Simosuchus
| Simosuchus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simosuchus , reconstructed skeleton ( cast ) |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian ) | ||||||||||||
| 72 to 66 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Simosuchus | ||||||||||||
| Buckley , Brochu , Krause & Pol , 2000 | ||||||||||||
Simosuchus is a genus of the Notosuchia , terrestrial crocodylomorpha , from the late Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar . Their fossil remains were found in 1998 in the Maevarano Formation in the northwest of the island. The only scientifically described species is S. clarki .
Simosuchus reached a total length of less than a meter. The skull was unusually short and tall. In the blunt snout sat multi-pointed teeth shaped like cloves , which suggest a type of diet as omnivorous or even exclusively herbivorous.
Due to common features ( synapomorphies ) a close relationship with Uruguaysuchus ( Notosuchidae ) from the Upper Cretaceous of South America is assumed.
literature
- David W. Krause: Late Cretaceous Vertebrates of Madagascar: A Window into Gondwanan Biogeography at the End the Age of the Dinosaurs. In: Steven M. Goodman , Jonathan P. Benstead: The Natural History of Madagascar. With Photographs by Harald Schütz. University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL et al. 2003, ISBN 0-226-30307-1 , pp. 40-47.
Web links
Commons : Simosuchus - collection of images, videos and audio files
