Lazarussuchus

‭L‬ah-zah-rus-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

Lazarussuchus ‭(‬Lazarus's crocodile‭)‬.

Phonetic

‭L‬ah-zah-rus-soo-kus.

Named By

M.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Hecht‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Diapsida,‭ ‬Choristodera.

Diet

Piscivore/Carnivore.

Species

L.‭ ‬inexpectatus‭

Size

Roughly about thirty-six centimetres long.

Known locations

Czech Republic,‭ ‬France and Germany.

Time Period

From the late Paleocene through to the early Miocene.

Fossil representation

A few individuals,‭ ‬including one preserved complete.

In Depth

       Lazarussuchus was named after the figure of Lazarus of Bethany in the Bible,‭ ‬a person in the Gospel of John who was resurrected four days after his death by Jesus Christ.‭ ‬The relevance here is that the holotype remains of Lazarussuchus were found from a late Oligocene deposit,‭ ‬a period many millions of years after the disappearance of other choristoderans.‭ ‬Since this time other choristoderan fossils have been found that fill this gap.

       Choristoderans like Lazarussuchus were similar to crocodiles in their appearance,‭ ‬however they were not actually directly related to them.‭ ‬The physical similarity to crocodiles however would suggest that Lazarussuchus and its relatives fulfilled a similar ecological niche of a semi-aquatic predators.       One of the more famous choristoderans known to science is Champsosaurus.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new choristodere‭ (‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Diapsida‭) ‬from the Oligocene of France:‭ ‬an example of the Lazarus effect‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geobios‭ ‬25:‭ ‬115‭–‬131‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Hecht‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992. -‭ ‬A history of an extinct reptilian clade,‭ ‬the Choristodera:‭ ‬longevity,‭ ‬Lazarus-Taxa,‭ ‬and the fossil record‭ ‬-‭ ‬Evolutionary Biology‭ ‬27:‭ ‬323‭–‬338‭ ‬-‭ ‬S.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Evans‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Hecht‭ ‬-‭ ‬1993. -‭ ‬A choristoderan reptile‭ (‬Reptilia:‭ ‬Diapsida‭) ‬from the Lower Miocene of northwest Bohemia‭ (‬Czech Republic‭) ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬25‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬171‭–‬184‭ ‬-‭ ‬Susan E.‭ ‬Evans‭ & ‬Jozef Klembara‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005. -‭ ‬New material of the choristodere Lazarussuchus (Diapsida,‭ ‬Choristodera‭) ‬from the Paleocene of France‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬33‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬319‭ ‬-‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Matsumoto,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Buffetaut,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Escuillie,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬hervet‭ & ‬S.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Evans‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.

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