Lemmysuchus
Name:
Lemmysuchus
(Lemmy’s crocodile).
Phonetic: Lem-me-soo-kus.
Named By: Michela M. Johnson, Mark T. Young,
Lorna Steel, Davide Foffa, Adam S. Smith, Stephane Hua,
Philipe Havlik, Eliza A. Howlett & Gareth Dyke. -
2017.
Synonyms: Steneosaurus obtusidens.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Thalattosuchia, Teleosauridae, Machimosaurini.
Species: L. obtusidens
(type).
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Skull about 1 meter long. Total body
length estimated at 5.8 meters.
Known locations: England - Oxford Clay Formation.
Time period: Callovian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Skull and partial post
cranial skeletal remains.
Originally
named as a species of Steneosaurus,
S. obtusidens was renamed as a
distinct genus in 2017. The describers created the name Lemmysuchus
which means ‘Lemmy’s crocodile’. This was in honour of Ian Fraser
Kilmister, the lead singer and founder of the band Motörhead, who
everyone knew as Lemmy.
Lemmysuchus
was a thalattosuchian,
more loosely known as sea
crocodile, though not technically related to modern crocodiles.
Further to this, Lemmysuchus was a teleosaurid,
meaning that it
would have retained some terrestrial features and still been able to
comfortably move about on land as well as in the water. As such,
Lemmysuchus probably roamed about coastal lagoons
and coastlines
hunting for whatever creatures it could catch. The stronger skull and
jaws of Lemmysuchus compared to other teleosaurid
genera, suggest
that Lemmysuchus could more easily crunch through
armoured prey such as
turtles and crabs. Relative teleosaurid genera however are more
gharial like with long slender jaws more suited to softer prey such as
fish.
Further reading
- On some new Steneosaurs from the Oxford Clay of Peterborough. -
Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 3 (15): 299–308.
- Andrews C. W. - 1909.
- Re-description of 'Steneosaurus' obtusidens
Andrews, 1909,
an unusual macrophagous teleosaurid crocodylomorph from the Middle
Jurassic of England. - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
182 (2): 385–418. - Michela M. Johnson, Mark T.
Young, Lorna Steel, Davide Foffa, Adam S. Smith, Stephane
Hua, Philipe Havlik, Eliza A. Howlett & Gareth Dyke.
- 2017.
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