''Dolichosuchus'' (meaning "long crocodile") is the name given to a genus of

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

from the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

. It was originally classified in the disused family

Hallopodidae Hallopodidae is a family of Late Jurassic crocodylomorphs. They have been recovered as the closest relatives of the Crocodyliformes Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilia ...

, but has since been reclassified as a

coelophysoid Coelophysoidea were common dinosaurs of the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods. They were widespread geographically, probably living on all continents. Coelophysoids were all slender, carnivorous forms with a superficial similarity to the ...

. A single fossil (consisting of a single lower leg bone, or tibia) was found in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Since only one bone was discovered, the genus is considered a '' nomen dubium''. Some scientists have noted that the tibia closely resembles those of '' Liliensternus'' and ''

Dilophosaurus ''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserve ...

''.Rauhut and Hungerbuhler (2000). "A review of European Triassic theropods." ''Gaia'', 15: 75-88. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

is ''D. cristatus'', described by Huene in 1932. The bone was recovered from the

Lower Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

or Middle Stubensandstein formation.Huene, F. (1932). "Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte." ''Monog. Geol. Pal.'', 4 (1): pts. 1 and 2, viii + 361 pp.

References

Coelophysoids Late Triassic dinosaurs of Europe Norian life Triassic Germany Fossils of Germany Fossil taxa described in 1932 Taxa named by Friedrich von Huene Nomina dubia {{theropod-stub