One of only a handful of fossil reptiles that have been found in Switzerland, Ticinosuchus (meaning "
Ticino crocodile" due to its origin from the Swiss canton Ticino) was about 3 metres (10 ft) long, and its whole body, even the belly, was covered in thick, armoured
scutes. These scutes were sometimes considered to have been staggered, alternating between several rows.[2] However, some studies refute this claim, instead purporting that the scutes were aligned in neat rows, with a one-to-one assignment of scutes to vertebrae.[3] The structure of the hips shows that its legs were placed under the body almost vertically. Coupled with the development of a
calcaneus and a specialized
ankle joint, this would have made Ticinosuchus a fast runner, unlike most earlier reptiles.[4]Ticinosuchus is thought to be very close to or possible even the same species that made the Cheirotheriumtrace fossils found in Germany. It too shows a narrow track-way, similar to that of Ticinosuchus. It is one of the most famous fossils of
Besano.[5]
The broken skull of the holotype
Fish scales have been preserved in the abdomen of the specimen. This was likely indicative of a piscivorous diet.[6]Ticinosuchus shares many similarities with
paracrocodylomorphs, such as certain adaptations of the
ischium[1] and possibly (but not certainly)
hyposphene-hypantrum articulations.[7][8]
^Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Sidor, Christian A.; Angielczyk, Kenneth D.; Smith, Roger M. H.; Tsuji, Linda A. (2014-09-19). "A new archosaur from the Manda beds (Anisian, Middle Triassic) of southern Tanzania and its implications for character state optimizations at Archosauria and Pseudosuchia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (6): 1357–1382.
Bibcode:
2014JVPal..34.1357N.
doi:
10.1080/02724634.2014.859622.
ISSN0272-4634.
S2CID129558756.
^Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 95.
ISBN978-1-84028-152-1.
Krebs, B. (1965). Ticinosuchus ferox nov. gen. nov. sp. Ein neuer Pseudosuchier aus der Trias des Monte San Giorgio. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Paläontology, Abhandlungen81: 1–140.
Sill, W.D. (1974). The anatomy of Saurosuchus galilei and the relationships of the rauisuchid thecodonts. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology146: 317–362.