Ebrachosaurus is an extinct genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of aetosaur

Aetosaur

Aetosaurs are an extinct order of heavily armoured, medium- to large-sized Late Triassic herbivorous archosaurs. They have small heads, upturned snouts, erect limbs, and a body covered by plate-like scutes. All aetosaurs belong to the family Stagonolepididae...

. It was named after the town of Ebrach

Ebrach

Ebrach is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg and the seat of the administrative community of Ebrach.-Etymology:...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, near an outcrop of the Blasensandstein Formation where the original fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s have been found. Other Blasensandstein fauna include the temnospondyl

Temnospondyli

Temnospondyli is a diverse order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods. A few species continued into the Cretaceous. Fossils have been found on every continent...

 Metoposaurus

Metoposaurus

Metoposaurus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian, known from the Late Triassic of Europe. This mostly aquatic animal possessed small, weak limbs, had sharp teeth and a large flat head. The main diet of this highly flattened creature was fish which it captured with its wide jaws lined with...

and the phytosaur

Phytosaur

Phytosaurs are an extinct group of large semi-aquatic Late Triassic archosaurs. Phytosaurs belong to the family Phytosauridae and the order Phytosauria. They were long-snouted and heavily armoured, bearing a remarkable resemblance to modern crocodiles in size, appearance, and lifestyle, an example...

 Francosuchus. The genus has often been considered synonymous

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 with the closely related Stagonolepis

Stagonolepis

Stagonolepis is an extinct genus of aetosaur. It was about long.An aetosaur, Stagonolepis was a quadrupedal animal covered in thick armoured scales that ran down the length of the its body. A slow-moving browser, it would have used this heavy body armour to repel attacks from contemporary...

. Unfortunately, the holotype

Holotype

A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...

 specimen was lost during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, so its relationships within Stagonolepididae remain indeterminant.

External links

• Ebrachosaurus in the Paleobiology Database
  Paleobiology Database
  ' is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.-History:The Paleobiology Database was founded in 2000. It has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council...