Batrachotomus

Batrachotomus Temporal range: Middle Triassic, 242–235 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Reconstructed skeleton, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Paracrocodylomorpha
Clade:	Loricata
Genus:	†Batrachotomus Gower, 1999
Type species
Batrachotomus kupferzellensis Gower, 1999

Batrachotomus /ˌbætrəˈkɒtoʊməs/ is a genus of prehistoric archosaur. Fossils of this animal have been found in southern Germany and dated from the Ladinian stage of the Middle Triassic period, around 242 to 235 million years ago. Batrachotomus was described by palaeontologist David J. Gower 22 years after its discovery.

The locality where Batrachotomus lived was a swampy region and the name comes from the Greek batrachos/βάτραχος (frog) and tome/τομή (cutting, slicing), which refers to its preying on the large amphibian Mastodonsaurus. In contrast with sprawling reptiles, like crocodiles, this large carnivore was very agile with locomotor superiority due to its erect stance. A remarkable feature seen on its back was a row of paired, flattened bony plates. Batrachotomus was possibly an early relative of Postosuchus, which lived during the dawn of the dinosaurs.

Batrachotomus was a heavily built, large quadrupedal reptile reaching 6 metres (20 ft) in length. A trait that characterized Batrachotomus, compared to other crurotarsans, was a series of paired small plates on its back which were attached to each vertebra. These bony deposits forming scales are called osteoderms. Flattened and leaf-shaped, these extended from behind the head along the column and reducing in size, ended at the tail. There is also evidence that osteoderms were present on the ventral region of the tail, as seen in Ticinosuchus ferox, and even on the flank, belly and limbs.