Reinaut Formation: Xenokadropeton

The Reinaut Formation in the south of the continent called Guralta is one of, if not the most extensive fossil site from the late Bobossic. Dated to have been formed between 125 and 122 million Eryobian years ago, the Reinaut Formation offers a glimpse of what life was like in the Kikilian, the latest stage of the Bobossic right before the devastating mass extinction dubbed “The World Scarring” happened.
Back when it was formed, the Reinaut Formation was likely a subtropical or temperate open woodland subject to seasonal rains. The fossils discovered in the Reinaut Formation so far, have mostly been megafaunal animals which tended to fossilise better than smaller animals in the conditions that were present in Reinaut 122 million years ago.

Besides Saurochenia itself, Reinaut appears to have been home to a second Saurocheniid species, the much smaller and oddly proportioned Xenokadropeton agilis. While only being half the size of Saurochenia, Xenokadropeton had a skull that was the same size as the former’s, relatively shorter legs and a longer tail that almost made these two Sautocheniids the same length. The mouth of Xenokadropeton was close to the ground and its caecal digits were long and sported tong shaped claws, perhaps suggesting a mostly grazing lifestyle.
Like Saurochenia, Xenokadropeton fossils have been found in large numbers, suggesting a gregarious lifestyle and like modern Brachiostomes and possibly other Saurocheniids, Xenokadropeton had a single ear located behind the head that might have been colourful and used for display.
 

Reinaut Formation: Saurochenia

The Reinaut Formation in the south of the continent called Guralta is one of, if not the most extensive fossil site from the late Bobossic. Dated to have been formed between 125 and 122 million Eryobian years ago, the Reinaut Formation offers a glimpse of what life was like in the Kikilian, the latest stage of the Bobossic right before the devastating mass extinction dubbed “The World Scarring” happened.
Back when it was formed, the Reinaut Formation was likely a subtropical or temperate open woodland subject to seasonal rains. The fossils discovered in the Reinaut Formation so far, have mostly been megafaunal animals which tended to fossilise better than smaller animals in the conditions that were present in Reinaut 122 million years ago.

A very common creature discovered in Reinaut is Saurochenia major. With its long legs, strong tail, elongated snout and huge dewclaws on its hind feet, it was a standard representative of the family named after it; Saurocheniidae. Saurocheniids appear somewhat out of the blue in the late Bobossic with no clear origin having been determined for them, but they have many anatomical traits that suggest they were quite closely related to the handful of modern Brachiostomatan Anisospondyls. One such trait is the specialised protrusions on the vertebrae right behind the head that, in modern species, support a fleshy cartilaginous ear pinna. While no evidence of such an ear has been found in Saurochenia itself, a fossil preserving skin impressions of a Saurocheniid discovered elsewhere does show such a structure being present, so it’s likely that S. Major also had it. This ear may have been used for display as it is in many modern Brachiostomes and could have been brightly colored.
Saurochenia had huge clipper shaped claws on its caecal front limbs that were likely used to shear leaves from their stems or to pluck small plants from the ground. The enormous dewclaws on the hind feet were likely used for both intraspecific combat and for defense against predators.
Curiously, Saurochenia fossils are often found in association with isolated teeth belonging to Kampourischium, a carnivore that like S. Major has also been discovered in the Noileyn Beds in Hatèmica, suggesting a well established predator-prey relationship between Saurocheniids and Kampourischiids.