Batrachotomus is a reptile from the Middle-Late Triassic of Germany. It was named in 1999 by David J. Gower. It was one of the largest European land reptiles at the time, and was once thought to be closely related to Postosuchus, right before it was discovered to be more closely related to more primitive paracrocodylomorphs.
Physiology[]
Batrachotomus was a reptile with a regularly-shaped body, long legs, a long tail, and a big head with big jaws. Its body would have been covered in scaly skin, with crocodile-like scutes running down its back and tail.
Diet[]
Batrachotomus was a predator, preying on amphibians and smaller reptiles. Its teeth had knife-like serrations from back to back, and were designed for crushing bone.
Ecology[]
Batrachotomus is inferred to have walked quadrupedally, as opposed to Postosuchus, which walked bipedally. Despite this, its forelimbs were slightly shorter than its hindlimbs; this would have been somewhat useful, seeing as most of its prey would have stood at a height that was closer to the ground. Many Batrachotomus specimens have been found near Mastodonsaurus specimens; in fact, one Mastodonsaurus specimen has tooth marks on it that match the shape of Batrachotomus teeth, hence the meaning of the latter's name, "frog slicer". It is not clear whether the paracrocodylomorph actually hunted the temnospondyl or just scavenged it, but what should be remembered is that even though Mastodonsaurus was a large predator comparable in size to Batrachotomus, it was more adapted to eating softer-skinned prey such as fish and smaller amphibians; it is actually unknown whether it was actually able to pierce the armored skin of the reptile.