Bathysuchus Temporal range: Kimmeridgian,
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Holotype rostrum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauria |
Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
Suborder: | †Thalattosuchia |
Family: | †Teleosauridae |
Subfamily: | †Aeolodontinae |
Genus: | †Bathysuchus Foffa et al., 2019 |
Species: | †B. megarhinus
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Binomial name | |
†Bathysuchus megarhinus (Hulke, 1871)
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Bathysuchus ("deep water crocodile") is an extinct genus of teleosaurid thalattosuchian from Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) deep water marine deposits in England and France. Bathysuchus displays features that suggest it was more pelagic than other teleosaurids (along with its close relatives within the Aeolodontinae), including smoother skull bones and reduced armour plating, similar to the fully marine metriorhynchids. This was possibly an adaptation to rising sea levels during the Kimmeridgian, as its earlier relatives such as Teleosaurus were suited for shallow coasts and lagoon environments.