Hassiacosuchus

Name: Hassiacosuchus
Phonetic: Has-se-ah-ko-soo-kus.
Named By: K.‭ ‬Weitzel‭ ‬-‭ ‬1935.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Crocodilia,‭ ‬Alligatoridae,‭ ‬Alligatorinae.
Species: H.‭ ‬haupti‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain.
Known locations: Germany‭ ‬-‭ ‬Messel Pit.
Time period: Early Eocene.
Fossil representation: At least two specimens.

       In‭ ‬1941‭ ‬an alligator specimen from the Green River Formation was interpreted as being a new species of Hassiacosuchus by C.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Mook.‭ ‬However a later‭ ‬1967‭ ‬study by Wassersug and Hecht found the remains of the second species actually belonged within the Procaimanoidea genus,‭ ‬and as such‭ ‬the second species of Hassiacosuchus became the second species of Procaimanoidea.‭ ‬This also makes Hassiacosuchus a distinctly European genus,‭ ‬however its future as a distinct genus is in doubt.‭ ‬Later studies have suggested that Hassiacosuchus may in fact belong within another North American genus called Allognathosuchus,‭ ‬although in‭ ‬2004‭ ‬another study by Christopher Brochu has led to the recommendation that Hassiacosuchus remain a distinct genus.




Further reading
- Hassiacosuchus haupti n. g. n. sp., ein durophages Krokodil aus dem Mitteleoz�n von Messel - Notizblatt des Vereins f�r Erdkunde und der Hessischen Geologischen Landesanstalt Darmstadt (in German) 16: 40–49. - K. Weitzel - 1935.
- The status of the crocodylid genera Procaimanoidea and Hassiacosuchus in the New World - Herpetologica 23 (1): 30–34. - R. J. Wassersug - 1967.

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