New bipedal species of prehistoric crocodile described...

[Uroplatus]

A recently discovered crocodilian ancestor, called, Carnufex carolinensis, was believed to be walking upright...

https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/03/zanno-carnufex/

[Alexxitator]

I love me a good new suchus as much as the next guy, and really like the idea of one walking upright.
Having said that...
I can't really find the scientific evidence behind the reasoning that this guy did that.

[/quote]"We knew that there were too many top performers on the proverbial stage in the Late Triassic," Zanno adds. "Yet, until we deciphered the story behind Carnufex, it wasn't clear that early crocodile ancestors were among those vying for top predator roles prior to the reign of dinosaurs in North America."[/quote]

Somewhere after this bit I hoped to find the evidence but... Nothing.

So I googled on and found;
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150319/srep09276/full/srep09276.html
The full article.

Here I found more on the family ties with other crocodylomorphs and the fact this guy was not mature yet.
And maybe I am missing something here but... Where does it suggest this one walked upright?

[Uroplatus]

Hi, thanks for posting the full article.., i actually only came across the link at another forum so i thought i post it here and give it some attention.

It says they walked upright in the first few lines of the article i posted but by no means is this something i discovered or stated myself so i am not up for a debate on this.., not enough knowledge abouth these things to do so. 

[Alexxitator]

Hi, thanks for posting the full article.., i actually only came across the link at another forum so i thought i post it here and give it some attention.

It says they walked upright in the first few lines of the article i posted but by no means is this something i discovered or stated myself so i am not up for a debate on this.., not enough knowledge abouth these things to do so. 

Funny that you say this! Because I myself am hardly what you'd call a specialist on this subject. But as a great lover of everything croc(-ish) this one really caught my attention.

[Dinoguy2]

I love me a good new suchus as much as the next guy, and really like the idea of one walking upright.
Having said that...
I can't really find the scientific evidence behind the reasoning that this guy did that.

"We knew that there were too many top performers on the proverbial stage in the Late Triassic," Zanno adds. "Yet, until we deciphered the story behind Carnufex, it wasn't clear that early crocodile ancestors were among those vying for top predator roles prior to the reign of dinosaurs in North America."[/quote]

Somewhere after this bit I hoped to find the evidence but... Nothing.

So I googled on and found;
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150319/srep09276/full/srep09276.html
The full article.

Here I found more on the family ties with other crocodylomorphs and the fact this guy was not mature yet.
And maybe I am missing something here but... Where does it suggest this one walked upright?
[/quote]

Many rauisuchian grade stem crocs walked bipedally. Postosuchus, Saurosuchus, Rauisuchus, etc. given the limb lengths here based on known fragments, there's no good reason to think this was the one big predatory stem croc that was a quadruped. Kinda like how we pretty safely assume various theropods were bipeds despite not having limb bones for many of them. We could be wrong (like Spinosaurus?) but it's not likely.

[Alexxitator]

Many rauisuchian grade stem crocs walked bipedally. Postosuchus, Saurosuchus, Rauisuchus, etc. given the limb lengths here based on known fragments, there's no good reason to think this was the one big predatory stem croc that was a quadruped. Kinda like how we pretty safely assume various theropods were bipeds despite not having limb bones for many of them. We could be wrong (like Spinosaurus?) but it's not likely.

I find many info on full-time quadruples, part time bipeds, and only one (shuvosaurids) as probable full-time bipeds. I believe the library is still open on the subject from what I can piece together.

wiki for instance
There is debate over whether Postosuchus was bipedal or quadrupedal and scientists aren't certain, yet, about its gait. However, it has also been suggested by some palaeontologists that Postosuchus might possibly have been a facultative biped, meaning that it alternated between two-limbed and four-limbed locomotion, much as the later Iguanodon and the modern Kangaroo.

[Dinoguy2]

Many rauisuchian grade stem crocs walked bipedally. Postosuchus, Saurosuchus, Rauisuchus, etc. given the limb lengths here based on known fragments, there's no good reason to think this was the one big predatory stem croc that was a quadruped. Kinda like how we pretty safely assume various theropods were bipeds despite not having limb bones for many of them. We could be wrong (like Spinosaurus?) but it's not likely.

I find many info on full-time quadruples, part time bipeds, and only one (shuvosaurids) as probable full-time bipeds. I believe the library is still open on the subject from what I can piece together.

wiki for instance
There is debate over whether Postosuchus was bipedal or quadrupedal and scientists aren't certain, yet, about its gait. However, it has also been suggested by some palaeontologists that Postosuchus might possibly have been a facultative biped, meaning that it alternated between two-limbed and four-limbed locomotion, much as the later Iguanodon and the modern Kangaroo.

I notice there's no source for that statement...

[Alexxitator]

Many rauisuchian grade stem crocs walked bipedally. Postosuchus, Saurosuchus, Rauisuchus, etc. given the limb lengths here based on known fragments, there's no good reason to think this was the one big predatory stem croc that was a quadruped. Kinda like how we pretty safely assume various theropods were bipeds despite not having limb bones for many of them. We could be wrong (like Spinosaurus?) but it's not likely.

I find many info on full-time quadruples, part time bipeds, and only one (shuvosaurids) as probable full-time bipeds. I believe the library is still open on the subject from what I can piece together.

wiki for instance
There is debate over whether Postosuchus was bipedal or quadrupedal and scientists aren't certain, yet, about its gait. However, it has also been suggested by some palaeontologists that Postosuchus might possibly have been a facultative biped, meaning that it alternated between two-limbed and four-limbed locomotion, much as the later Iguanodon and the modern Kangaroo.

I notice there's no source for that statement...

I noticed the same about your statement...

[Alexxitator]

In 1995 Robert Long and Phillip A Murry argued that Postosuchus was heavily built and quadrupedal. Peyer et al. 2008, argued that the thick pectoral girdle served for locomotion of the forelimbs. However, they noted that this doesn't detract from the theory that Postosuchus could also walk bipedally. In 2013, a major study of the skeletal structure concluded that Postosuchus may have been an obligate biped based on evidence from the anatomy of the digits, vertebrae, and pelvis. The proportions of the limbs and weight-bearing sections of the spine were very similar to many theropod dinosaurs, nearly all of which are thought to have been strictly bipedal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postosuchus

Like other rauisuchians, ‬Saurosuchus is thought to have had a quadrupedal posture in order to support its larger size and weight. ‬While slowing Saurosuchus down when compared to bipedal reptiles, ‬it was probably not a hindrance as there were plenty of reptilian prey animals that ‬would have been just as slow if not slower. ‬A lower quadrupedal posture also explains the development of osteoderm armour along its back. ‬While quadrupedal Saurosuchus would have been able to climb onto the back of another, ‬and if two Saurosuchus came into conflict over territory or the right to feed from a kill, ‬the armour may have helped protect Saurosuchus from being bitten on a critical area like the spine from another. ‬This would allow for a weaker or more submissive individual to withdraw from a fight injured but still alive.
http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/s/saurosuchus.html

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/02/21/poposaurus-postosuchus-and-the-dinosaur-mimic-croc-walk/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4340915/

I am not taking a stance in any way, but I still do not find anything conclusive on the motions of any of this family, if indeed it is a family.

[tanystropheus]

This guy looks crazy - I hope CollectA makes Carnufex carolinensis for 2015.

[Balaur]

I don't see how it looks any different from any other prehistoric crocodyliform, apart from maybe the head. Also, recently listening to the most recent Tetrapod Zoology Podcast episode, Darren Naish said that there is no indication that it was bipedal. It seemed like it was just made up by the news sources. 

[Manatee]

I don't see how it looks any different from any other prehistoric crocodyliform, apart from maybe the head. Also, recently listening to the most recent Tetrapod Zoology Podcast episode, Darren Naish said that there is no indication that it was bipedal. It seemed like it was just made up by the news sources. 

Typical media... 

[Alexxitator]

I don't see how it looks any different from any other prehistoric crocodyliform, apart from maybe the head. Also, recently listening to the most recent Tetrapod Zoology Podcast episode, Darren Naish said that there is no indication that it was bipedal. It seemed like it was just made up by the news sources. 

Ah, apparently my aforementioned points were not so crazy.

[Dilopho]

Full article:http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/science-carnufex-carolinensis-new-prehistoric-crocodile-north-carolina-02617.html
A new species of prehistoric crocodile that dates back 231 million years ago (Carnian stage of the Triassic period) has been identified by a team of paleontologists led by Dr Lindsay Zanno of North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

The newly-discovered creature, named Carnufex carolinensis, or the Carolina Butcher, is one of the world's earliest and largest crocodylomorphs (Crocodylomorpha), a group of creatures that includes modern and extinct crocodile relatives.

It was about 9 feet (2.7 m) long, walked on its hind legs, and likely preyed upon smaller inhabitants of North Carolina ecosystems such as armored reptiles and early mammal relatives.

The fossilized skull, spine and upper forelimb of Carnufex carolinensis were collected from the Upper Triassic Pekin Formation in Chatham County, North Carolina.

"Fossils from this time period are extremely important to scientists because they record the earliest appearance of crocodylomorphs and theropod dinosaurs, two groups that first evolved in the Triassic period, yet managed to survive to the present day in the form of crocodiles and birds," said Dr Zanno, who is the first author of a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Susan Drymala of North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, a co-author of the discovery paper, added: "as theropod dinosaurs started to make it big, the ancestors of modern crocs initially took on a role similar to foxes or jackals, with small, sleek bodies and long limbs. If you want to picture these animals, just think of a modern day fox, but with alligator skin instead of fur."

[Sim]

There's already a thread about this: http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3226.0

[smashtoad]

If that illustration is accurate...that animal is most likely not bipedal.

[stargatedalek]

If that illustration is accurate...that animal is most likely not bipedal.

Why not? Plenty of rauisuchians (it's less derived closest relatives) were capable of walking bipedally, despite proportionally much smaller hind limbs Postosuchus was even entirely bipedal! Seems the conservative assumption Carnufex was bipedal especially given it's long hind legs.

[Patrx]

There's already a thread about this: http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3226.0

Quite so, good catch. I've merged the two threads