''Protosuchus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

crocodylomorph Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. During Mesozoic and early Cenozoic times, cro ...

from the Early Jurassic. The name ''Protosuchus'' means "first crocodile", and is among the earliest animals that resemble crocodilians. ''Protosuchus'' was about in length and about in weight. As an early

crocodilian Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living ...

relative, its skull featured more crocodilian characteristics than its earlier ancestors; it had short jaws that broadened out at the base of the skull, providing a large surface to which its jaw muscles could attach. This increased the maximum gape of the animal's mouth and the force with which the jaws could be closed. The dentition of the animal also resembled modern crocodiles, including the teeth in the lower jaw that fitted into notches on either side of the upper jaw when the mouth was closed. It also possessed a powerful tail which later developed into a propulsion mechanism through water in its descendants. The body was covered and reinforced by osteoderms in a double row along the back and covering the bottom of the body and the entire tail. It was an unusual quadrupedal reptile whose legs were columnar, with the rear legs longer than the front legs. Its five toes were clawed and it is believed that they were good runners and good swimmers.

Species

Three species of ''Protosuchus'' have been described: the type species ''P. richardsoni'' "FossilWorks: Protosuchus richardsoni"
retrieved 26 Feb 2014 from Arizona, United States, ''P. micmac''"Triassic-Jurassic faunal and floral transition in the Fundy Basin, Nova Scotia"
Authors: Paul E. Olsen, Jessica H. Whiteside, Timothy Fedak, retrieved 26 Feb 2014 from Nova Scotia, Canada and ''P. haughtoni'' "FossilWorks: Protosuchus haughtoni"
retrieved 26 Feb 2014 from South Africa.

References

Early Jurassic crocodylomorphs Terrestrial crocodylomorphs Extinct animals of North America Fossil taxa described in 1934 Taxa named by Barnum Brown Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera {{paleo-archosaur-stub