Zosuchus

Taxobox
name = "Zosuchus"
fossil_range = Late Cretaceous
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
infraclassis = Archosauromorpha
superordo = Crocodylomorpha
unranked_familia = Crocodyliformes
genus = "Zosuchus"
binomial = "Zosuchus davidsoni"
binomial_authority = Pol & Norell 2004

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"Zosuchus" ("Zos [Canyon] crocodile") is a genus of basal, Late Cretaceous crocodyliform from the Redbeds of Zos Canyon (Djadokhta Formation) in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. It was discovered by expeditions organized by the American Museum of Natural History, and described by palaeontologists Diego Pol and Mark Norell.

The type species is "Z. davidsoni", after Amy Davidson.

Material

Material of "Z. davidsoni" consists of five specimens:

* IGM 100/1305 (holotype): isolated skull and lower jaws
* IGM 100/1304
* IGM 100/1306
* IGM 100/1307
* IGM 100/1308

Systematics

Pol & Norell (2004) found "Zosuchus davidsoni" to be the "sister taxon" of the clade ("Sichuanosuchus" + "Shantungosuchus"). These three form a basal clade of crocodyliforms joined together by the presence of a ventrally deflected posterior region of the mandibular rami.

Morphology

This genus had a very short snout.

References

* Pol, D. & Norell, M. A., (2004). A new crocodyliform from Zos Canyon, Mongolia. "American Museum Novitates" 3445: 1-36.