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Stagonolepis, the eponymous stagonolepid aetosaur. These odd, beaked, croc-line archosaurs were sort of like armored pig-crocs, apparently using their upturned snouts to root around for roots and other vegetative matter, and possibly insects and grubs (though the latter is more controversial). They were very successful for a brief time in the latter parts of the Triassic, and then were gone, along with the loss of most other crurotarsans.
I avoided doing an aetosaur for a long time (and pushed this commission back to the last possible moment). Not only is the armor obviously a huge pain, but the vertebral column was poorly documented and I was concerned that it would prevent me from restoring even the basic shape of the animal. After talking about this with some other researchers and amassing a ton of papers and photos, it turns out that Walker's venerable 1961 monograph on Stagonolepis actually had some of the key data in it that I needed. So here you go.
I avoided doing an aetosaur for a long time (and pushed this commission back to the last possible moment). Not only is the armor obviously a huge pain, but the vertebral column was poorly documented and I was concerned that it would prevent me from restoring even the basic shape of the animal. After talking about this with some other researchers and amassing a ton of papers and photos, it turns out that Walker's venerable 1961 monograph on Stagonolepis actually had some of the key data in it that I needed. So here you go.
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Fantastic work!
Good skeletals on these sorts of animals are so hard to come by. Hopefully there's more odd crurotarsans in store the future, though I totally understand if there's not, what with all the armor plating and all. 
Is it just me, or does the snout actually look sort of delicate for an animal that's supposed to be using it for digging? Is it more robust in dorsal view?


Is it just me, or does the snout actually look sort of delicate for an animal that's supposed to be using it for digging? Is it more robust in dorsal view?
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