Compsosuchus
Extinct genus of dinosaurs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compsosuchus (meaning "elegant crocodile") is a dubious genus of abelisauroid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation of India.
| Compsosuchus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| |
| Vertebra | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Genus: | †Compsosuchus Huene & Matley, 1933 |
| Species: | †C. solus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Compsosuchus solus Matley & Huene, 1933 | |
Discovery and naming
Compsosuchus was described in 1933 by von Huene and Matley based on remains discovered between 1917 and 1919.[1] The type species is C. solus, and the type and only specimen is GSI K27/578, an axis with an articulated axial intersection. The genus is often considered a nomen dubium.[2]
Classification
Although classified as an allosaurid by von Huene and Matley (1933) and Molnar et al. (1990) because of superficial similarities with the axis vertebrae of Allosaurus, a 2004 review of Lameta Formation theropods found it to be similar to members of the Abelisauridae, including Carnotaurus and Indosaurus, necessitating the placement of Compsosuchus as an abelisaurid.[3][4] While a 2011 study classified Compsosuchus as a noasaurid,[5] a 2024 study identified it as an indeterminate abelisaurid.[6]
