Chimaerasuchus

Chimaerasuchus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
Chimaerasuchus paradoxus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Crocodylomorpha
Suborder: †Notosuchia
Family: †Chimaerasuchidae
Genus: †Chimaerasuchus
Wu et al., 1995
Type species
†C. paradoxus
Wu et al., 1995

Chimaerasuchus ("chimera crocodile") is an extinct genus of Chinese crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous. The four teeth in the very tip of its short snout gave it a "bucktoothed" appearance. Due its multicusped teeth and marked heterodonty, it is believed to have been an herbivore.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ X.-C. Wu, H.-D. Sues, and A. Sun. 1995. A plant-eating crocodyliform reptile from the Cretaceous of China. Nature 376:678-680
  2. ↑ Wu, X. C. and Sues, H. D. 1996. Anatomy and Phylogenetic Relationships of Chimaerasuchus paradoxus, an Unusual Crocodyliform Reptile from the Lower Cretaceous of Hubei, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16(4): 688-702.