''Fugusuchus'' is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of archosauriform, probably the basal-most member of the family Erythrosuchidae. The genus is known from a single fossil from the middle

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which ...

Heshanggou Formation in

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The partial skeleton consists of an incomplete skull, parts of the right forelimb, and an intercentrum. The skeleton, known as GMB V 313, is currently in the Geological Museum of China in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. ''Fugusuchus'' was a medium-sized archosauriform. It has a long and relatively low skull, unlike the higher more pointed skulls of related genera such as '' Erythrosuchus''. In ''Fugusuchus'', the tooth row of the upper jaw extends beneath the

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

, or eye socket. This feature distinguishes it from more advanced erythrosuchids such as '' Garjainia'' and ''Erythrosuchus,'' in which teeth are only present in front of the orbital area.

References

Erythrosuchidae Early Triassic reptiles of Asia Fossil taxa described in 1980 Prehistoric reptile genera {{paleo-archosaur-stub