Aristosuchus
Type species Aristosuchus pusillus
- Lived
- 126 to 120 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Compsognathidae
- Found in
- United Kingdom
- Named by
- Seeley 1887
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
125 million years ago
Habitat
A low floodplain in England, crossed by rivers and dotted with lakes, with conifer woods and seasonal dry spells. Other dinosaurs from these rocks include Hypsilophodon and Eotyrannus.
Field notes
About Aristosuchus
What it was like
Aristosuchus was a small theropod known from a hip bone, some backbones and a claw. It was probably a light, fast hunter of small animals, and it has been compared with Compsognathus.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now England.
How it was found
Seeley named Aristosuchus in 1887. The type species is Aristosuchus pusillus.
Field gallery
More views of Aristosuchus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
The evidence
The science behind Aristosuchus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A fused block of backbones above the hips and partial hip bones form the core of its known remains.
- The paired pubic bones, which lack their upper ends, meet toward their lower ends and continue backward into a keel.
Borrowed from relatives
- Its missing head, limbs and tail are compared with Compsognathus.
Still unknown
- The shape of its skull and the proportions of its limbs.
- Its skin covering and color.
- Its exact place among small theropods. Whether the claw historically assigned to it belongs to Aristosuchus.
Discovery timeline
- 1887Named itSeeley
- 2002Family treeNaish
- 2007Family treeNaish & Martill
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Aristosuchus
Named it
Reexamined the hip bones and backbones and placed them in a separate genus, Aristosuchus.
On Aristosuchus pusillus (Owen), being Further Notes on the Fossils described by Sir R. Owen as Poikilopleuron pusillus , Owen. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 43: 221-228
Read the paper : On Aristosuchus pusillus (Owen), being Further Notes on the Fossils described by Sir R. Owen as Poikilopleuron pusillus , Owen (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Traced the history of the names and showed that Calamospondylus and Aristosuchus were based on different specimens.
The historical taxonomy of the Lower Cretaceous theropods (Dinosauria) Calamospondylus and Aristosuchus from the Isle of Wight. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 113: 153-163
Read the paper : The historical taxonomy of the Lower Cretaceous theropods (Dinosauria) Calamospondylus and Aristosuchus from the Isle of Wight (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Reviewed British dinosaurs and provisionally grouped Aristosuchus with Compsognathus on the resemblance of its hip bones and fused backbones.
Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: basal Dinosauria and Saurischia. Journal of the Geological Society 164: 493-510
Read the paper : Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: basal Dinosauria and Saurischia (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Compsognathidae
Sources: Wikidata