Redondavenator

Redondavenator
Temporal range: Late Triassic, 200 Ma
Diagram of preserved snout bones
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Genus: Redondavenator
Nesbitt et al., 2005
Type species
Redondavenator quayensis
Nesbitt et al., 2005

Redondavenator (meaning "Redonda Formation hunter") is a genus of sphenosuchian, a type of basal crocodylomorph, the clade that comprises the crocodilians and their closest kin. It is known from a partial upper jaw and left shoulder girdle found in rocks of the Norian-Rhaetian-age Upper Triassic Redonda Formation, northeastern New Mexico. It is notable for its large size; the minimum estimated skull length for the holotype individual is 60 centimetres (2.0 ft).[1][2] This makes it the largest Triassic crocodylomorph ever recorded.[3]

  1. ^ Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Irmis, Randall B.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Hunt, Adrian P. (2005). "A giant crocodylomorph from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 79 (4): 471–478. doi:10.1007/bf02988373. S2CID 128541365.
  2. ^ Crocodylomorpha. Crocodiles and their relatives, archive copy from 20 June 2022.
  3. ^ Lindsay E. Zanno, Susan Drymala, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Vincent P. Schneider (2015) Early crocodylomorph increases top tier predator diversity during rise of dinosaurs. Scientific Reports volume 5, Article number: 9276