Hypselorhachis fossil map
Where fossils of Hypselorhachis have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 252 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 252 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Crocodile relatives |
|---|---|
| Lived | 247–241.464 million years ago |
| Periods | Triassic |
| Family | Ctenosauriscidae |
| Named by | Charig 1967 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Tanzania |
| Rock formations | Manda Beds |
About Hypselorhachis
Hypselorhachis is a genus of extinct reptile, possibly a ctenosauriscid archosaur related to Ctenosauriscus. It lived during the Triassic Period. It is currently known only from a single vertebra found from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds in Tanzania. The vertebra is preserved in reasonably good condition, as although the tall neural spine is chipped in several places it is not broken despite being quite slender, only around 20 mm thick transversely.
The type species is H. mirabilis, mentioned but never fully described by English paleontologist Alan J. Charig. Hypselorhachis was assigned to the Ctenosauriscidae, a group of sail-backed archosaurs, in 1988. It was formally described by Richard J. Butler and co-workers in 2009. The name means 'wonderful high spine', from the Latin 'mirabilis' 'wonderful' and the Greek 'ὑπσελος', 'high' and 'ῥαχις' 'spine' or 'backbone'. Hypselorhachis was probably at least 3 metres long, maybe up to 4 or 5 metres, as the vertebra is certainly from quite a large animal.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Hypselorhachis (revision 1315923648), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q3787996.
