| Thoracosaurus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
  | ||||
| Name | Thoracosaurus | |||
| Order | Crocodilia | |||
| Period | Cretacous to Paleocene | |||
| Location | North America, Europe | |||
| Diet | Carnivore | |||
| Size | 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) | |||
Thoracosaurus is an extinct genus of euchian crocodylomorph which existed during the late Cretaceous and early Paleocene. It contains the species Thoracosaurus neocesariensis in North America and Thoracosaurus macrorhynchus in Europe. A number of species have been referred to this genus, but most are dubious. Thoracosaurus scanicus was a fairly large gavialoid, with a length of more than 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) and a 55 cm skull.
Thoracosaurus had traditionally been thought to be related to the modern false gharial, largely because the nasal bones contact the premaxillae. Phylogenetic work starting in the 1990s instead supported affinities within Gavialoidea exclusive of such forms, although a 2018 tip dating study simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data suggests that it might have been a non-crocodylian eusuchian. The genus contains the species Thoracosaurus neocesariensis in North America and what is either Thoracosaurus isorhynchus or T. macrorhynchus; a recent review argues that T. macrorhynchus is a junior synonym of T. isorhynchus, but it is unclear whether the type of T. isorhynchus allows differentiation of European and North American Thoracosaurus; if not, then T. isorhynchus would be a nomen dubium. A number of species have been referred to this genus, but most are dubious.
In popular culture[]
- It will appear in the upcoming game, Saurian, as the creators showed the model (with no color) on their Facebook page.
- It appear in Walking with Dinosaurs but is unidentified and reffered to as Deinosuchus.
Gallery[]
