In Depth Lisboasaurus is a genus of crocodylomorph that lived in Portugal during the late Jurassic. A former species of Lisboasaurus, L. mitracostatus, has now been re-assigned to its own genus, Lusitanisuchus. Further Reading - Upper Jurassic lizards from central Portugal. Contribui��o para o conhecimento da Fauna do Kimerridgiano da Mina de Lignito Guimarota (Leiria, … Read more
In Depth Teleosaurus is commonly referred to as a prehistoric gharial (sometimes gavial) because of its long but very thin jaws that are lined with lots of small thin teeth. These jaws are perfect for snatching fish from the water as their thin form experiences reduced resistance from opening and closing while moving through the … Read more
In Depth Itasuchus is a genus of extinct notosuchian from the late Cretaceous of Brazil. Itasuchus is considered to have been similar to Barreirosuchus which is from slightly earlier during the late Cretaceous, and Caririsuchus which is known from the late early Cretaceous. All three of these genera are known from Brazil. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth Though only known from fragmentary fossil remains, Patagosuchus is noted for having a diverse heterodont dentition. What this means is that Patagosuchus had many different kinds of teeth, and would have been able to adapt differing feeding strategies. Patagosuchus is also classed as a peirosaurid crocodylomorph, and these are usually small meat eaters … Read more
In Depth Knoetschkesuchus is a genus of small crocodylomorph that lived in Europe during the late Jurassic. The type species, K. langenbergensis is known from Germany. Another species, K. guimarotae (formerly assigned to the Theriosuchus genus) is known from Portugal. The small size of Knoetschkesuchus meant that it would have been a predator of smaller … Read more
In Depth The metriorhynchids are the best known of the thalattosuchians, a group of crocodiles that had adapted themselves to life at sea. Out of these, Tyrannoneustes is considered to be a geosaurine metriorhynchid, (more closely related to genera like Geosaurus). It took quite some time for Tyrannoneustes to be named though, as the fossils … Read more
In Depth Kuttanacaiman was so named because the teeth of this crocodile seem to be best adapted for crunching through the shells of fresh water bivalve molluscs. These seem to have been a popular food source as two other caimans named Gnatusuchus and Caiman wannlangstoni are known from the exact same habitat and they also … Read more
In Depth Pakasuchus is a genus of small notosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in Africa during the early Cretaceous. What are most notable about Pakasuchus are the teeth which are multicusped and very mammal-like, so much so that they look more like those of a mammal than a crocodile. Pakasuchus seems to have lacked large osteoderms … Read more
In Depth Eoneustes is a primitive genus of thalattosuchian marine crocodile that lived in European sea waters during the mid Jurassic. The Eoneustes genus was established from two former species of Teleidosaurus, T. bathonicus and T. gaudryi. Eoneustes along with Teleidosaurus were once thought to represent the oldest marine crocodiles until the 2015 naming of … Read more
In Depth When first described Kemkemia was originally thought to be a theropod dinosaur, and one with unusual vertebrae. However, three years after the description of Kemkemia, a new paper re-identified the holotype specimen of Kemkemia as actually being from a crocodile. So far, Kemkemia is only known from a single tail vertebra, which makes … Read more