihwa locality in the upper Ermaying Formation, which dates to the ...

''. However, most of these genera have been excluded from the family on the basis of anatomical features such as those found in the

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...

(e.g. ''Turfanosuchus'' and ''Wangisuchus'') or are known from specimens that are too poorly preserved to offer many features that could include them within the family (e.g. ''Halazbaisuchus'' and ''Wangisuchus''). Doubts have also been raised about the assignment of ''Dorosuchus'' to the family Euparkeriidae because of a lack of defining characteristics. Nevertheless, a 2009 paper describing the anatomy of ''Osmolskina'', the euparkeriid classification of ''Dorosuchus'' was reaffirmed. However, a 2016 review of Euparkeriidae recovered ''Dorosuchus'' in a polytomy with Euparkeriidae, Archosauria, and Phytosauria.

References

Prehistoric archosauriforms Middle Triassic reptiles of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1989 Taxa named by Andrey G. Sennikov Anisian life Prehistoric reptile genera {{paleo-archosaur-stub