Name:
Mahajangasuchus
(Mahajanga crocodile).
Phonetic: Ma-ha-jan-ga-soo-kus.
Named By: Buckley & Brochu - 1998.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Mahajangasuchus, Mahajangasuchidae.
Species: M. insignis (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain. Approximately 80 centimetre
skull.
Known locations: Madagascar - Maevarano
Formation.
Time period: Late Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skull and
partial remains of other skulls.
Not
much is known about Mahajangasuchus, but the
robust skull suggests a
strong bite force even for a crocodile.
The teeth of Mahajangasuchus
were also conical and fairly blunt suggesting that they were used on
larger prey like land animals rather than small prey like fish.
Mahajangasuchus
has been moved around quite a bit in its classification history.
Currently Mahajangasuchus resides within the
Mahajangasuchidae along
with the 'boar croc', Kaprosuchus.
Further reading
- An enigmatic new crocodile from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar,
by G. A. Buckley & C. A. Brochu. - In Cretaceous Fossil
Vertebrates. Special Papers in Palaeontology 60:149-175. - D. M. Unwin
(ed.) - 1999.
- A skull of Mahajangasuchus insignis
(Crocodyliformes) from the Upper
Cretaceous of Madagascar. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21 (3),
supplement: A36. - G. A. Buckley - 2001.