In Depth Sebecus is a genus of notosuchian crocodylomorph that is known to have lived in South America during the earliest part of the Eocene. Sebecus would have been predators of other similarly sized animals, but unlike crocodiles that we know today, Sebecus would have been more terrestrial and hunting on the land. Details of … Read more
In Depth Described in 2015, Carnufex may well have been one of the key predators that lived in what would become the eastern USA during the Triassic about 231 million years ago. Carnufex was a crocodylomorph, a distant relative to today’s crocodiles, and one that seems to have been a bipedal predator of moderately sized … Read more
In Depth Mariliasuchus appears to have been an almost entirely terrestrial (living on land) crocodylomorph. The eyes of Mariliasuchus are located more to the sides rather than on top of the head, and the nostrils faced forwards rather than upwards. In aquatic crocodylomorphs both the nostrils and eyes almost always face upwards. Despite this though, … Read more
In Depth Living in the late Cretaceous, Gilchristosuchus was a crocodile that in evolutionary terms may have come close to modern crocodiles, yet may not have actually been one of them. The size of Gilchristosuchus is still unknown but the one partial skull known shows signs of fusing, indicating that it was an adult specimen. … Read more
In Depth Penghusuchus is a genus of tomistomine crocodile that lived in what is now Taiwan during the late Miocene. Penghusuchus is noted as having a similarity to the modern day false gharial as well as Toyotamaphimeia which lived in Japan during the Pleistocene. With a skull length up to 85 centimetres long, Penghusuchus would … Read more
In Depth With an estimated length of up to twelve meters long, Mourasuchus was one of the biggest crocodiles of all time. However despite this size Mourasuchus had a relatively weak jaw and skull construction combined with quite small teeth for its size. These two things do not portray an apex predator that wrestled large … Read more
In Depth Malawisuchus is a genus of ziphosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in Africa during the early Cretaceous. Malawisuchus has a number of interesting features, including mammal-like teeth which may have been used for processing tough plants, and muscle attachment points on the hip and rear limbs which suggest that Malawisuchus may have been able to … Read more
In Depth Zulmasuchus was named in 2007 alongside the genus Langstonia, and both of them were former species of the genus Sebecus. At the time of writing Zulmasuchus is known from relatively incomplete material, though the genus is thought to have been a terrestrial predator like its nearest relatives. Fossils of Zulmasuchus are aged as … Read more
In Depth Charitomenosuchus is a genus of thalattosuchian that lived in European waters towards the end of the middle Jurassic period. As a thalattosuchian, Charitomenosuchus is more popularly known as a ‘sea crocodile’, and a member of a group of marine reptiles that seem to have spent most if not all of their lives in … Read more
In Depth Wannchampsus is a genus of very small crocodile that lived in North America in the latter periods of the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - Small crocodyliform from the Lower Cretaceous (late Aptian) of central Texas and its systematic relationship to the evolution of Eusuchia. - Journal of Paleontology 88(5):1031-1049. - T. L. Adams … Read more