Welcome to Aetobarbakinoides
Name Definition
Long legged buzzard form
Name Given By
Julia B. Desojo, Martin D. Ezcurra, and Edio E. Kischlat in 2012
Location
Santa Maria Formation in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Classification
Reptilia, Suchia, Aetosauria, Stagonolepididae
Size
based on skeletal comparison with other aetosaurs, Aetobarbakinoides has been estimated to be around 2 meters long (6.6 ft)
Temporal Range
Carnian - Norian stages of the late Triassic, 231.4 - 225.9 million years ago
Ecological niche
mid-sized herbivore
Species/Sub Species
A. brasiliensis
Diet
Similar to many other aetosaurian archosaurs, Aetobarbakinoides was most likely a herbivore feeding on lower growing plants
Introduction
Aetobarbakinoides is an extinct genus of aetosaurian archosaurs that lived in Brazil during the late Triassic period. Aetobarbakinoides is one of the oldest aetosaurs known in the fossil record having been found in the Santa Maria Formation which is around Ansian - Norian age in the Triassic. Only the two aetosaurs Aetosauroides from Argentina and Stagonolepis from Scotland are comparable in age to Aetobarbakinoides. Even though these were some of the earliest aetosaurs, it still shows that they were a widespread group even at the very start from South America to Europe. Aetobarbakinoides is one of the only aetosaurs that has had a description focused on something besides the osteoderm armor. Instead of focusing on the armor of Aetobarbakinoides, the description focused on the vertebrae. While its vertebrae structure does bear some resemblance to that of Desmatosuchus, it is still rather different from most other known aetosaur genera. In life, Aetobarbakinoides would have probably been like most other aetosaurs and had squat legs while also being protected from most Triassic predators because of its protective osteoderms on its back. While the skull of Aetobarbakinoides is unknown, most other aetosaurs known at this time have been mostly herbivorous, so it probably isn't too much of a stretch to assume the same for Aetobarbakinoides. Aetobarbakinoides would have lived with typical Triassic fauna including some cynodont synapsids, other archosauromorphs, the other aetosaur Aetosauroides, true archosaurs like Prestosuchus and Rauisuchus, and some primitive carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs like Saturnalia and Staurikosaurus.