Named By: | Stephen L. Brusatte, Richard J. Butler, Tomasz Sulej & Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki in 2009 |
Time Period: | Late Triassic, 216-204 Ma |
Location: | Poland |
Size: | Often credited as being about 5-6 meters long, a more precise size is still unknown due to the lack of fossil remains for the genus |
Diet: | Carnivore |
Fossil(s): | Partial left maxilla |
Classification: | | Chordata | Sauropsida | Archosauromorpha | Rauisuchidae | |
Also known as: | | Teratosaurus silesiacus | |
Polonosuchus is a genus of rauisuchian known from the late Triassic (Carnian age) of Poland. It was a huge predator about 5-6 metres in length and, like all rauisuchians, was equipped with a large head of long sharp teeth. The legs were placed almost underneath the body, unlike most reptiles. The appearance was very similar to that of the more known Postosuchus, of North America, and shared with the latter the ecological niche of the apex predator.
It was described as Teratosaurus silesiacus in 2005 by Tomasz Sulej, and was transferred to the genus Polonosuchus by Brusatte et al. in 2009.