Arenysuchus

Ah-re-ne-soo-kus.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Arenysuchus ‭(‬Areny crocodile‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ah-re-ne-soo-kus.

Named By

Eduardo Pu�rtolas,‭ ‬Jos� I.‭ ‬Canudo‭ & ‬Pen�lope Cruzado-Caballero‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Crocodylia,‭ ‬Crocodyloidea.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬gascabadiolorum‭

Size

Skull about‭ ‬18-19‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

Spain‭ ‬-‭ ‬Tremp Formation.

Time Period

Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and teeth.

In Depth

       A member of the Crocodyloidea which includes surviving modern species,‭ ‬Arenysuchus is still regarded as a more basal form due to the frontal skull bones contacting the fenestra‭ (‬openings‭) ‬on top of the skull.‭ ‬At the time of writing only a partial skull of Arenysuchus is known,‭ ‬but at just under twenty centimetres long it would seem that Arenysuchus was not as huge as some prehistoric crocodiles such as Aegisuchus.‭ ‬Arenysuchus probably hunted for smaller land vertebrates and fish,‭ ‬and may have lived in the same habitats as hadrosaurid dinosaurs like Arenysaurus.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A New Crocodylian from the Late Maastrichtian of Spain:‭ ‬Implications for the Initial Radiation of Crocodyloids,‭ ‬Eduardo Pu�rtolas,‭ ‬Jos� I.‭ ‬Canudo‭ & ‬Pen�lope Cruzado-Caballero‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.

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