''Stomatosuchus'' (type species ''S. inermis'') is an extinct

stomatosuchid Stomatosuchidae is an extinct family (biology), family of neosuchian crocodylomorphs. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing ''Stomatosuchus, Stomatosuchus inermis'' but not ''Notosuchus, Notosuchus terrestris'', ''Simosuchus, Simos ...

neosuchian from the Late Cretaceous (

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

) of Egypt. Much of what is known about ''Stomatosuchus'' has been inferred from the related genus '' Laganosuchus''.

Description

It grew to a length of , and possessed a long, flattened skull with lid-like jaws that were lined with small, conical teeth and the skull reached up to long. The mandible may have been toothless and perhaps even supported a pelican-like throat pouch.Naish, D. 2002
Fossils explained 34: Crocodilians
''Geology Today'' 2: 71-77
Archived copy
from 24 January 2019. This pouch however could have been used to scoop up fish and sharks much like a modern day pelican, the conical teeth would prevent the prey for escaping. Due to such a bizarre skull structure, much about the diet of ''S. inermis'' remains unknown. The only known specimen of ''S. inermis'' consisted of a partial skull and two caudal vertebrae. It was collected in Egypt during 1911 by the German paleontologist Ernst Stromer whilst on an expedition.Stromer, E. (1925)
Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharije-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 7. ''Stomatosuchus inermis'' Stromer, ein schwach bezahnter Krokodilier und 8. Ein Skelettrest des Pristiden ''Onchopristis numidus'' Haug sp.
Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung 30(6): 1–22. It was delivered to the Munich Museum, which was later destroyed by an Allied bombing raid in 1944. Currently, only photographs of the specimen remain.

Habitat

It is likely that S. inermis lived in the marshy lowlands of what is now the Eastern Sahara Desert. It may have populated the entire of Northern Africa but due to the only fossil evidence of Stomatosuchus being destroyed and no other bones being find it is impossible the guess.

Gallery

Stomatosuchus inermis.jpg, Comparison of ''Stomatosuchus'' (center) with ''

Retodus ''Retodus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric lungfish found in Cretaceous-aged freshwater strata of Egypt (Baharija Formation), Algeria and Niger. The type species, ''R. tuberculatus'', was named in 2006.Churcher, Charles & De Iuliis, Gerry & ...

'' (top) '' Laganosuchus'' (bottom) File:Stomatosuchus skull.png, Skull seen from two angles File:Stomatosuchus skull Stromer 1925jpg.jpg, Holotype skull

References

Late Cretaceous crocodylomorphs of Africa Bahariya Formation Cenomanian genera Taxa named by Ernst Stromer Fossil taxa described in 1925 Prehistoric marine crocodylomorphs Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera Cretaceous Egypt {{paleo-archosaur-stub