Thoracosaurus


Thoracosaurus is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph which existed during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene. The animal is usually regarded as a gavialoid crocodilian, though the phylogenetic study published by Lee & Yates suggests that it might have been a non-crocodylian eusuchian. The genus contains the species Thoracosaurus neocesariensis in North America and what is either Thoracosaurus isorhynchus or T. macrorhynchus; a recent review argues that T. macrorhynchus is a junior synonym of T. isorhynchus, but it is unclear whether the type of T. isorhynchus allows differentiation of European and North American Thoracosaurus; if not, then T. isorhynchus would be a nomen dubium. A number of species have been referred to this genus, but most are dubious.
Thoracosaurus scanicus was a fairly large gavialoid, with a length of more than 4.4 m and a 55 cm skull.