Thilastikosuchus
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| Thilastikosuchus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
| Clade: | †Notosuchia |
| Family: | †Candidodontidae |
| Genus: | †Thilastikosuchus de Carvalho et al., 2025 |
| Species: | †T. scutorectangularis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Thilastikosuchus scutorectangularis de Carvalho et al., 2025
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Thilastikosuchus is an extinct genus of candidodontid notosuchian from the Early Cretaceous Quiricó Formation of Brazil. It is regarded as the oldest known notosuchian from the country and possibly the oldest known notosuchian known from South America. Thilastikosuchus is most closely related to Lavocatchampsa, Pakasuchus and Malawisuchus. The genus is monotypic, only containing the species Thilastikosuchus scutorectangularis.
History and naming
[edit]The genus Thilastikosuchus was described in 2025 on the basis of specimen FUP-Pv-000019, a well preserved articulated skeleton of a juvenile individual discovered in the Sanfranciscana Basin of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The red sandstone where the fossil originates from is assigned to the Quiricó Formation and date to the Early Cretaceous, likely the Barremian to Aptian, making Thilastikosuchus one of the oldest known notosuchians of South America.[1]
The name Thilastikosuchus is a combination of the Greek "Thilastikó" meaning mammal and the widely used suffix "suchus" which means crocodile, with the name referencing the very mammal-like dentition displayed by candidodontid notosuchians. The species name scutorectangularis meanwhile alludes to the fact that the osteoderm scutes that covered the animals back were rectangular.[1]
Phylogeny
[edit]In the phylogenetic analysis of de Carvalho and colleagues the Candidodontidae are recovered as a monophyletic family at the very base of Notosuchia, making them the earliest diverging group of this widespread clade. Internally, the earliest diverging member of Candidodontidae is Candidodon itself, after which the family splits into two distinct branches. One contains Malawisuchus and Pakasuchus, wheras the other is formed by Thilastikosuchus and its sister taxon Lavocatchampsa.[1]
| Notosuchia |
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References
[edit]- ^ a b c de Carvalho, J. C.; Santos, D. M.; Pinto, R. L.; Santucci, R. M. (2025). "Anatomical description and systematics of a new notosuchian (Mesoeucrocodylia; Crocodyliformes) from the Quiricó Formation, Lower Cretaceous, Sanfranciscana Basin, Brazil". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2452947. doi:10.1080/02724634.2025.2452947.
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