Rutiodon

Rutiodon

Name	Rutiodon

Order	Phytosauria

Suborder	Crurotarsi

Class	Reptilia

Name Translation	Wrinkle-Tooth

Period	Late Triassic

Location	North America

Diet	Meat

Length	6 metres (20 ft) long

Rutiodon Carolinensis was one of the large crocodilian-like thecodonts from the Late Triassic Period. It was one of the largest and deadliest predators of its time, and was aquatic as well, like modern crocodiles. It disappeare

d around 200 million years ago, when the dinosaurs first started to take over. It most likely went extinct from an asteroid that also wiped out the last of the mammal-like reptiles and thecodonts. It was discovered and named by Ebenezer Emmons in 1856.

Paleobiology

Rutiodon was a large crocodilian, growing to a maximum of 20 feet (6 meters) long, and was equipped with powerful jaws, designed to kill prey with a single bite. It lived in murky rivers and swamps, and was most likely an ambush predator. It lied in wait until its prey came to take a drink, and would jump out, grab ahold of it, and if the initial bite didn't kill the prey item, Rutiodon would drown its prey until it was dead, then eat it. It had a long tail, designed for swimming, and four short, stocky legs, not much good on land. It may have fed on early dinosaurs like Coelophysis, Plateosaurus and Riojasaurus, and other archosaurs

3159004661 fe7d9f0989 — When Dinosaurs Roamed America Rutiodon

like the heavily armored aetosaur Desmatosuchus. Unlike modern-day crocs, though, Rutiodon's nostril were far up on its snout, almost up by where its eyes are.

In the Media

Rutiodon was featured in the famous documentary When Dinosaurs Roamed America, and attacked a Coelophysis and Desmatosuchus. It was also in Animal Armageddon, and was shown how it went extinct by volcanic activity, and was overrun by the dinosaurs.