Guarinisuchus

Guarinisuchus
Temporal range: Early Paleocene (Tiupampan-Peligran)
~66–61.7 Ma
Life restoration of Guarinisuchus munizi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Family: †Dyrosauridae
Genus: †Guarinisuchus
Barbosa et al., 2008
Type species
†G. munizi
Barbosa et al., 2008
Size (2), compared to other Brazilian Cretaceous Crocodylomorphs

Guarinisuchus is an extinct monotypic genus of marine crocodyliform from the Early Palaeocene 62 million years ago in the Maria Farinha Formation, Brazil. The type species is G. munizi. The genus was a dominant predator in its environment,[citation needed] and probably reached a length of 3 metres (9.8 ft). Guarinisuchus appears to be closely related to marine crocodylomorphs found in Africa, which supports the hypothesis that the group originated in Africa and migrated to South America before spreading into the waters off the North American coast.

Palaeobiology

Life history

Dental histology reveals the Lines of von Ebner of G. munizi show extreme variability in their spacing from one another, reflecting high degrees of plasticity of their dentine deposition rates and consequently their metabolism. This diverse set of reaction norms enabled the species to inhabit a broad diversity of habitats varying in their water temperature and resource availability.

References

  1. ↑ Guarinisuchus at Fossilworks.org
  2. ↑ The new Brazilian crocodile
  3. ↑ Izidio, Maria Erivânia; de Araújo, Esaú Victor; Haase, Mariana Valéria; Sayão, Juliana Manso; Oliveira, Gustavo Ribeiro (3 October 2026). "Dental histology of Guarinisuchus munizi (Crocodylomorpha, Dyrosauridae)". Historical Biology. 38 (10): 4118–4130. doi:10.1080/08912963.2026.2643940. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 28 September 2026 – via Taylor and Francis Online.

Further reading