Sutekhsuchus

Sutekhsuchus
Temporal range: Early Miocene Burdigalian
Specimen NHMUK PV R 4769 in dorsal view.
Scientific classification
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Sutekhsuchus

Burke et al., 2024
Type species
Sutekhsuchus dowsoni
Fourtau, 1920
Synonyms

Sutekhsuchus (formerly known as Tomistoma dowsoni) is a species of gavialine crocodilian from the Miocene of Libya and Egypt. While this species was originally described as a species of the genus Tomistoma, which includes the modern false gharial, later studies have shown that it was actually a much more derived gavialoid closely related to the Kenyan Eogavialis andrewsi. Since it initially "deceived" paleontologists, it was named for the Egyptian god of deception Sutekh (also known as Set). It once inhabited the slow-moving rivers, estuaries and lagoons of what is now Gebel Zelten and Wadi Moghra, environments it shared with a variety of other crocodilians including the narrow-snouted Euthecodon and the robust Rimasuchus. Only a single species is currently assigned to Sutekhsuchus, the type species S. dowsoni.