Abstract
Erythrosuchidae were large-bodied, quadrupedal, predatory archosauriforms that dominated the hypercarnivorous niche in the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. Garjainia, one of the oldest members of the clade, is known from the late Olenekian of European Russia. The holotype of Garjainia prima comprises a well-preserved skull, but highly incomplete postcranium. Recent taxonomic reappraisal demonstrates that material from a bone bed found close to the type locality, previously referred to as ‘Vjushkovia triplicostata', is referable to G. prima. At least, seven individuals comprising cranial remains and virtually the entire postcranium are represented, and we describe this material in detail for the first time. An updated phylogenetic analysis confirms previous results that a monophyletic Garjainia is the sister taxon to a clade containing Erythrosuchus, Shansisuchus and Chalishevia. Muscle scars on many limb elements are clear, allowing reconstruction of the proximal locomotor musculature. We calculate the body mass of G. prima to have been 147–248 kg, similar to that of an adult male lion. Large body size in erythrosuchids may have been attained as part of a trend of increasing body size after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction and allowed erythrosuchids to become the dominant carnivores of the Early and Middle Triassic.
Highlights
Erythrosuchidae is a clade of archosauriform archosauromorph reptiles that radiated to occupy the apex terrestrial predator niche in the aftermath of the devastating Permo-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) [1,2,3]
The analysis found 27 most parsimonious trees (MPTs) of 3868 steps and a consistency index of 0.23940 and a retention index of 0.62258
The Chinese species Guchengosuchus shiguaiensis and Fugusuchus hejiapanensis are recovered as successive sister taxa to a clade composed of (Garjainia (Erythrosuchus africanus (Shansisuchus shansisuchus+Chalishevia cothurnata)))
Summary
Erythrosuchidae is a clade of archosauriform archosauromorph reptiles that radiated to occupy the apex terrestrial predator niche in the aftermath of the devastating Permo-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) [1,2,3]. Erythrosuchidae was one of the earliest archosauromorph groups to diversify after the PTME and comprises seven to nine valid species known from the latest Early Triassic to Middle Triassic of South Africa, China and Russia [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11], with undescribed material reported from India [12]. A second erythrosuchid, ‘Vjushkovia triplicostata’, from Rassypnaya, close to Orenburg, and from a similar stratigraphic horizon to the holotype of G. prima, is represented by the cranial and postcranial remains of at least seven individuals [6,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]. We describe and figure in detail the extensive and well-preserved postcranial material of ‘V. triplicostata’ for the first time and use it to reassess phylogenetic affinities, make the first assessments of erythrosuchid body mass, and to reconstruct locomotor musculature
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