| Erythrochampsa Temporal range:Early Jurassic | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
| Family: | †Protosuchidae |
| Genus: | †Erythrochampsa (Broom, 1904) |
| Type species | |
| Notochampsa longipes (Broom, 1904) | |
Erythrochampsa ("red crocodile") is an extinctgenus ofprotosuchiancrocodyliform from theEarly Jurassic.Fossils have been found from the Red Beds of theStormberg Group, the youngestgroup of strata from theKaroo Supergroup outcropping in South Africa.
Material fromE. longipes, thetype (and only)species ofErythrochampsa, was originally referred to the genusNotochampsa in 1904 along with specimens of another species namedN. istedana.[1] However, certain features of material from this species, such as divided externalnares, have been considered to be indications of a position withinPseudosuchia rather thanCrocodilia as was originally supposed. Despite this, the material ofN. longipes remained highly suggestive of a crocodilian, and thus the species was eventually placed within its own distinct genus,Erythrochampsa, in 1924.[2] It was placed in thefamilyNotochampsidae, and was considered closely related toNotochampsa, whose position withinCrocodylomorpha had been reconsidered to be intermediate between "thecodonts" and crocodilians. The family Notochampsidae is now known asProtosuchidae[3]
There is no skull present in the material associated with the genus, making further classification rather difficult. Although the postcranial skeleton is quite fragmentary, the pelvis clearly shows of its relations to other crocodilians by the absence of thepubis in the acetabular border. Features of the pelvis as well as the hind limb andpes bore a close resemblance to earlycrocodyliformes such asProtosuchus, used as evidence of its relations as aprotosuchid.
