Zulmasuchus
Encyclopedia
Zulmasuchus is an extinct genus
of bretesuchid
sebecosuchia
n mesoeucrocodylia
n. Its fossil
s have been found in Paleocene
-age rocks of the Santa Lucia Formation
in Bolivia
. Zulmasuchus was named in 2007 by Alfredo Paolillo and Omar Linares for fossils originally described by Buffetaut and Marshall in 1991 as Sebecus
querejazus. Thus, the type species
is Z. querejazus.
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 bretesuchid
Bretesuchidae
Bretesuchidae is an extinct family of sebecosuchian mesoeucrocodylians from the Paleocene of South America. It includes the genera Bretesuchus and Zulmasuchus. Bretesuchus, the type genus, was named in 1993 from the Late Paleocene Maíz Gordo Formation in northwestern Argentina. The type species of...
sebecosuchia
Sebecosuchia
Sebecosuchia is an extinct group of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms that includes the families Sebecidae and Baurusuchidae. The group first appeared in the Late Cretaceous with the baurusuchids and went extinct in the Miocene with the last sebecids. Fossils have been found primarily from South...
n mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia is the name of the clade that includes Eusuchia and the paraphyletic group Mesosuchia. The group appeared during the Early Jurassic, and continues to the present day....
n. Its fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s have been found in Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
-age rocks of the Santa Lucia Formation
Santa Lucia Formation
The Santa Lucia Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation.-See also:* List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations** List of stratigraphic units with ornithischian tracks*** Ornithopod tracks...
in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. Zulmasuchus was named in 2007 by Alfredo Paolillo and Omar Linares for fossils originally described by Buffetaut and Marshall in 1991 as Sebecus
Sebecus
Sebecus is an extinct genus of sebecid crocodylomorph from the Eocene of South America. Fossils have been found in Patagonia. Like other sebecosuchians, it was entirely terrestrial and carnivorous. The genus is currently represented by a single species, the type S. icaeorhinus...
querejazus. Thus, 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...
is Z. querejazus.