Maevarano Fauna - Majungasaurus, Rapetosaurus, Rahonavis, Araripesuchus, Beelzebufo, Masiakasaurus, Mahajangasuchus, Vorona, Simosuchus (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Majungasaurus, Rapetosaurus, Rahonavis, Araripesuchus, Beelzebufo, Masiakasaurus, Mahajangasuchus, Vorona, Simosuchus, Trematochampsa. Excerpt: Araripesuchus Fossil range: Lower Cretaceous -Upper Cretaceous, 125 65 Ma Pre O S D C P T J K Pg N Araripesuchus is a genus of extinct crocodilian whose species existed during the Cretaceous period of the late Mesozoic era some 125 to 65 million years ago. They are generally considered to be notosuchians (belonging to the clade Mesoeucrocodylia ), characterized by their varied teeth types and distinct skull elements. Araripesuchus can be distinguished by their laterally bulged edges of the snout, with the bulge being the most prominent around the area of an enlarged maxillary tooth. There are five valid species within this genus. Discovery and history Skull of A. wegeneri from different angles The genus was coined in 1959 with the description of the type species Araripesuchus gomesii, a notosuchian crocodylian from the famed Santana Formation of Brazil . The holotype used to describe the genus, 423-R is currently in the care of the Divisao de Mineralogia e Geologia do Departamento Nacional da Producao Mineral in Rio de Janeiro . 423-R consists of a single skull articulating with part of a lower jaw. A more complete specimen, AMNH 24450 is held by the American Museum of Natural History . A second species, Araripesuchus wegeneri was described in 1981. This species was discovered from Early Cretaceous deposits of Niger on the African continent, as opposed to the South American paleodistribution of the other species in the genus. The type specimen for the species, GDF-700 consisting of a few, fragmentary jaw elements, reside at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris . Araripesuchus patagonicus was described from a patagonian sp...