Anatosuchus
Name: Anatosuchus
(Duck crocodile).
Phonetic: Ah-nat-oh-sook- us.
Named By: P. C. Sereno, C. A. Sidor, H. C. E.
Larsson & B. Gado - 2003.
Classification: Chordata, Sauropsida,
Archosauromorpha, Crocodylomorpha.
Species: A. minor (type).
Type: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated 70 centimetres long.
Known locations: Niger, Echkar Formation, Elrhaz
Formation.
Time period: Aptian to Albian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Complete skull.
Anatosuchus was a small terrestrial crocodile with had a very specialised skull morphology, the result of which has been the nick name 'Duck croc'. The jaws resemble the bill of a duck with a single pointed protrusion extending from the front of the snout. It has been proposed that this protuberance was used to root out small prey items.
Further reading
- A new notosuchian from the Early Cretaceous of Niger. - Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology 23(2):477-482. - P. C. Sereno, C. A. Sidor, H.
C. E. Larsson & B. Gado - 2003.
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