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.
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.
==History and naming== Itasuchus was named by Brazilian paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1955 based on fossil material recovered near Peirópolis in sediments of the Late Cretaceous (Early Maastrichtian) Bauru Group, specifically the Marília Formation. The original material, designated the specimen number DGM 434-R, consisted of a fairly complete lower jaw, parts of the left skull from the posterior maxilla to the quadrate, four vertebrae each of the neck, torso and tail, 20 osteoderms and other well preserved postcrania including some complete limb bones. The description of the genus, which was published in the same study as that of Peirosaurus, was chiefly based on the cranial remains, which were deemed sufficient for establishing a new genus by Price. Though mentioned, and despite having been regarded as one of the best known mesoeucrocodylian skeletons from its locality, the postcrania were neither described in detail nor figured, with Price promising that the material would be dealt with "in due course".
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