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Terrestrial crocodylomorphs

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Araripesuchus
Araripesuchus is a genus of extinct crocodyliform that existed during the Cretaceous period of the late Mesozoic era some 125 to 66 million years ago. Araripesuchus is generally considered to be a notosuchian (belonging to the clade Mesoeucrocodylia), characterized by the varied teeth types and distinct skull elements. Seven species have been referred to Araripesuchus, though it has been argued that the phylogenetic position of this genus is uncertain, and that taxonomic revision is required.
Simosuchus
Simosuchus is an extinct genus of notosuchian crocodyliforms from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. It is named for its unusually short skull. Fully grown individuals were about in length. The type species is Simosuchus clarki, found from the Maevarano Formation in Mahajanga Province, although one isolated multicuspid tooth of this genus was discovered in Kallamedu Formation of India.
Notosuchia
Notosuchia is a clade of primarily Gondwanan mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Some phylogenies recover Sebecosuchia as a clade within Notosuchia, others as a sister group (see below); if Sebecosuchia is included within Notosuchia its existence is pushed into the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene, about 7 to 4.5 million years ago. Fossils have been found from South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Notosuchia was a clade of terrestrial crocodilians that evolved a range of feeding behaviours, including herbivory (Chimaerasuchus), omnivory (Simosuchus
Kaprosuchus
Kaprosuchus is an extinct genus of mahajangasuchid crocodyliform. It is known from a single nearly complete skull collected from the Upper Cretaceous Echkar Formation of Niger. The name means "boar crocodile" from the Greek , kapros ("boar") and , soukhos ("crocodile") in reference to its unusually large caniniform teeth which resemble those of a boar. It has been nicknamed "BoarCroc" by Paul Sereno and Hans Larsson, who first described the genus in a monograph published in ZooKeys in 2009 along with other Saharan crocodyliforms such as Anatosuchus and Laganosuchus. The type species is K. saha
Pristichampsus
Pristichampsus (from , 'saw' and , 'crocodile') is a non-diagnostic and potentially dubious extinct genus of crocodylian from France and possibly also Kazakhstan that is part of the monotypic Pristichampsidae family. As the type species, Pristichampsus rollinatii, was based on insufficient material when described in 1831 and 1853, the taxonomic status of the genus is in doubt, and other species have been referred to other genera, primarily Boverisuchus.
Armadillosuchus arrudai
Armadillosuchus is an extinct genus of sphagesaurid crocodylomorph. It was described in February 2009 from the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian Adamantina Formation of the Bauru Basin in Brazil, dating to approximately 70 Ma. Armadillosuchus was among the larger and more robust sphagesaurids, with a total length of approximately .
Protosuchus
Protosuchus (from , "first" and , "crocodile") is an extinct genus of carnivorous crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic. It is among the earliest animals that resemble crocodilians. Protosuchus was about in length thumb|left|The skull of Protosuchus richardsoni (AMNH 3024) thumb|left|The pelvis and hindlimbs of Protosuchus richardsoni (AMNH 3024) thumb|right|Protosuchus richardsoni fossil AMNH 3024 As an early crocodilian relative, its skull and postcranial anatomy featured more crocodilian characteristics than its earlier ancestors; it had short jaws that broadened out at the base of the skul
Baurusuchus
left|thumb|450x450px|Skeletal diagram and size comparison showing some of the different Baurusuchus specimens in scientific literature (human: 175 cm tall). Several more specimens have been discovered and stored in museums Baurusuchus is an extinct genus of baurusuchid mesoeucrocodylian, which lived in Brazil from 90 to 83.5 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period. It was a terrestrial predator, estimated to reach up to in weight. Baurusuchus lived during the Turonian to Santonian stages of the Late Cretaceous Period, in Adamantina Formation, Brazil. It gets its name from the Brazilia
Hesperosuchus
Hesperosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph reptile that contains a single species, Hesperosuchus agilis. Remains of this pseudosuchian have been found in Late Triassic (Carnian) strata from Arizona and New Mexico. Because of similarities in skull and neck anatomy and the presence of hollow bones, Hesperosuchus was formerly thought to be an ancestor of later carnosaurian dinosaurs, but based on more recent findings and research it is now known to be more closely related to crocodilians rather than dinosaurs.
Saltoposuchus
Saltoposuchus is an extinct genus of small (1–1.5 m and 10–15 kg), long-tailed crocodylomorph reptile (Sphenosuchia), from the Norian (Late Triassic) of Europe. The name translated means "leaping foot crocodile". It has been proposed that Terrestrisuchus gracilis and Saltoposuchus connectens represent different ontogenetic stages of the same genus. Saltoposuchus was commonly (and incorrectly) referred to in popular literature as the ancestor (or close ancestors) to dinosaurs; however, recent scientific research shows that this is not the case.
Sphenosuchia
Sphenosuchia is a grouping of basal crocodylomorphs that first appeared in the Triassic and persisted into the Jurassic. Most were small, gracile animals with an erect limb posture. Although sometimes recovered as a monophyletic group, they are now generally thought to represent various early offshoots of the lineage leading to Crocodyliformes, with some sphenosuchians more closely related to crocodyliforms than to other "sphenosuchians", rendering the group paraphyletic.
Baurusuchidae
Baurusuchidae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is a group of terrestrial hypercarnivorous crocodilians from South America (Argentina and Brazil) and Asia (Pakistan). Baurusuchidae has been, in accordance with the PhyloCode, officially defined as the least inclusive clade containing Cynodontosuchus rothi, Pissarrachampsa sera, and Baurusuchus pachecoi. Baurusuchids have been placed in the suborder Baurusuchia, and two subfamilies have been proposed: Baurusuchinae and Pissarrachampsinae.
Notosuchus
Notosuchus (; 'southern crocodile') is an extinct genus of South American notosuchian crocodyliforms. It was terrestrial, living approximately 85 million years ago in the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.
Mekosuchus
Mekosuchus is a genus of extinct Australasian mekosuchine crocodilian. Species of Mekosuchus were generally small-sized (less than long), terrestrial animals with short, blunt-snouted heads and strong limbs. Four species are currently recognized, M. inexpectatus, M. whitehunterensis, M. sanderi and M. kalpokasi, all known primarily from fragmentary remains.
Peirosauridae
Peirosauridae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Cretaceous period. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms that evolved a rather dog-like skull, and were terrestrial carnivores. It was phylogenetically defined in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of Peirosaurus and Lomasuchinae and all of its descendants. Lomasuchinae is a subfamily of peirosaurids that includes the genus Lomasuchus.
Mariliasuchus
thumb|right|Reconstruction of the head of Mariliasuchus amarali
Protosuchia
Protosuchia is a group of extinct Mesozoic crocodyliforms. They were small in size (~1 meter in length) and terrestrial. In phylogenetic terms, Protosuchia is considered an informal group because it is a grade of basal crocodyliforms, not a true clade.
Terrestrisuchus
Terrestrisuchus is an extinct genus of very small early crocodylomorph that was about long. Fossils have been found in Wales and Southern England and date from near the very end of the Late Triassic during the Rhaetian, and it is known by type and only known species T. gracilis. Terrestrisuchus was a long-legged, active predator that lived entirely on land, unlike modern crocodilians. It inhabited a chain of tropical, low-lying islands that made up southern Britain, along with similarly small-sized dinosaurs and abundant rhynchocephalians. Numerous fossils of Terrestrisuchus are known from fis
Hallopus victor
Hallopus is an extinct genus of small "sphenosuchian" crocodylomorph, known from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America. The only known species Hallopus victor was originally named in 1877 as a species of the dinosaur Nanosaurus, and was moved into its own genus by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1881. It was a quite small animal, reaching a length of 1 m (3.3ft) with long and slender limbs. Macelognathus, a similarly slender-proportioned crocodylomorph to Hallopus, may be synonymous with it.
Montealtosuchus
Montealtosuchus is an extinct genus of terrestrial crocodyliform. It was discovered in 2004 in the Bauru Basin of Brazil, from Campanian-Maastrichtian deposits of the Adamantina Formation. The species was described in 2007, and assigned to the family Peirosauridae. The type species is M. arrudacamposi. The genus takes its name from the type locality in Monte Alto municipality.
Stratiotosuchus
Stratiotosuchus (from Greek, (stratiōtēs, "soldier") and (soûchos, "crocodile")) is an extinct genus of baurusuchid mesoeucrocodylian from the Adamantina Formation in Brazil. It lived during the Late Cretaceous. The first fossils were found in the 1980s, and the type species Stratiotosuchus maxhechti was named in 2001. A hyperpredator, it and other baurusuchids may have filled niches occupied elsewhere by theropod dinosaurs.
Uruguaysuchus
Uruguaysuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliforms from the Late Cretaceous Guichón Formation of Uruguay. It was related to Simosuchus and Malawisuchus. It was of small to moderate size reaching an estimated length of .
Sphagesaurus
Sphagesaurus is an extinct genus of sphagesaurid notosuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous of southwest São Paulo, southern Brazil.
Trilophosuchus
Trilophosuchus ("triple crest crocodile") is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodilian from Australia. Its fossils have been found at the Ringtail Site in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area (north-western Queensland) and date to the Miocene epoch. Additional remains have also been found at the older Hiatus Site and extend its range into the Oligocene. Like the closely related Mekosuchus, it is thought to have had a short and blunt snout and large eyes that generally resembles today's dwarf crocodiles. It also shares similarities with several much older crocodylomorph groups and is commonly
Adamantinasuchus
Adamantinasuchus is an extinct genus of notosuchian crocodylomorph from and named after the Late Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of Brazil. It is known from only one fossil, holotype UFRJ-DG 107-R, collected by William Nava (hence the specific name navae). The fossil consists of a partial skull, fragmentary limb bones and a few broken vertebrae, and was found southwest of the town of Marilia, near a reservoir dam. Adamantinasuchus was approximately long from nose to tail, and would have only weighed a few kilograms.
Mahajangasuchidae
Mahajangasuchidae is an extinct family of notosuchian crocodyliforms. It currently contains two genera, Mahajangasuchus and Kaprosuchus, both of which lived during the Late Cretaceous in Gondwana. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing Mahajangasuchus insignis but not Notosuchus terrestris, Simosuchus clarki, Araripesuchus gomesii, Baurusuchus pachecoi, Peirosaurus torminni, Goniopholis crassidens, Pholidosaurus schaumbergensis, or Crocodylus niloticus. Phylogenetically, Mahajangasuchidae is placed just outside pholidosaurids and more derived neosuchians.
Dibothrosuchus
Dibothrosuchus is a genus of sphenosuchian, a type of basal crocodylomorph, the clade that comprises the crocodilians and their closest kin. It is known from several partial skeletons and skulls. These fossils were found in Lower Jurassic (Lower Pliensbachian, circa 186 million years old) rocks of Yunnan, China. Dibothrosuchus was a small terrestrial crocodylomorph that probably had a keen sense of hearing, and thus was probably a vocal animal like modern crocodilians.
Uberabasuchus
Uberabasuchus ("Uberaba crocodile") is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous Serra da Galga Formation of Brazil. It appears to have a high skull like that of the sebecosuchians, but differs from them in having teeth with circular cross-section. Thus, rather than slicing flesh and blood vessels, it is likely to have inflicted powerful crushing bites . The post-crania and the geology suggesting an arid climate indicate that Uberabasuchus was likely a terrestrial predator.
Uruguaysuchidae
Uruguaysuchidae is a family of notosuchian crocodyliforms that lived in South America and Africa during the Cretaceous period. It was formally defined under the PhyloCode in 2024 as "the most inclusive clade containing Uruguaysuchus aznarezi but not Baurusuchus pachecoi, Peirosaurus torminni, Mahajangasuchus insignis, Notosuchus terrestris, and Crocodylus niloticus." Below is a modified cladogram that depicts the preferred reference phylogeny, chosen from Fernández Dumont et al. (2020):
Pseudhesperosuchus
left|thumb|Skeletal diagram, showcasing known elements in white Pseudhesperosuchus (meaning "false Hesperosuchus") is a genus of sphenosuchian, a type of basal crocodylomorph, the clade that comprises the crocodilians and their closest kin. It is known from a partial skeleton and skull found in rocks of the Late Triassic (Norian-age) Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina.
Sphagesauridae
Sphagesauridae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodilians that evolved very mammal-like teeth and jaws. Both Sphagesaurus and Adamantinasuchus are known from the Turonian to Santonian of Brazil.
Boverisuchus
Boverisuchus is an extinct genus of planocraniid crocodyliforms known from the early to middle Eocene (Ypresian to Lutetian stages) of Germany and western North America. It was a relatively small crocodyliform with an estimated total length of approximately .
Gobiosuchus
Gobiosuchus ("Gobi [desert] crocodile") is an extinct genus of crocodyliform described in 1972 by Polish palaeontologist Halszka Osmólska. It hails from the Late Cretaceous (Early Campanian) of Bayn Dzak (Djadokhta Formation), in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The type species is Gobiosuchus kielanae, classified as a member of the family Gobiosuchidae.
Sichuanosuchus
Sichuanosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic and possibly Early Cretaceous of China.
Malawisuchus
Malawisuchus (meaning "Malawi crocodile") is an extinct genus of notosuchian mesoeucrocodylian from the Early Cretaceous Dinosaur Beds of Malawi. It was described in 1997 by Elizabeth Gomani as a member of the family Notosuchidae. The type species is M. mwakasyungutiensis, referring to Mwakasyunguti, the area of northern Malawi where it was found. It was classified as a member of the family Itasuchidae by Carvalho and colleagues in 2004.
Hamadasuchus
thumb|left| ROM 52620 Hamadasuchus is an extinct genus of sebecian crocodylomorph. Fossils have been found from the Kem Kem Formation outcropping in southeastern Morocco. These beds date back to the Albian and Cenomanian stages of the Late Cretaceous. It was first assigned to the family Trematochampsidae. Diagnostic features of the genus include its lateromedially compressed and serrated teeth. It was deep-snouted and had a slightly heterodont dentition with three distinct tooth morphologies present from sections of the lower jaw.
Caipirasuchus
Caipirasuchus is an extinct genus of sphagesaurid notosuchians known from the Late Cretaceous of northern São Paulo State and western Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. The type species, C. paulistanus, was named in 2011. A second species, C. montealtensis, was referred to Caipirasuchus in 2013 after having been named in 2008 as a species of Sphagesaurus. A third species, C. stenognathus, was described in 2014. A fourth species, C. mineirus, was described in 2018. A fifth species, C. attenboroughi, was named in 2021 in honour of David Attenborough, and a sixth species, C. catanduvensis,
Planocraniidae
Planocraniidae is an extinct family of eusuchian crocodyliforms known from the Paleogene of Asia, Europe and North America. The family was coined by Li in 1976, and contains three genera, Boverisuchus, Duerosuchus and Planocrania. Planocraniids were highly specialized crocodyliforms that were adapted to living on land. They had extensive body armor, long legs, and blunt claws resembling hooves, and are sometimes informally called "hoofed crocodiles".
Sphenosuchus
Sphenosuchus ("wedge crocodile") is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph from the Early Jurassic Elliot Formation of South Africa, discovered and described early in the 20th century. The skull is preserved very well but other than elements of the forelimb and isolated parts of the hind limb, the Sphenosuchus material is incomplete. It was probably quadrupedal, but may have been a facultative biped.
Macelognathus
Macelognathus is an extinct genus of sphenosuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Jurassic. Originally it was believed be a turtle and later a dinosaur. It lived in what is now Wyoming, in North America. thumb|left|Skeletal restorations The type species, Macelognathus vagans, was described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1884 as a turtle based on a partial jaw from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation at Como Bluff, Wyoming. After being referred to the Dinosauria by Moodie in 1908, it was later reclassified by Ostrom in 1971 as a crocodilian relative. Based on new material from the Morrison Formati
Yacarerani
thumb|upright|left|Restoration
Pissarrachampsa
Pissarrachampsa (meaning "piçarra [the local name for the sandstones it was recovered from] crocodile") is an extinct genus of baurusuchid mesoeucrocodylian from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. It is based on a nearly complete skull and a referred partial skull and lower jaw from the ?Campanian - ?Maastrichtian-age Vale do Rio do Peixe Formation of the Bauru Group, found in the vicinity of Gurinhatã, Brazil.
Ziphosuchia
Ziphosuchia is a clade of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms that includes notosuchians and sebecosuchians.
Zaraasuchus
Zaraasuchus ("hedgehog crocodile") is a gobiosuchid crocodyliform described in 2004 by Diego Pol and Mark Norell. It was found in the Red Beds of Zos Canyon, in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, thus making it Late Cretaceous in age.
Bergisuchus
Bergisuchus is an extinct genus of small sebecosuchian mesoeucrocodylian known primarily from the Eocene Messel Pit in Germany. Few fossils of Bergisuchus have been discovered, only a single incomplete snout, a few partial lower jaws and some teeth. Despite being fragmentary, the jaw bones are enough to indicate that Bergisuchus had a short, deep, narrow snout and serrated teeth, quite unlike the broad flat snouts of modern crocodylians.
Chimaerasuchus
Chimaerasuchus ("chimera crocodile") is an extinct genus of Chinese crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous Wulong Formation. The four teeth in the very tip of its short snout gave it a "bucktoothed" appearance. Due its multicusped teeth and marked heterodonty, it is believed to have been an herbivore. Chimaerasuchus was originally discovered in the 1960s but not identified as a crocodyliform until 1995, instead thought to possibly be a multituberculate mammal. It is highly unusual, as only two other crocodyliforms (Notosuchus and an unnamed specimen from Malawi) have displayed any characteris
Morrinhosuchus
Morrinhosuchus is an extinct genus of notosuchian crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of Brazil. It is known from a mandible and a portion of the front of the skull collected from the municipality of Monte Alto in São Paulo state. Morrinhosuchus refers to Morrinho de Santa Luzia, a hill nearby the collection site of the holotype, while luziae refers to the chapel of Santa Luzia, which is located on top of the hill.
Campinasuchus dinizi
Campinasuchus is an extinct genus of baurusuchid mesoeucrocodylian from Minas Gerais State of Brazil.
Trialestes
Trialestes is an extinct genus of Late Triassic (Carnian) crocodylomorphs that lived in South America. It has been classified as a dinosaur in the past due it being adapted as a terrestrial, running carnivore. It is classified in Sphenosuchia, which were early relatives of crocodylians. Irmis, Nesbitt and Sues (2013) noted that some of the material referred to this taxon is actually dinosaurian; however, according to the authors, the holotype specimen PVL 2561, found in the Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina,
Allodaposuchidae
Allodaposuchidae is an extinct clade of eusuchians that lived in Europe during the Late Cretaceous (Santonian-Maastrichtian).
Protosuchidae
Protosuchidae is a family of basal crocodyliform reptiles that lived from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. This family should not be confused with Protosuchia, which is an informal evolutionary grade of primitive crocodyliforms
Lomasuchus
Lomasuchus is an extinct genus of peirosaurid notosuchian known from the Late Cretaceous (Santonian stage) of Neuquén Province, western central Argentina. It contains a single species, Lomasuchus palpebrosus.
Neuquensuchus
Neuquensuchus (meaning "Neuquén crocodile", referring to the city) is an extinct genus of crocodyliform from the Santonian-age Upper Cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Neuquén Province, Argentina. The known remains were discovered on the campus of Universidad Nacional del Comahue in the city of Neuquén. Neuquensuchus was named by Lucas E. Fiorelli and Jorge O. Calvo in a publication dated to 2007, but which became available in 2008. The type species is N. universitas, in recognition of its discovery locality. Unlike the great majority of crocodyliforms, its shin was longer than its thigh
Orthosuchus
Orthosuchus (meaning "straight crocodile") is an extinct genus of crocodyliform that lived during the Early Jurassic, about 196 million years ago. It was first discovered in 1963 in the Red Beds Formation in the Qacha's Nek Province of Lesotho, southern Africa. The characteristics showed on its postcranial skeleton and the skull indicated that it is a crocodyliform. The finding is significant since some of the characteristics found on this specimen were believed to be absent until Jurassic.
Gobiosuchidae
Gobiosuchidae is a family of Cretaceous crocodyliforms known from Mongolia and Spain.
Sebecosuchia
Sebecosuchia (meaning "Sobek crocodiles") is an extinct group of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms that includes the families Sebecidae and Baurusuchidae. The group was long thought to have first appeared in the Late Cretaceous with the baurusuchids, but Razanandrongobe pushes the origin of Sebecosuchia to the Middle Jurassic. The last surviving members of the group, the sebecids, appear to have lasted until the late Miocene or early Pliocene on the Greater Antilles. Fossils have been found primarily from South America but have also been found in Europe, North Africa, Madagascar, and the Indian
Wargosuchus
Wargosuchus (meaning "warg crocodile") is an extinct genus of baurusuchid crocodyliforms from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. It is known from a fragmentary skull from the Santonian-age Bajo de la Carpa Formation of the Neuquén Group, found in the vicinity of Neuquén, Neuquén Province, and was described by Agustín Martinelli and Diego Pais in 2008. The type species, and so far the only species, is Wargosuchus australis.
Libycosuchus
Libycosuchus is an extinct genus of North African crocodyliform possibly related to Notosuchus; it is part of the monotypic Libycosuchidae and Libycosuchinae. It was terrestrial, living approximately 95 million years ago in the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Fossil remains have been found in the Bahariya Formation in Egypt, making it contemporaneous with the crocodilian Stomatosuchus, and dinosaurs, including the famous Spinosaurus.
Itasuchus
Itasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliforms from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. Fossils of the type species I. jesuinoi, first described in 1955 by Llewellyn Ivor Price, have been found from the Marília Formation, though later finds also support its presence in the sediments of the Presidente Prudente Formation.
Fruitachampsa
Fruitachampsa is a genus of shartegosuchid crocodyliform from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Colorado. It is known from multiple specimens that show it to have been a relatively long-limbed terrestrial quadrupedal predator less than long, with a short face and a prominent pair of canine-like teeth in the lower jaw. Before it was formally described in 2011, it was also known as the "Fruita form". Its type species is F. callisoni.