Lohuecosuchus

Lohuecosuchus (Lo Hueco crocodile) is an extinct genus of crocodyliforms related to the current crocodiles. It lived during the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian to early Maastrichtian) in what is now Spain and southern France.[1] It is a genus closely related to Allodaposuchus, a crocodile that lived in what is now Romania. It was both synchronic and sympatric with another allodaposuchid species, Agaresuchus fontisensis.[2] Fossils of the genus have been recovered from the Villalba de la Sierra Formation at Lo Hueco.

Lohuecosuchus
Temporal range: Late Campanian-Early Maastrichtian
~71–68 Ma
↓
Skull and mandible of Lohuecosuchus megadontos
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Sauropsida
Superorder:
Pseudosuchia
Order:
Crocodylomorpha
Suborder:
Crocodyliformes
Infraorder:
Mesoeucrocodylia
Family:
†Allodaposuchidae
Genus:
†Lohuecosuchus

Narváez et al., 2015[1]
Type species
†Lohuecosuchus megadontos
Narváez et al. 2015[1]
Species
  • †L. mechinorum Narváez et al. 2015
  • †L. megadontos Narváez et al. 2015 (type)

Description

Its endocranial anatomy was recently described and found to be similar to crown-crocodylians, revealing that the acute sense of olfaction and low frequency hearing found in living crocodylians likely originated along the stem-line.[3]

References
  1. Narváez, I.; Brochu, C. A.; Escaso, F.; Pérez-García, A.; Ortega, F. (2015) «New crocodyliforms from southwestern Europe and definition of a diverse clade of european Late Cretaceous basal eusuchians». PLoS ONE, 10(11): e0140679. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140679
  2. Narvaez, I., Brochu, C. A., Escaso, F., Perez-Garcia, A., Ortega, F. (2016). New Spanish Late Cretaceous eusuchian reveals the synchronic and sympatric presence of two allodaposuchids. Cretaceous Research, 65, 112-125. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2016.04.018
  3. Serrano-Martanez, A., Knoll, F., Narvaez, I., Lautenschlager, S., & Ortega, F. (2018). Inner skull cavities of the basal eusuchian Lohuecosuchus megadontos (Upper Cretaceous, Spain) and neurosensorial implications. Cretaceous Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2018.08.016


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