Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

K. rewanensis, about 3 m long, is known from isolated, fragmentary cranial and post-cranial remains - skull, vertebrae, limb and girdle bones. It is the oldest archosaur known from Australia. The bones of the skull that have been found are the jugal bones, a partial skull roof and fragments of the upper and lower jaws. The calcaneum ( one of the ankle bones) is very similar to that found in crocodiles. It is believed to have been an amphibious predator, similar to a crocodile, that is closely related to the genus Chasmatosaurs from Africa and China. Among the thecodonts it is distinctive because of its crocodiloid calcaneum, as well as a maxillary shelf, that indicates it had a broad snout. The limb bones were slender, and the neck was relatively long for a member of the Proterosuchidae.

Sources & Further reading

Dinosaurs of Australia and New Zealand, John A. Long, UNSW Press, 1998