Open Paleo

Pachysuchus

Young, 1951 PAK-i-SOO-kus Nomen dubium

From Greek pachys (παχύς, 'thick') and Latin/Greek suchos (from Σοῦχος, 'crocodile'), meaning 'thick crocodile', a reference to the robust snout

201.4–192.9 million years ago Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Pachysuchus is a dubious extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of China.

Under dispute

Pachysuchus imperfectus, from the Early Jurassic of China, was originally described as a phytosaur; reidentification of the holotype showed it to be an indeterminate early sauropodomorph and a nomen dubium (Barrett and Xu, 2012).

Species

Pachysuchus imperfectus Young, 1951 Nomen dubium

Type species

From Latin 'imperfectus' meaning 'imperfect', referring to the poorly preserved and incomplete nature of the holotype specimen.

Holotype
IVPP V40 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
A badly damaged partial snout, comprising a fragmentary left premaxilla, left maxilla, and probable nasals with indeterminate bone fragments.
Horizon
Zhangjiawa Member, Lufeng Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
Locality
quarry southwest of Huangchiatien (Dahuangtian), Yunnan, China

References

  1. Young, C. C. (1951). The Lufeng saurischian fauna in China. Palaeontologia Sinica, New Series C 13: 1-96. young1951a
  2. Barrett, P. M.; Xu, X. (2012). The enigmatic reptile Pachysuchus imperfectus Young, 1951 from the Lower Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 50(2): 151-159.

    Redescribed the Pachysuchus holotype, reidentifying it as an indeterminate sauropodomorph rather than a phytosaur, and found no diagnostic features.

    barrett2012a