Armadillosuchus arrudai

This bizarre crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil was protected by a heavy body armor akin to the armadillo and showed adaptation for a fossorial life. It belongs to the the family Sphagesauridae, a group of highly specialized crocodile relatives from the Late cretaceous of Brazil.

Name

Armadillosuchus arrudai

Authority

Marinho & Carvalho, 2009

Meaning of generic name

"Armadillo crocodile".

Meaning of specific name

In honor of João Tadeu Arruda.

[Simplest latinisation of Arruda is - Arruda. Its genetive is not Arrudai (except very early on, before Classic Latin) but Arrudae]

Size

Skull length: , Length: [neither given]

Remains

Holotype (UFRJ DG 303-R): Nearly complete skull and postcranial elements (vertebrae, ribs, partial forelimb, osteoderms)

Referred materials: MPMA-64-0001-04 (partial skull).

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Adamantina Formation, Bauru Basin. Late Cretaceous (Turonian-Santonian).

Locality: General Salgado County, São Paulo State, Brazil.

Classification

Archosauromorpha Crurotarsi Paracrocodylomorpha Notosuchia Sphagesauridae

Further Reading

T. S. Marinho and I. d. S. Carvalho. 2009. An armadillo-like sphagesaurid crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 27(1):36-4.

Image by Nobu Tamura (click to enlarge)

Armadillosuchus arrudai: