''Samsarasuchus'' is an extinct genus of

archosauriform Archosauriformes (Greek for 'ruling lizards', and Latin for 'form') is a clade of diapsid reptiles encompassing archosaurs and some of their close relatives. It was defined by Jacques Gauthier (1994) as the clade stemming from the last common anc ...

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

from the

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. This genus has one known species, ''Samsarasuchus pamelae''. ''Samsarasuchus'' lived a few million years after the Permian-Triassic extinction, the largest known

mass extinction event An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp fall in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. It occ ...

. It was a member of the

Proterosuchidae Proterosuchidae is an early family of basal archosauriforms whose fossils are known from the Late Permian and the Early Triassic. The highest diversity of genera is known from European Russia, but fossils are also known from South Africa, India ...

, a group of successful

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

-like reptiles that survived the extinction event and were among the earliest successful archosauromorphs. ''Samsarasuchus'' is known from several

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

recovered from the

Panchet Formation The Panchet Formation is an Early Triassic geological formation from the Damodar Valley of India. It is among the few geological formations outside of Russia, South Africa, and China that documents the recovery of global ecosystems immediately ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India. The formation has been dated to the

Induan The Induan is the first age of the Early Triassic epoch in the geologic timescale, or the lowest stage of the Lower Triassic series in chronostratigraphy. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and 249.9 Ma (million years ago). The Induan is so ...

, the earliest stage of the

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

period. It was classified in the

Chasmatosuchinae Proterosuchidae is an early family of Basal (phylogenetics), basal archosauriformes, archosauriforms whose fossils are known from the Lopingian, Late Permian and the Early Triassic. The highest diversity of genera is known from European Russia, b ...

, a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

of proterosuchids that contains a majority of genera in the family, including the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

'' Archosaurus''. It is the only valid proterosuchid from India; ''

Ankistrodon ''Ankistrodon'' is an extinct genus of archosauriform known from the Early Triassic Panchet Formation of India. First thought to be a theropod dinosaur, it was later determined to be a proterosuchid. The type species is ''A. indicus'', describ ...

'', another proterosuchid previously described from the Panchet Formation, is considered a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

'' due to its non-diagnostic remains. The genus name ''Samsarasuchus'' references ''

saṃsāra ''Saṃsāra'' (Devanagari: संसार) is a Sanskrit word that means "wandering" as well as "world," wherein the term connotes "cyclic change" or, less formally, "running around in circles." ''Saṃsāra'' is referred to with terms or p ...

'', the eternal cycle of death and rebirth in

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

, referring to the recovery of global ecosystems after the Permian-Triassic extinction event. The species name honors paleontologist

Pamela Lamplugh Robinson Pamela Lamplugh Robinson (18 December 1919 – 24 October 1994) was a British paleontologist who worked extensively on the fauna of the Triassic and Early Jurassic of Gloucestershire and later worked in India on the Mesozoic and Gondwanan fauna. Sh ...

Reference

{{Taxonbar, from=Q123460027 Proterosuchidae Early Triassic reptiles of Asia Prehistoric reptile genera Fossil taxa described in 2023 Taxa named by Sterling Nesbitt Induan genera