Suchomimus is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived between 125 and 112 million years ago in what is now Niger, West Africa, during the Aptian to early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous period. It was named and described by paleontologist Paul Sereno and colleagues in 1998, based on a partial skeleton from the Elrhaz Formation. Suchomimus's long and shallow skull, similar to that of a crocodile, earns it its generic name, while the specific name Suchomimus tenerensis alludes to the locality of its first remains, the Ténéré Desert.
Crichtonsaurus is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now China. It was named after Michael Crichton, the author of the dinosaur novel Jurassic Park. A sister taxon was discovered, C. benxiensis, which is now identified as a separate genus.
Metriorhynchidae is an extinct family of specialized, aquatic metriorhynchoid crocodyliforms from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous period of Europe, North America and South America. The name Metriorhynchidae was coined by the Austrian zoologist Leopold Fitzinger in 1843. The group contains two subfamilies, the Metriorhynchinae and the Geosaurinae. They represent the most marine adapted of all archosaurs.
Geosaurus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform within the family Metriorhynchidae, that lived during the Late Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous. Geosaurus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea. No Geosaurus eggs or nests have been discovered, so little is known of the reptile's lifecycle, unlike other large marine reptiles of the Mesozoic, such as plesiosaurs or ichthyosaurs which are known to give birth to live young out at sea. Where Geosaurus mated, whether on land or at sea, is currently unknown. The name Geosaurus means "Mother of Giants lizard", and is derived from the Greek Ge- and σαῦρος -sauros ("lizard"). The name Geosaurus was established by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1824.
Thalattosuchia is a clade of mostly marine crocodylomorphs from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous that had a cosmopolitan distribution. They are colloquially referred to as marine crocodiles or sea crocodiles, though they are not members of Crocodilia and records from Thailand and China suggest that some members lived in freshwater. The clade contains two major subgroupings, the Teleosauroidea and Metriorhynchoidea. Teleosauroids are not greatly specialised for oceanic life, with back osteoderms similar to other crocodyliformes. Within Metriorhynchoidea, the Metriorhynchidae displayed extreme adaptions for life in the open ocean, including the transformation of limbs into flippers, the development of a tail fluke, and smooth, scaleless skin, and probably gave live birth, seemingly uniquely among archosaurs.
Plesiosuchus is an extinct genus of geosaurine metriorhynchid crocodyliform known from the Late Jurassic of Dorset, England and possibly also Spain. It contains a single species, Plesiosuchus manselii.
Mahajangasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliform which had blunt, conical teeth. The type species, M. insignis, lived during the Late Cretaceous; its fossils have been found in the Maevarano Formation in northern Madagascar. It was a fairly large predator, measuring up to 4 metres (13 ft) long.
Pelagosaurus is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 Ma to 176 Ma, in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe. The systematic taxonomy of Pelagosaurus has been fiercely disputed over the years, and was assigned to Thalattosuchia after its systematics within Teleosauridae were disputed. Pelagosaurus measured 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) long.
Junggarsuchus is an extinct genus of sphenosuchian crocodylomorph from the Middle or Late Jurassic period of China. The type and only species is J. sloani. The generic name of Junggarsuchus comes from the Junggar Basin, where the fossil was found, and the Greek word "souchos" meaning crocodile. The specific name, "sloani" is in honor of C. Sloan, who is credited with finding the holotype.
Chacaicosaurus is a genus of neoichthyosaurian ichthyosaur known from the Middle Jurassic of Argentina. The single known specimen of this genus was excavated from the Los Molles Formation in Neuquén Province, and is housed at the Museo Olsacher under the specimen number MOZ 5803. This specimen consists of a skull, forelimb, some vertebrae, and some additional postcranial elements. The genus was named by Marta Fernández in 1994, and contains a single species, Chacaicosaurus cayi, making it the first named distinctive ichthyosaur from the Bajocian stage. It is a medium-sized ichthyosaur with a very long snout, which bears a ridge running along each side. The forelimbs of Chacaicosaurus are small and contain four main digits.
Brachiosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154 to 150 million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Colorado River valley in western Colorado, United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax; the generic name is Greek for "arm lizard", in reference to its proportionately long arms, and the specific name means "deep chest". Brachiosaurus is estimated to have been between 18 and 22 meters long; body mass estimates of the subadult holotype specimen range from 28.3 to 46.9 metric tons. It had a disproportionately long neck, small skull, and large overall size, all of which are typical for sauropods. Atypically, Brachiosaurus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs, which resulted in a steeply inclined trunk, and a proportionally shorter tail.
Metriorhynchoidea is an extinct superfamily of thalattosuchian crocodyliforms from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous of Europe, North America and South America. Metriorhynchids are fully aquatic crocodyliforms. Named by Fitzinger, in 1843, it contains the basal taxa like Teleidosaurus, Zoneait and Eoneustes and the family Metriorhynchidae. An unnamed taxon is known from Chile.
Torvoneustes is an extinct genus of metriorhynchid thalattosuchian. It is known from skull and postcranial remains found in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of Dorset and Wiltshire, England, the Virgula Marls of Switzerland and also from Oaxaca, Mexico . The holotype skull of the type species was initially assigned to the species Metriorhynchus superciliosus. Postcranial remains were later discovered from the same quarry as the skull, and then these specimens were recognised as belonging to a new species of Dakosaurus, as D. carpenteri. The species was named to honour Simon Carpenter, an amateur geologist from Frome in Somerset, who discovered the fossils.
Macrospondylus is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of Europe. Fossils are known from the Posidonia Shale of Germany, the Whitby Mudstone of the United Kingdom, and the "schistes bitumineux" of Luxembourg.
Bathysuchus is an extinct genus of teleosaurid thalattosuchian from Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) deep water marine deposits in England and France. Bathysuchus displays features that suggest it was more pelagic than other teleosaurids, including smoother skull bones and reduced armour plating, similar to the fully marine metriorhynchids. This was possibly an adaptation to rising sea levels during the Kimmeridgian, as its earlier relatives such as Teleosaurus were suited for shallow coasts and lagoon environments.
Concavispina is an extinct genus of thalattosaur reptile from the early Late Triassic Xiaowa Formation of Guangling, Guizhou, southern China. It contains a single species, Concavispina biseridens. It is known only from the holotype ZMNH M8804, a nearly complete 364 cm long skeleton. Concavispina can be differentiated from other thalattosaurs by possessing two rows of blunt teeth on the anterior part of the maxilla and a V-shaped notch on the dorsal margin of each neural spine in the dorsal (back) vertebrae. Both its generic and specific names refer to these autapomorphies, as Concavispina means "concave spine" and biseridens means "two rows of teeth". It is thought to be most closely related to Xinpusaurus, as both taxa share three derived characters: a maxilla that is curved upward at its anterior end, a humerus that is wider near the shoulder than near the elbow, and the presence of less than five cervicals.
Carnufex is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph suchian from the Late Triassic of North America. The genus was first described in 2015 by Zanno et al., who named the binomial Carnufex carolinensis, meaning "Carolina butcher". Two specimens are known, the holotype skull and skeleton NCSM 21558, and the referred humerus NCSM 21623. The specimens are from the Carnian-age Pekin Formation, which dates to 231 million years ago. Based on the holotype, Carnufex would have been about 3 m (9.8 ft) long and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall, although it may have gotten larger due to the holotype not being fully grown.
Anguanax is an extinct genus of basal pliosaurid known from the Late Jurassic Rosso Ammonitico Veronese Formation of northern Italy. It contains a single species, Anguanax zignoi, known from a partially complete individual, representing the first articulated skeleton of an Italian plesiosaurian.
Indosinosuchus is a genus of teleosaurid neosuchian that lived during the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous in what is now Thailand. It contains two species, the type species I. potamosiamensis and I. kalasinensis, both recovered from the lower Phu Kradung Formation. It is unique among teleosauroids as it is the only named genus known from a freshwater environment, while most other members of the group are marine. Indosinosuchus is placed in the family Teleosauridae, but has a relatively robust skull that bears resemblance to members of the Machimosauridae. Biomechanical analysis of its mandible and teeth suggest that it would have had a substantial bite force comparable to animals like Lemmysuchus. The two Indosinosuchus species however differ in the speed at which they could open and close their jaws, impacting their respective ecology and possibly explaining how they coexisted in the same environment. All known specimens of this genus were recovered from a single locality, which has been interpreted as a mass death site, possibly caused by a drought or flash flood. The precise age of Indosinosuchus is unclear, as the vertebrate fossils of the Phu Kradung Formation support a Late Jurassic age, while palynological data suggests an Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) age.
Turnersuchus is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian, a group of marine crocodylomorphs, from the Pliensbachian of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest diagnostic member of Thalattosuchia and was also found to be the group's most basal member, being situated outside the two major groups Metriorhynchoidea and Teleosauroidea. Subsequently, this genus is considered to be of great importance to understanding the relationship between thalattosuchians and other crocodylomorphs as well as their rapid diversification during the early Jurassic. Turnersuchus is a monotypic genus, meaning it includes only a single species, Turnersuchus hingleyae.
