Tzaganosuchus
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| Tzaganosuchus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
| Clade: | Archosauriformes |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Crocodylidae |
| Subfamily: | Crocodylinae |
| Genus: | †Tzaganosuchus Efimov, 1983 |
| Type species | |
| †Tzaganosuchus infansis Efimov, 1983 | |
Tzaganosuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of fossil crocodile from the Gobi Desert of southern/southeastern Mongolia. The type and only known species for this genus, Tzaganosuchus infansis was discovered during a joint paleontological expedition conducted by the Soviet Union and Mongolia.[1] That same expedition also described several other reptiles including several species of Shamosuchus and the archosauromorph genus Irenosaurus (originally named Tchoiria egloni).[1] The prefix of the name "Tzaganosuchus" is a Mongol word derived from the locality where its fossils were first found: the Tsagan Khushu Quarry, which dates to the Paleogene epoch (Thanetian stratigraphic stage) and is part of the Naran-Bulak Formation.[2] The suffix suchus is a Latin word for crocodile.[3]
When it was described in 1983, along with a number of other reptile species, Tzaganosuchus was put in the subfamily Crocodylinae, which contains the genus Crocodylus and most of the extant crocodile species.[1][4][5]
