Hupehsuchus
| Hupehsuchus Temporal range: Early Triassic, Olenekian,
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Specimen WGSC 26004 | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Hupehsuchia |
| Family: | †Hupehsuchidae |
| Genus: | †Hupehsuchus Young, 1972 |
| Type species | |
| †Hupehsuchus nanchangensis Young, 1972
| |
Hupehsuchus is an
extinct genus of small marine reptiles, about 1 m (3 ft) long, found in the area of Hubei in China.[1] This marine reptile lived in the Olenekian stage of the Early Triassic period.[2] It was probably a filter feeder, like modern baleen whales.[3]
Description
Hupehsuchus was similar to its close relative, baleen whales, that Hupehsuchus could have been a filter feeder.[3]
Classification
Exactly to what species Hupehsuchus is related is unknown. Fairly clearly, it shares a close relationship with Nanchangosaurus, but other relations are unknown. Many features, including the discovery of polydactyly, suggest that Hupehsuchus is related to the ichthyosaurs, but the fact that Hupehsuchus' extra digits include more bones in the hand, rather than just the fingers as in the ichthyosaurs, may discredit that theory. It, along with Nanchangosaurus, seems to be so different from any other reptile that a new order has been constructed for the two genera called Hupehsuchia.
References
- Chinese Fossil Vertebrates by Spencer G. Lucas
- The World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures by Dougal Dixon
