Brachysuchus

Brachysuchus (from Ancient Greek βραχύς (brakhús), meaning "short", and Σοῦχος (Soûkhos), meaning "Sobek") is an extinct genus of parasuchid phytosaurs known from the late Triassic period (Carnian stage) of Dockum Group in Texas, United States. It is known from the holotype UMMP 10336 is composed of a skull, lower jaws and partial postcranium and from the associated paratype UMMP 14366, nearly complete skull, recovered from the 'Pre-Tecovas Horizon' in the Dockum Group. It was first named by Case in 1929 and the type species is Brachysuchus megalodon. Its closest relative was Angistorhinus. However, its rostral crest was much smaller than that of Angistorhinus, and the rostrum as a whole is shorter and thicker.

== Features == The lower jaws of Brachysuchus are expanded at the tip to form a large bulge, holding the creature's largest tusks. The surface of this part of the bone has a wrinkled look, with many blood vessels running through it. In the lower jaw, there are three tusks in each side of this protuberance. Behind this part the jaws have fused together for a little under half their length before diverging after thirty-one of forty-six post-protuberance teeth. While some of the tusks at the tip are missing, most of the rest of the teeth in the jaw are still present. There are new tusks forming in the sockets, indicating that Brachysuchus regrew teeth all its life. There is a large foramen between the dentary, the angular and the prearticular that passes right through the jaw (visible on the picture).