| Pristichampsus Temporal range: Paleocene–Eocene |
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| Skull of Pristichampsus geiseltalensis in the Geisel valley museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Suborder: | Eusuchia |
| Family: | Pristichampsidae |
| Genus: | Pristichampsus Gervais, 1853 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Pristichampsus ("saw crocodile") is an extinct genus of pristichampsid crocodylian that grew to approximately three metres (10 ft) in length.
Several remains of Pristichampsus have been found around the world, including P. rollinatii, the type species from the Lutetian of France; and P. vorax from the Middle Eocene of Wyoming and West Texas. Other species have been described, including P. birjukovi and P. kuznetzovi from the Middle Eocene of Eastern Kazakhstan and P. geiseltalensis and P. magnifrons from the Lutetian of Germany. The smaller pristichampsid Planocrania, which includes the species P. hengdongensis (Paleocene) and P. datangensis (Paleocene or Early Eocene) from China, is sometimes included within Pristichampsus.
Pristichampsus had heavily armoured skin, and long limbs suggesting a cursorial (i.e. running) habitus. It also had hoof-like toes, suggesting that it lived more on land than in the water, and that it therefore probably hunted terrestrial mammals.[1] Pristichampsus's teeth were ziphodont; i.e., laterally compressed, sharp, and with serrated edges (characteristic of terrestrial crocodilians that are unable to dispatch their prey by drowning them). Due to their similarity to those of certain theropod dinosaurs they were initially mistaken for theropod teeth, leading paleontologists to believe that some non-avian dinosaurs survived the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event.[1]
The species P. rollinatii shows further features adapting the animal to this lifestyle. The tail was more reminiscent of a dinosaur's, being round in cross-section and lacking the osteoderm crest observed in extant crocodile species. It would also have been capable of galloping and facultative bipedalism. However, this would only have been possible at high speeds as the centre of gravity moves in front of the pelvis.[2]
A Pristichampsus appeared in a Season 3 episode of Primeval, in which it escapes through a time anomaly in the British Museum before making its way through London.
Pristichampsus, identified as "hoofed crocodile", is listed in the History Channel special The Link as one of three evolutionary dead-ends that was a contemporary of Darwinius, the others being Gastornis and Leptictidium.