| Gilchristosuchus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Eusuchia |
| Genus: | †Gilchristosuchus Wu and Brinkman,1993 |
| Type species | |
| †Gilchristosuchus palatinus Wu and Brinkman, 1993 | |
Gilchristosuchus (meaning "Gilchrist [the owners of the ranch where thetype specimen was found] crocodile") is anextinctgenus ofneosuchiancrocodyliform.[1] Itsfossils have been found in the upperMilk River Formation ofAlberta,Canada, in rocks of either latestSantonian or earliestCampanian age (Late Cretaceous).Gilchristosuchus was described in 1993 by Wu and Brinkman. The type species isG. palatinus, in reference to its distinctivepalatine bones.[2]
Gilchristosuchus isbased onRTMP 91.101.1, a partialposterior skull and a neckvertebra. The skull would have been about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long when complete. It represents the first articulated crocodylomorph specimen from the Milk River Formation. Isolated remains had been found earlier and assigned toBrachychampsa andLeidyosuchus; some of these fossils probably belong toGichristosuchus. Although the specimen is not large, the ornamentation of the skull surfaces and bone fusion indicate it was an adult. Based on previous research, Wu and Brinkman suggested that their new genus was the most derived neosuchian that wasn't withinEusuchia, the group including all livingcrocodilians.[2]
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