Massaliasuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodyliform that is known from fossils found in Santonian–Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous rocks of southeastern France.[1]
Massaliasuchus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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Illustration of the fossilized remains from the Fuvelian Lignites of France, 1869 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauria |
Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
Clade: | Eusuchia |
Clade: | †Allodaposuchidae |
Genus: | †Massaliasuchus Martin & Buffetaut, 2008 |
Species: | †M. affuvelensis
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Binomial name | |
†Massaliasuchus affuvelensis (Matheron, 1869)
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Synonyms | |
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Massaliasuchus was first described in 1869 by Philippe Matheron as Crocodilus affuvelensis, based on remains including skull bones.[2] The new genus name was given to it in 2008 by Jeremy Martin and Eric Buffetaut. Massaliasuchus was considered to be related to early alligatoroids. Its name means "Marseille crocodile".[1]
Recent cladistic analysis places Massaliasuchus as a member of Allodaposuchidae, a clade of basal eusuchians from the Late Cretaceous of southern Europe.[3] The genus can be distinguished from Musturzabalsuchus in having 15 alveoli in the dentary.[4] However, Massaliasuchus is usually omitted from phylogenetic analyses since it is only represented by poorly-preserved material.[5]