Microsuchus
Extinct genus of reptiles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microsuchus is an extinct genus of mesoeucrocodylians, belonging to Notosuchia.[1] Fossils have been found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation, dating to the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.[2]
| Microsuchus Temporal range: Santonian ~ | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | †Notosuchia |
| Genus: | †Microsuchus De Saez, 1928 |
| Type species | |
| †Microsuchus schilleri De Saez, 1928 | |
Classification
Originally classified as a goniopholidid on the basis of the platycoelous vertebral centra,[3] Microsuchus was recently redescribed and recovered as either a neosuchian or notosuchian. Diagnostic features include the presence of a bulge lateral to the prezygapophyses of the second sacral vertebra, elongated posterior zeugopodia, and proximal caudal centra with a triangular cross section.[4] A 2017 cladistic analysis of Razanandrongobe further clarified the phylogenetic position of Microsuchus by recovering it as a primitive notosuchian.[5]
