Re: Lotosaurus-like animal? (was Re: archosaurs stance (again))

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 8/12/02 2:50:54 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
renesto@mailserver.unimi.it writes:

<< Dear all,
 I sadly missed (holydays,:-)) eventual previous postings on this very 
 interesting thread, thus apologies if it has been yet clarified:
 
 Had anyone ever investigated if the genus Ctenosauriscus   from the 
 Triassic  of Germany has been in some way (morphofunctional, systematic) 
 compared to Lotosaurus?
 
 Carroll (1988) considers Ctenosauriscus  as a "thecodont" incertae sedis , 
 while
 according to Ebel, Falkenstein, Haderer, Denkendorf & Wild (Stuttgarter 
 Beitraege zur Naturkunde B 261, 1998) Ctenosauriscus was a poposaurid 
 rauisuchian with fully erect quadrupedal stance and, in addition, the very 
 elongated neural spines (longer than in Lotosaurus) had  some function in 
 helping the animal to be a facultative biped.
 
 These latter authors portrayed Ctenosauriscus as a "Postosuchus-like" 
 animal (thus quite different from Lotosaurus) with a sail  on its 
 back,  but  I would be happy to know how much of the skeleton of 
 Ctenosauriscus is really known and  opinions on the feasibility of this 
 reconstruction and assessment.
 Any addditional info or comment on this is greatly welcome.
 All the best,
 
                                          Silvio Renesto >>

In the first printing of Mesozoic Meanderings #2 (1991), I classified 
Ctenosauriscus Kuhn, 1964, Hypselorhachis Charig, 1967 [nomen nudum], and 
Lotosaurus Zhang, 1975 all in the family Ctenosauriscidae Kuhn, 1964 
(formerly Ctenosauridae Kuhn, 1961), senior synonym of Lotosauridae Zhang, 
1975. I considered Ctenosauriscidae to be Pseudosuchia incertae sedis.