Confractosuchus

Confractosuchus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) 93 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Crocodyliformes
Clade: Eusuchia
Genus: Confractosuchus
White et al., 2022
Species:
C. sauroktonos
Binomial name
Confractosuchus sauroktonos
White et al., 2022 (type)

Confractosuchus is a genus of extinct eusuchian crocodyliform from the Cretaceous Winton Formation of Australia.[1] Described as a macro-generalist, Confractosuchus was found with the bones of a juvenile ornithopod dinosaur in its abdomen.[2] It currently contains a single species, Confractosuchus sauroktonos, which literally means "broken dinosaur killer."[3]

The discovery of Confractosuchus was announced by the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum on 11 February 2022, and was published in the journal Gondwana Research.[4] It is the second extinct eusuchian crocodyliform genus discovered from the Winton Formation, after Isisfordia that was discovered during the mid-1990s and named in 2006.[5][6]

  1. ^ Prostak, Sergio (2022-02-14). "Cretaceous Crocodiles Ate Ornithopod Dinosaurs, Fossil Evidence Shows | Sci-News.com". Sci-News. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  2. ^ Haq, Sana Noor (2022-02-14). "Newly discovered crocodile species ate a young dinosaur for its last meal, scientists say". CNN. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  3. ^ Hutton, Christopher (2022-02-14). "New species of prehistoric crocodile found with young dinosaur in stomach". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  4. ^ "Ancient crocodile's last meal was a dinosaur" (PDF). www.australianageofdinosaurs.com. 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  5. ^ "Ancestor of all modern crocodilians discovered in outback Queensland". The University of Queensland. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  6. ^ Salisbury, Steven W; Molnar, Ralph E; Frey, Eberhard; Willis, Paul M.A (2006). "The origin of modern crocodyliforms: new evidence from the Cretaceous of Australia". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 273 (1600): 2439–2448. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3613. PMC 1634899. PMID 16959633.