Palaeontologists Unveil 5th Shuvosaur Species, Filling Triassic Evolutionary Gap

5 articles · Updated · BBC Discover Wildlife · May 26

Labrujasuchus expectatus, a bipedal, toothless crocodile-line reptile from New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch, was identified as a new Late Triassic species in a study published Tuesday.
The animal belongs to the shuvosaur group and helps bridge a gap between earlier and later regional species that researchers had long predicted existed.
Researchers said its two-legged stance and beaked skull closely resemble ornithomimosaur dinosaurs, underscoring how crocodile relatives and dinosaurs independently evolved similar body plans.
Only the fifth shuvosaur species known, Labrujasuchus emerged from excavations that began 20 years ago at the 21,000-acre Ghost Ranch fossil site.
The find adds to evidence that the Triassic was a key period of evolutionary experimentation, when traits later seen in dinosaurs, birds and modern animals first appeared.

If crocodile ancestors walked on two legs, what other evolutionary surprises does the Triassic period hold?

How can scientists be certain this dinosaur look-alike was actually a crocodile relative?

What did a toothless, bipedal 'witch croc' eat in a world full of dinosaurs?