Desmatosuchus haploceras – Our Favourite “Eagle Lizard”

Like most of the aetosaurs (Eagle Lizards) described to date, Desmatosuchus had a robust, heavy body covered in armour.  The armour was made up of four-sided plates running along the back and encasing the tail.  The reptile weighed around five hundred kilogrammes and the largest individuals measured in excess of four metres.  Our favourite “Eagle Lizard” fed on primitive ferns, horsetails and seed ferns.  This Late Triassic member of the Aetosauridae lived in western and southern United States (New Mexico, Texas and Arizona).

“Eagle Lizard”

An Image of the Aetosaur Desmatosuchus haploceras

A model of an Aetosaur (ruler provides scale)

A model of an aetosaur (ruler provides scale).

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Desmatosuchus haploceras

Safari Ltd have a model of an aetosaur (Desmatosuchus haploceras) as part of the company’s “Prehistoric Crocodile Toob”.  It is rare to find animals from the enigmatic Aetosauridae family as models and replicas.

A spokesperson for the UK-based Everything Dinosaur commented:

“We welcome the addition of more exotic and enigmatic prehistoric animal models.  Most model manufacturers make figures of Stegosaurus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex and it is great to see different prehistoric animals, even aetosaurs featured.”

To view the range of dinosaur models and prehistoric animals available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.