Topic summary

Poposaurus

Poposaurus

Poposaurus is an extinct genus of pseudosuchianarchosaur from the Late Triassic of the southwestern and eastern United States. It belongs to the cladePoposauroidea, an unusual group of Triassic pseudosuchians that includes sail-backed, beaked, and aquatic forms. Fossils have been found in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Texas, and Virginia. Except for the skull, most parts of the skeleton are known. The type species, P. gracilis, was described and named by Maurice Goldsmith Mehl in 1915. A second species, P. langstoni, was originally the type species of the genus Lythrosuchus. Since it was first described, Poposaurus has been variously classified as a dinosaur, a phytosaur, and a "rauisuchian".

Like theropod dinosaurs, Poposaurus was an obligate biped, meaning that it walked on two legs rather than four. However, as a pseudosuchian, it is more closely related to living crocodilians than to dinosaurs. Poposaurus is thought to have evolved this form of locomotion independently, possibly from early archosaurs' ability to high walk.