In Depth
Baurusuchus is a genus of terrestrial crocodile that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous. The genus is noted for having a strong similarity to the genus Cynodontosuchus, though Baurusuchus was notably bigger and with stronger and more robust teeth. There has been past speculation that Baurusuchus may be a synonym to Cynodontosuchus, though Cynodontosuchus is noted as having a shallower rostrum (snout) and fewer maxillary teeth than Baurusuchus.
Baurusuchus was almost certainly a terrestrial crocodile based upon simple observation of features of the skull. For comparison, a crocodile that hunts in the water will usually have its nostrils and eye sockets on the top of the snout so that it can see and breathe while swimming and hunting in the water. The teeth are usually conical to provide a greater amount of grip on a wet sand slippery body so that a crocodile can drag its victim into the water and drown it. The eyes and teeth of Baurusuchus however are clearly on the sides of the skull, meaning that Baurusuchus was not spending time looking up out of the water. A strong bony ridge above the eye also would have reduced the ability of Baurusuchus to see above the eye, but may have acted as a sun shade to keep glare out of it. The teeth of Baurusuchus are also laterally compressed so that they could easily slice through the flesh of prey animals. These features would all work best for a terrestrial (on dry land) hunting style.
Baurusuchus is the type genus of its own group of crocodiles called the Baurusuchidae. Other genera included in this group include Cynodontosuchus, Pabwehshi, Pissarrachampsa, Wargosuchus and Stratiotosuchus.
Further Reading
- A new reptile from the Cretaceous of Brazil. - Minist�rio da Agricultura, Departamento Nacional da Produ��o Mineral, Divis�o de Geologia e Mineralogie, Notas Preliminares e Estudos 25:1-9. - L. I. Price - 1945. - Baurusuchus salgadoensis, a new Crocodylomorpha from the Bauru Basin (Cretaceous), Brazil. - Gondwana Research (Japan: International Association for Gondwana Research) 8 (1): 11–30. - Ismar de Souza Carvalho, Antonio de Celso Arruda Campos & Pedro Henrique Nobre - 2005. - A new species of Baurusuchus (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil, with the first complete postcranial skeleton described from the family Baurusuchidae. - Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia 50 (21): 323-361. - Paulo Miranda Nascimento & Hussam Zaher - 2010. - A New Baurusuchid (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil and the Phylogeny of Baurusuchidae. - PLoS ONE 6 (7): 1–26. - Felipe C. Montefeltro, Hans C. E. Larsson, Max C. Lange - 2011.
