Cerrejonisuchus

Car-re-hon-soo-kus.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Cerrejonisuchus ‭(‬Cerrej�n crocodile‭)‬.

Phonetic

Car-re-hon-soo-kus.

Named By

A.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Hastings,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬I.‭ ‬Bloch,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Cadena‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Jaramillo‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Dyrosauridae.

Diet

Carnivore/Piscivore.

Species

C.‭ ‬improcerus‭

Size

Around ‬1.2‭ ‭‬meters long.

Known locations

Columbia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cerrej�n Formation.

Time Period

Selandian to the Thanetian of the Palaeocene.

Fossil representation

Partial skulls,‭ ‬vertebrae and osteoderms.

In Depth

       Cerrejonisuchus is a genus‭ ‬of‭ ‬drysosaurid crocodile that is only represented by partial remains.‭ ‬These remains reveal however that Cerrejonisuchus‭ ‬had‭ ‬one of the shortest snouts of all of the known dryosaurids as well as the shortest body.‭ ‬Hailing from the Cerrej�n Formation,‭ ‬Cerrejonisuchus was probably a predator of fish and possible small mammals.‭ ‬Cerrejonisuchus however may have occasionally been prey to massive predators such as the monster snake Titanoboa. Other animals from the Cerrej�n Formation include the crocodiles Acherontisuchus and Anthracosuchus and the large turtles Carbonemys and Puentemys, as well as large three meter long lungfish.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new small short-snouted dyrosaurid‭ (‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Mesoeucrocodylia‭) ‬from the Paleocene of northeastern Colombia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬30‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬139‭–‬162.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Hastings,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬I.‭ ‬Bloch,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Cadena‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Jaramillo‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010. – The postcranial skeleton of Cerrejonisuchus improcerus (Crocodyliformes: Dyrosauridae) and the unusual anatomy of dyrosaurids. – PeerJ. 9: e11222. – Isaure Scavezzoni​, & Valentin Fischer 2021.

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