Carnufex

Carnufex is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph suchian from the Late Triassic of North America. The genus was first described in 2015 by Zanno et al., who named the binomial Carnufex carolinensis, meaning "Carolina butcher". Two specimens are known, the holotype skull and skeleton NCSM 21558, and the referred humerus NCSM 21623. The specimens are from the Carnian-age Pekin Formation, which dates to 231 million years ago. Based on the holotype, Carnufex would have been about long and tall, although it may have gotten larger due to the holotype not being fully grown.

==Discovery== thumb|upright|left|3D visualization of holotype elements NCSM 21558 was discovered in a red fluvial conglomerate belonging to the mid-upper portion Pekin Formation of North Carolina, which formed in the Carnian age of the Late Triassic, around 231 million years ago. This specimen was described in a 2015 Scientific Reports article by Lindsay E. Zanno, Susan Drymala, Sterling J. Nesbitt, and Vincent P. Schneider. For the specimen and associated NCSM 21623, from the same level of the formation, they named the new binomial Carnufex carolinensis. This name is derived from the Latin word carnufex, for "butcher" and the location of the discovery in North Carolina. The holotype NCSM 21558 includes most regions of the skeleton: a partial skull (premaxilla, maxilla, lacrimal, and jugal), portions of the jaw (angular and articular), an atlantal intercentrum, neural arches from a cervical and dorsal vertebra, ribs, and an upper arm bone (humerus). A single referred specimen, NCSM 21623, is represented by part of a humerus, smaller than that of the holotype. The holotype and referred specimen were described in more detail by Drymala and Zanno in a 2016 PLOS One article.