Triassic cat-sized crocodile named after hero from Arthurian legend
Ewan Bondeham, a Ph.D. student at University College London, named and described a new species of extinct, crocodile relatives from the Triassic Period based on fossils found in England. Bondeham named the new, cat-sized croc Galahadosuchus jonesi after his former teacher and a mythic hero from Arthurian legend.
Bondeham was the lead author on a scientific paper pubished in The Anatomical Record earlier this month, A second species of non-crocodyliform crocodylomorph from the Late Triassic fissure deposits of southwestern UK: Implications for locomotory ecological diversity in Saltoposuchidae, which described the new species.
Bondeham stated in a LinkedIn post that he named the species jonesi after his former school teacher David Rhys Jones, “in recognition of the inspiration he gave me and many other pupils […] to pursue our passion for science.”
The genus name, Galahadosuchus refers to Sir Galahad, “a knight renowned for his moral uprightness,” Bondeham explained in The Anatomical Record. Bondeham believes Galahadosuchus walked upright, and the name forms a double entendre as it also “alludes to the upright posture of the taxon”. In Arthurian lore, Galahad in famous for finding the Holy Grail in tales like the anonymous Queste del Saint Graal and Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur.
Defining a new species
The Triassic Period (252-201 million years ago) was very different time. While often considered part of the Mesozoic “Age of Dinosaurs”, most of the iconic dinosaur groups that characterized the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods had yet to evolve. While some dinosaurs roamed the late Triassic, the era also saw the rise of many weird and wonderful crocodile-like species that are relatives - but not direct ancestors - to the crocodiles and alligators of today.
Bondeham’s description of Galahadosuchus is based off of two fossil slabs found in the Cromhall Quarry in southwestern England. The first fossil slab contained the remains of the creature’s backbone and hindlimbs. The second fossil slab contained a forelimb. In order to define Galahadosuchus as a new species, Bondeham had to make the case that the fossil was not the member of a previously known species of Triassic crocodile-relative.
In many ways, the fossil remains of Galahadosuchus are quite similar to those of Terrestrisuchus, another crocodylomorph from the Late Triassic of England and Wales. Bondeham and his co-authors conceded that the fossil specimen “exhibits a high degree of morphological similarity to Terrestrisuchus.” However, they were able to distinguish the two crocs on the basis of several minute anatomical features, including a “shorter and stouter” radius and ulna (forearm bones). Another feature that distinguished the two species was the relative lengths of their metacarpals (handbones). In the known fossils of Terrestrisuchus, metacarpal V (the fifth hand bone, connecting to the “pinky” finger in humans) is longer than metacarpal II (the second hand bone, connecting to the index finger in humans). However, the fossil forelimb of Galahadosuchus preserves a metacarpal V that is “approximately half the length of metacarpal II”.