Mahajangasuchus

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 3 m (9.8 ft) with a weight up to 360 kg (790 lb).[1]

Restoration of Mahajangasuchus sunning itself

Mahajangasuchus
Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous, 70–66 Ma
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Skull of Mahajangasuchus insignis in the Field Museum of Natural History.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Family: †Mahajangasuchidae
Genus: †Mahajangasuchus
Buckley & Brochu, 1998
Species
  • †M. insignis Buckley & Brochu, 1998

Sereno et al.. (2001) placed the genus within the family Trematochampsidae, although a more recent study by Turner and Calvo (2005) placed it within Peirosauridae. It was placed in the newly constructed family Mahajangasuchidae along with the genus Kaprosuchus by Sereno and Larrson (2009).[2]

References
  1. "Mahajangasuchus - paleofiles.com".
  2. Sereno, P. C.; Larsson, H. C. E. (2009). "Cretaceous crocodyliforms from the Sahara". ZooKeys (2009): 1–143. doi:10.3897/zookeys.28.325.

Bibliography
  • Buckley, G.A. (2001). "A skull of Mahajangasuchus insignis (Crocodyliformes) from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21 (3), supplement: A36
  • Rogers, Raymond R., David W. Krause and Kristina Curry Rogers (2003). "Cannibalism in the Madagascan dinosaur Majungatholus atopus". Nature 422: 515–518.


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