Chimaerasuchus

Chimaerasuchus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 120 Ma
Ventral view of holotype skull (IVPP V8274), Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Crocodyliformes
Clade: Notosuchia
Family: Chimaerasuchidae
Genus: Chimaerasuchus
Wu et al., 1995
Type species
Chimaerasuchus paradoxus
Wu et al., 1995

Chimaerasuchus ("chimera crocodile") is an extinct genus of Chinese crocodyliform from the Early Cretaceous Wulong Formation. 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. Chimaerasuchus was originally discovered in the 1960s but not identified as a crocodyliform until 1995, instead thought to possibly be a multituberculate mammal. It is highly unusual, as only two other crocodyliforms (Notosuchus and an unnamed specimen from Malawi) have displayed any characteristics resembling its adaptations to herbivory.[1][2]

  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.