Question 1

How do you say Desmatosuchus?

Accepted Answer

Desmatosuchus is pronounced dez-MAT-oh-SOO-kus. Break it into four chunks: DEZ, then MAT, then OH, then SOO-kus. The stress falls on the MAT syllable in the middle. A good memory trick is to think: 'Des the MAT, Oh SO kus' and say it rhythmically. Once you get the rhythm, it rolls off the tongue surprisingly fast.

Question 2

What does Desmatosuchus mean?

Accepted Answer

The name Desmatosuchus means something like chain-link crocodile in Ancient Greek. Desma means chain or link, referring to the rows of interlocking bony armor plates that covered its body like linked metal. Suchus is the Greek version of Sobek, the ancient Egyptian crocodile god, and was used in animal names to signal a crocodile-like creature. Put together, the name paints a vivid picture of a crocodile wrapped in chain-link armor.

Question 3

Was Desmatosuchus a dinosaur?

Accepted Answer

No, Desmatosuchus was definitely not a dinosaur, even though it lived at the same time as early dinosaurs. It was an aetosaur, a completely different branch of the archosaur family tree. Aetosaurs were more closely related to crocodilians than to dinosaurs. While early dinosaurs like Coelophysis were running around the same Triassic floodplains, Desmatosuchus was doing its own heavily armored thing in an entirely separate evolutionary line. The whole aetosaur group went extinct at the end of the Triassic and left no living descendants.

Question 4

What did Desmatosuchus eat?

Accepted Answer

Desmatosuchus was a herbivore, meaning it only ate plants. Despite looking like the most intimidating creature in the neighborhood with those giant shoulder spikes, it was a peaceful plant-eater. Scientists know this because its teeth were small and peg-like, suited for grinding vegetation, and its snout was short and upturned like a pig's, ideal for rooting through soil and leaf litter for roots, tubers, and low-growing ferns. It was essentially the prehistoric equivalent of a heavily armored grazing animal.

Question 5

How big were those shoulder spikes?

Accepted Answer

The shoulder spikes of Desmatosuchus could reach up to 45 centimeters in length, which is close to 18 inches or about the length of a large ruler and a half. They were the longest spikes of any known aetosaur. These spikes were not used for attacking prey since Desmatosuchus was a plant-eater, but they would have made any predator think very carefully before trying to bite into its flanks. Combined with the dense armor covering its back, Desmatosuchus was extremely well protected from all angles.

Question 6

Where did Desmatosuchus live?

Accepted Answer

Desmatosuchus lived in what is now the southwestern United States, particularly in areas that are today Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. During the Late Triassic, this region was a hot, humid tropical floodplain covered with rivers, ferns, and early forests, very different from the dry desert landscape it is today. Many Desmatosuchus fossils come from the Chinle Formation, the same ancient rocks that make up the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. There is also some suggestion of related aetosaurs in India, but the best-known Desmatosuchus material is firmly from North America.

Question 7

When did Desmatosuchus go extinct?

Accepted Answer

Desmatosuchus and all other aetosaurs went extinct at the end of the Triassic Period, in the mass extinction event that occurred approximately 201 million years ago. This extinction event, sometimes called the end-Triassic extinction, wiped out a huge proportion of life on Earth and cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Desmatosuchus itself had already been around for over 20 million years by that point, making it one of the longer-surviving members of its group. After the extinction, nothing quite like an aetosaur ever evolved again.

Question 8

Is Desmatosuchus related to modern crocodiles?

Accepted Answer

Desmatosuchus is more closely related to crocodilians than it is to dinosaurs or birds, but it is not a direct ancestor of any living crocodile species. Both aetosaurs and crocodilians belong to the broader group called archosaurs, and they share a common ancestor deep in the Triassic. However, Desmatosuchus was on a separate branch called Aetosauria that went completely extinct 201 million years ago. Modern crocodilians descend from a different lineage that survived the end-Triassic extinction. The crocodile-like appearance of Desmatosuchus is a case of similar body plans evolving in related but distinct groups.

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