Hamadasuchus
Encyclopedia
Hamadasuchus is an extinct genus
of sebecia
n crocodylomorph
. Fossil
s have been found from the Kem Kem Formation outcropping in southeastern Morocco
. These beds date back to the Albian
and Cenomanian
stages of the Late Cretaceous
. It was first assigned to the family
Trematochampsidae
. Diagnostic features of the genus include its lateromedially compressed and serrated teeth. It was deep-snouted and had a slightly heterodont dentition with three distinct tooth morphologies present from sections of the lower jaw.
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 sebecia
Sebecia
Sebecia is an extinct clade of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms that includes peirosaurids and sebecids. It was first constructed in 2007 to include Hamadasuchus, Peirosauridae, and Sebecus. It was initially considered to be the sister taxon of the clade Neosuchia, which includes living...
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 Kem Kem Formation outcropping in southeastern Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. These beds date back to the Albian
Albian
The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch/series. Its approximate time range is 112.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 99.6 ± 0.9 Ma...
and Cenomanian
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous series. An age is a unit of geochronology: it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the stratigraphic column deposited during the corresponding...
stages of the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
. It was first assigned to the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Trematochampsidae
Trematochampsidae
Trematochampsidae is an extinct family of mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorph. Fossils are present from Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Argentina, and Brazil...
. Diagnostic features of the genus include its lateromedially compressed and serrated teeth. It was deep-snouted and had a slightly heterodont dentition with three distinct tooth morphologies present from sections of the lower jaw.
External links
- Hamadasuchus in the Paleobiology DatabasePaleobiology Database' is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.-History:The Paleobiology Database was founded in 2000. It has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council...