Hadongsuchus is an extinct genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of protosuchia

Protosuchia

Protosuchia is a group of extinct Mesozoic crocodyliforms. They were small in size and terrestrial. In phylogenetic terms, Protosuchia is considered an informal group because it is a grade of basal crocodyliforms, not a true clade....

n crocodylomorph

Crocodylomorpha

The Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the crocodilians and their extinct relatives.During Mesozoic and early Tertiary times the Crocodylomorpha were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. These were...

. Fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s have been found from the Hasandong Formation

Hasandong Formation

The Hasandong Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.-Paleofauna:* Chiayusaurus asianensis - "Tooth."...

 outcropping on Hadong Island

Hadong

Hadong County is a county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.-History:The county of Hadong was called 'Dasachon' when it was a part of the Jin state; later becoming a part of 'Nangnoguk', one of 12 statelets of the Byeonhan confederacy...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. The formation dates back to the Hauterivian

Hauterivian

The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 136.4 ± 2 Ma and 130 ± 1.5 Ma...

 and Barremian

Barremian

The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale between 130.0 ± 1.5 Ma and 125.0 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous epoch...

 stages of the Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

. A complete fossil skull was discovered in 2002, and the genus was named in 2005 on the basis of this holotype. Certain features of the third premaxilla

Premaxilla

The incisive bone is the portion of the maxilla adjacent to the incisors. It is a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the jaws of many animals, usually bearing teeth, but not always. They are connected to the maxilla and the nasals....

ry tooth help distinguish it from other related crocodylomorphs. The estimated size of Hadongsuchus was around 50 cm in length. Like other protosuchians, it is believed to have been a fully terrestrial cursorial animal with a semi-erect posture. The binomial name of the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 H. acerdentis means "sharp-toothed crocodile from Hadong" in Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

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