Krabisuchus
| Krabisuchus Temporal range: Eocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Alligatoridae |
| Subfamily: | Alligatorinae |
| Genus: | †Krabisuchus Martin and Lauprasert, 2010 |
| Type species | |
| †Krabisuchus siamogallicus Martin and Lauprasert, 2010 | |
Krabisuchus is an extinct genus of alligatorine crocodylian that existed in what is now Thailand during the Eocene.[1] It was first named by paleontologists Jeremy A. Martin and Komsorn Lauprasert in 2010, and the type species is K. siamogallicus. Fossils have been found from the Krabi Basin of southern Thailand and include mostly cranial and mandibular elements as well as some postcranial remains. Krabisuchus is currently the most well known primitive alligatorine from Asia; previously, these animals were only represented in Asia by a few fragmentary remains from China. The fossil record of alligatorines is much more extensive in Europe and North America, where most taxa have been described.[1]
Growing to approximately 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length, Krabisuchus was a small alligatorine that was much smaller than the living alligator. Like the alligator, it had a blunt snout. Krabisuchus also had a raised skull similar to the extinct alligatorine Arambourgia and living crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis. The teeth at the back of the jaws were very blunt. It, like other extinct alligatorines, was probably terrestrial rather than semiaquatic. This terrestrial lifestyle may have allowed other alligatorines to colonize much of the northern hemisphere during the Paleogene when global temperatures were much warmer than they are today.[1]
Krabisuchus is closely related to the extinct alligatorines Arambourgia, Allognathosuchus, and Procaimanoidea. These taxa are considered sister groups of the Alligator clade.[1]