Macrocnemus
Etymology: Long tibia
Collected Species: Macrocnemus bassanii
Systematic Palaeontology: Archosauromorpha; Prolacertiformes
Distribution: Grenzbitumenzone (Anisian-Ladinian boundary)
Locality: Besano-Monte San Giorgio (Lombardy/Switzerland)
Repository: Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano; Paläontologisches Institut und Museum Zürich
Macrocnemus is a small to medium sized prolacertiform reptile with a moderately elongate neck and a great length disparity between anterior and posterior limbs. The jaws were lined up by small sharp teeth suggesting that it may have fed upon insects and small vertebrates. The fifth toe was short and not modified unlike in Tanystropheus and Langobardisaurus. Recently a juvenile specimen was collected in which skin preserved around the pelvis and tail. The scales fossilized, enabling us to reconstruct the pattern of squamation in these regions.
Skull
Drawing of the preserved skin patches (drawing by M. Avanzini)
Artwork by S. Renesto unless otherwise indicated. Please do not reproduce/repost/republish etc. any text or image without asking permission to the author