Scutosaurus

Type Species: S. karpinskii

Pronunciation: Scoot-oh-soar-us

Geological Layer: Permian

Baramin: Pareiasaurid

Habitat: Permian Floodplains

Era: Pre-Fall-Post-Flood, 6,000-?

Pre-Fall Diet: Plants

Post-Fall Diet: Plants

Length: 10 feet

Height: 4-6 ft.

Weight: 1 ton

Description:

Somewhat resembling a tortoise, the herbivorous Scutosaurus was the largest of its taxonomic family. It was a heavily built creature with plates of armor under the skin protecting its back. This animal walked on four, pillar-like legs and had a relatively short, stumpy tail. Unlike many other non-dinosaurian reptiles, Scutosaurus' legs were held underneath the body; most other reptiles' legs sprawl out to the sides.

Scutosaurus' skull was adorned with many bumps and spikes; large cheekbones extended from the sides.

Scutosaurus' skull was around 50 centimeters wide and adorned with many bumps and spikes. This creature was also complete with large cheekbones that extended outwards.

History:

Scutosaurus was named by Hartmann-Weinberg in 1930.

Taxonomy:

The family Scutosaurus belongs to, the pareiasaurs, probably represents this animals baramin, or “created kind”. Like other Permian-habitat reptiles, Scutosaurus wasn't a dinosaur.

Paleobiology:

The fossil skeleton of Scutosaurus.

One of the largest animals where it lived in Russia, Scutosaurus didn't have many threats. But if it did happen to meet one, it's main defense would have been the plates of bony armor scattered across its body underneath the animal's skin. It had especially strong neck muscles, but strong muscles were common all over its body.

A baby Scutosaurus is brought down by a predatory Inostrancevia.

One of the few predators that had any chance of bringing down an adult Scutosaurus would probably have been the rhino-sized gorgonopsid Inostrancevia. It's also possible that Scutosaurus lived in herds to further protect themselves from such dangers. Despite the fact that it's legs were underneath its body, like those of dinosaurs, Scutosaurus couldn't run fast for long.

God also designed this reptile to be able to consume a variety of tough plants. The teeth of Scutosaurus were flattened and could tackle many leaves and young branches before swallowing. To help with its digestion in its large stomach, Scutosaurus might have swallowed small stones, known as gastroliths, to help grind up the food.

Thanks to the design of its cheekbones, Scutosaurus may have been able to emit loud bellowing calls to communicate with other members of its herd.

Extinction:

Being a land animal, a male and female pair of Scutosaurus (or one of its relations) went aboard Noah's Ark 4,350 years ago before Noah's Flood wiped the earth clean of every air-breathing terrestrial creature and all the humans except Noah and his family. After the Flood, Scutosaurus went extinct either due to environmental stress and/or human interference (e.g. hunting and/or habitat disturbance).

Popular Culture:

Scutosaurus hasn't made many appearances in popular culture, but it was featured in the BBC documentary series Walking with Monsters (2005). They are portrayed as being food for a large female gorgonopsid (presumably Inostrancevia) unless they band together in a herd. When they arrive at a watering hole in their Permian landscape, they drink it dry and must move on to avoid malnutrition.

A Scutosaurus wanders into a time-anomaly into present-day Great Britain in the BBC's Primeval in Episode 1.1. A herd makes a cameo appearance in Episode 1.1 and Episode 1.6. A pair of them is also seen in Leek's creature prison in Episode 2.6 and 2.7. In the show, however, they are portrayed as being the size of an elephant, weighing six or seven tons. In reality, Scutosaurus only weighed one ton.

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