Hesperosuchus

Hesperosuchus
Temporal range: Late Triassic, 220 Ma
Hesperosuchus agilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Genus: Hesperosuchus
Colbert, 1952
Species:
H. agilis
Binomial name
Hesperosuchus agilis
Colbert, 1952

Hesperosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph reptile that contains a single species, Hesperosuchus agilis. Remains of this pseudosuchian have been found in Late Triassic (Carnian) strata from Arizona and New Mexico.[1] Because of similarities in skull and neck anatomy and the presence of hollow bones Hesperosuchus was formerly thought to be an ancestor of later carnosaurian dinosaurs, but based on more recent findings and research it is now known to be more closely related to crocodilians rather than dinosaurs.[2][3]

  1. ^ Colbert, E. H. 1952. A pseudosuchian reptile from Arizona. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 99:561–592.
  2. ^ Brinkman, D. 1981. The origin of the crocodiloid tarsi and the interrelationships of thecodontian archosaurs. Breviora 464:1–23.
  3. ^ Benton, M. J. and J. M. Clark. 1988. Archosaur phylogeny and the relationships of the Crocodylia. pp. 295–338. In M. J. Benton (ed.). The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods Vol. 1.Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds. Clarendon Press, Oxford.