Sphagesaurus
Encyclopedia
Sphagesaurus is an extinct genus
of notosuchia
n crocodylomorph
from the Late Cretaceous
of Brazil
.
S. huenei, was discovered in 1950 by Price, with the both the genus
and species
named from two isolated teeth. More recently a nearly complete skull of S. huenei was described and published, helping to elucidate the evolutionary relationships of Sphagesaurus with other notosuchians. A second species, S. montealtensis has also been described from the Late Cretaceous
of Brazil.
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 notosuchia
Notosuchia
Notosuchia is a suborder of primarily Gondwanan mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs that lived during the Cretaceous. Fossils have been found from South America, Africa, and Asia...
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...
from 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...
of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Species and discovery
The type speciesType 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...
S. huenei, was discovered in 1950 by Price, with the both the 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...
and species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
named from two isolated teeth. More recently a nearly complete skull of S. huenei was described and published, helping to elucidate the evolutionary relationships of Sphagesaurus with other notosuchians. A second species, S. montealtensis has also been described from the Late Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
of Brazil.