Preparation, casting, and exhibition of Texas aetosaur, Desmatosuchus

Abstract

Aetosaurs (Family Stagonolepididae) are an extinct group of quadrupedal heavily armored, herbivorous, archosaurian reptiles recorded from Upper Triassic deposits. Their remains are found in many parts of the world including North America, South America, Europe, India, Africa, and Greenland (SmaU, 1985; Heckert and Lucas, 1999). Aetosaurs first appeared during the Camian at the beginning of the age of dinosaurs, but became extinct at the end of the Triassic (Norian). They ranged in SVZJQ from Im to 6m in length. Worldwide, there are ten known genera, with seven occurring in the Chinle Formation and Dockum Group of the southwestern United States (Long and Murry, 1995). The North American genera include Desmatosuchus, Typothorax, Paratypothorax, Calyptosuchus, Longosuchus, Stagonolepis, and Stegomus.