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''Ischigualastia'' is an extinct genus of large dicynodont therapsids that lived during the Late
The genus is described as an enormous dicynodont, with a short, high skull, and lacking tusks. It is regarded as larger than its later, more famous relative '' Placerias'', which weighed over .
File:Ischigualastia.jpg, Life restoration of ''I. jenseni''
File:Ischigualastia scale.svg, Size of ''I. jenseni'' relative to a human
Carnian age
The Carnian (less commonly, Karnian) is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series (or earliest age of the Late Triassic Epoch). It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed ...
and the Early Norian age of the Late Triassic Period. The genus was found in and named after the Ischigualasto Formation
The Ischigualasto Formation is a Late Triassic fossiliferous formation and Lagerstätte in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of the southwestern La Rioja Province and northeastern San Juan Province in northwestern Argentina. The formation da ...
(Cancha de Bochas Member) of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin
The Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin ( es, Cuenca de Ischigualasto-Villa Unión) is a small sedimentary basin located in the Argentine Northwest, Argentina. It is located in the southwestern part of La Rioja Province and the northeastern part of ...
in northwestern Argentina. It has been placed in the family Stahleckeriidae.
Description
The genus is described as an enormous dicynodont, with a short, high skull, and lacking tusks. It is regarded as larger than its later, more famous relative '' Placerias'', which weighed over .
Paleoecology
It was a large quadrupedalherbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
, most common at the base of the Ischigualasto Formation
The Ischigualasto Formation is a Late Triassic fossiliferous formation and Lagerstätte in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of the southwestern La Rioja Province and northeastern San Juan Province in northwestern Argentina. The formation da ...
.
It was a common member of the local fauna, although not as abundant as the medium-sized herbivores '' Hyperodapedon'' and '' Exaeretodon''. The only danger to such a huge animal was the almost equally large carnivorous pseudosuchian '' Saurosuchus'' and perhaps the predatory dinosaur ''Herrerasaurus
''Herrerasaurus'' is a genus of saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic period. This genus was one of the earliest dinosaurs from the fossil record. Its name means "Herrera's lizard", after the rancher who discovered the first specimen in ...
'', which shared the same environment. It is likely that pressure from this predator pushed ''Ischigualastia'' into extinction, for it becomes less common and finally disappears in the higher levels of the Ischigualasto Formation. A somewhat relative, '' Placerias'', survived in Laurasia.
Gallery
See also
* Stahleckeriidae * List of therapsidsReferences
External links
* Dicynodonts Carnian genera Late Triassic synapsids of South America Triassic Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1962 Anomodont genera {{anomodont-stub