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Caririsuchus
Caririsuchus is an extinct genus of itasuchid crocodylomorph from the Aptian to Albian Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group in the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil. The genus was described in 1987 based on multiple bones secured in a Brazilian fossil collection, but the much more complete fossil slab that these pieces were taken from was illegally shipped to Europe before being presumably sold into a private collection with its current whereabouts unknown. Some of the few remains that had stayed in Brazil were destroyed in the 2018 fire that destroyed large parts of the collection held in Rio de Janeiro.
Caririsuchus was a relatively small animal, measuring about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length. It had a triangular head similar to modern crocodiles and has been noted for the extensive osteoderm armor covering not just its back but also its tail, limbs and stomach. The genus is considered to be a member of the clade Notosuchia, usually as a close relative to other platyrostral forms like Pepesuchus and Itasuchus in the clade Itasuchidae, though some authors have placed all these forms in the peirosaurid subfamily Pepesuchinae. Caririsuchus was a semi-aquatic animal that once inhabited the coastal Romualdo Formation.
The Araripe Basin of Brazil has long been subject to the illegal collection and selling of fossil material to foreign collectors, prompting the Brazilian Society of Paleontology to appeal researchers to focus on fossils from localities subject to exploitation and destruction. One such fossil was a nearly complete crocodylomorph only missing parts of some limbs preserved in a dark limestone slab presumably recovered from a coal mine exposing the Romualdo Formation (Santana Group). While most of the specimen was eventually shipped out of Brazil, some parts of the fossil including a portion of the rostrum and the osteoderms of multiple body regions were obtained by Rainer Alexander von Blittersdorff. These pieces were initially deposited in von Blittersdorff's Desirée Collection, though at least some osteoderms were later moved to the National Department of Mineral Production in Rio de Janeiro. Based on these remains as well as photographs of the complete fossil Brazilian paleontologist Alexander Kellner was able to determine that the animal represented a new species and genus, which he described in 1987 as Caririsuchus camposi.
Following its removal from Brazil, the specimen was next mentioned as having arrived in Europe, where it was briefly studied by Eric Buffetaut before disappearing again, presumably having been sold to a private collection. Although initially unaware of Kellner's work after being presented with the specimen, Buffetaut would later address his colleague's research in a contribution to the 1991 book "Santana Fossils : An Illustrated Atlas" by John G. Maisey. In this book Buffetaut argued that Caririsuchus was remarkably similar to Itasuchus from the Bauru Group, concluding that though distinct on a species level, Caririsuchus was a synonym of Itasuchus, creating the combination Itasuchus camposi. The book also features a photograph of a second well-preserved specimen including the skull, torso and tail including the osteoderm armor. According to Buffetaut the specimen was "reportedly also for sale" while remarking that the sale of the holotype "symbolizes the difficulty of saving scientifically valuable specimens from commercial exploitation".
The pieces that had remained in Brazil meanwhile were donated to two institutions, with two fragments ending up in the collection of the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro and a third having been deposited at the Museu de Ciências da Terra, also in Rio. In 2018 the former was heavily damaged by a large fire destroying large parts of the paleontological collection. Despite salvage efforts, the Caririsuchus fossils held at the museum had not been recovered by 2024 and may have been destroyed.
Caririsuchus was named for the Kiriri people who once inhabited large parts of Brazil including the Araripe Basin. The ending "-suchus" meanwhile is a frequently used component in fossil crocodylomorph names, derived from the Greek "souchos" meaning crocodile. The species name on the other hand was chosen to honor Diogenes de Almeida Campos, a Brazilian paleontologist and geologist noted for his contribution to the study of the Araripe Basin.
Caririsuchus had a comparably high triangular skull with a moderately laterally-compressed, tapering platyrostral (flattened) snout that gradually widens towards the back of the skull. The forward-directed external nares are oval in shape and formed by the premaxillae and nasal bones, with the latter forming a septum that separates the nares into two distinct openings. The transition between the premaxilla and maxilla is well marked by the presence of a prominent notch that coincides with the premaxillary-maxillary suture. The maxillae are prominently sinusoidal in lateral view with pronounced festooning, resulting in a marked swelling at the location of the largest maxillary tooth. The nasals, which are paired as in other itasuchids, extend across the rostrum forming the bulging dorsal surface until reaching the bones just anterior to the eyesockets, sending posterior processes into the spaces between the frontal and prefrontal as well as the prefrontal and lacrimal.
The prefrontals are small and elongated, as are the lacrimals, which lack a ventral process and are wider towards the orbital margin and with no signs of possessing an antorbital fenestra. The frontal bone meanwhile roughly resembles an elongated triangle and consists of an anterior process that extends forward between the eyesockets to about the same level as the prefrontals and a posterior section. Overall the frontal has been described as reaching about half the length of the nasals, which it contacts along an irregular suture, inserting itself in between the two nasals. The eyesockets are large, circular and directed more laterally. Each orbit is protected by two palpebral bones, with the anterior being better developed than its posterior partner. The two bones cover most of the upper orbital margin and articulate with the surrounding bones. The anterior palpebral attaches to the prefrontal, lacrimal and frontal while the posterior rests on the frontal and postorbital bone.
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Caririsuchus
Caririsuchus is an extinct genus of itasuchid crocodylomorph from the Aptian to Albian Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group in the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil. The genus was described in 1987 based on multiple bones secured in a Brazilian fossil collection, but the much more complete fossil slab that these pieces were taken from was illegally shipped to Europe before being presumably sold into a private collection with its current whereabouts unknown. Some of the few remains that had stayed in Brazil were destroyed in the 2018 fire that destroyed large parts of the collection held in Rio de Janeiro.
Caririsuchus was a relatively small animal, measuring about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length. It had a triangular head similar to modern crocodiles and has been noted for the extensive osteoderm armor covering not just its back but also its tail, limbs and stomach. The genus is considered to be a member of the clade Notosuchia, usually as a close relative to other platyrostral forms like Pepesuchus and Itasuchus in the clade Itasuchidae, though some authors have placed all these forms in the peirosaurid subfamily Pepesuchinae. Caririsuchus was a semi-aquatic animal that once inhabited the coastal Romualdo Formation.
The Araripe Basin of Brazil has long been subject to the illegal collection and selling of fossil material to foreign collectors, prompting the Brazilian Society of Paleontology to appeal researchers to focus on fossils from localities subject to exploitation and destruction. One such fossil was a nearly complete crocodylomorph only missing parts of some limbs preserved in a dark limestone slab presumably recovered from a coal mine exposing the Romualdo Formation (Santana Group). While most of the specimen was eventually shipped out of Brazil, some parts of the fossil including a portion of the rostrum and the osteoderms of multiple body regions were obtained by Rainer Alexander von Blittersdorff. These pieces were initially deposited in von Blittersdorff's Desirée Collection, though at least some osteoderms were later moved to the National Department of Mineral Production in Rio de Janeiro. Based on these remains as well as photographs of the complete fossil Brazilian paleontologist Alexander Kellner was able to determine that the animal represented a new species and genus, which he described in 1987 as Caririsuchus camposi.
Following its removal from Brazil, the specimen was next mentioned as having arrived in Europe, where it was briefly studied by Eric Buffetaut before disappearing again, presumably having been sold to a private collection. Although initially unaware of Kellner's work after being presented with the specimen, Buffetaut would later address his colleague's research in a contribution to the 1991 book "Santana Fossils : An Illustrated Atlas" by John G. Maisey. In this book Buffetaut argued that Caririsuchus was remarkably similar to Itasuchus from the Bauru Group, concluding that though distinct on a species level, Caririsuchus was a synonym of Itasuchus, creating the combination Itasuchus camposi. The book also features a photograph of a second well-preserved specimen including the skull, torso and tail including the osteoderm armor. According to Buffetaut the specimen was "reportedly also for sale" while remarking that the sale of the holotype "symbolizes the difficulty of saving scientifically valuable specimens from commercial exploitation".
The pieces that had remained in Brazil meanwhile were donated to two institutions, with two fragments ending up in the collection of the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro and a third having been deposited at the Museu de Ciências da Terra, also in Rio. In 2018 the former was heavily damaged by a large fire destroying large parts of the paleontological collection. Despite salvage efforts, the Caririsuchus fossils held at the museum had not been recovered by 2024 and may have been destroyed.
Caririsuchus was named for the Kiriri people who once inhabited large parts of Brazil including the Araripe Basin. The ending "-suchus" meanwhile is a frequently used component in fossil crocodylomorph names, derived from the Greek "souchos" meaning crocodile. The species name on the other hand was chosen to honor Diogenes de Almeida Campos, a Brazilian paleontologist and geologist noted for his contribution to the study of the Araripe Basin.
Caririsuchus had a comparably high triangular skull with a moderately laterally-compressed, tapering platyrostral (flattened) snout that gradually widens towards the back of the skull. The forward-directed external nares are oval in shape and formed by the premaxillae and nasal bones, with the latter forming a septum that separates the nares into two distinct openings. The transition between the premaxilla and maxilla is well marked by the presence of a prominent notch that coincides with the premaxillary-maxillary suture. The maxillae are prominently sinusoidal in lateral view with pronounced festooning, resulting in a marked swelling at the location of the largest maxillary tooth. The nasals, which are paired as in other itasuchids, extend across the rostrum forming the bulging dorsal surface until reaching the bones just anterior to the eyesockets, sending posterior processes into the spaces between the frontal and prefrontal as well as the prefrontal and lacrimal.
The prefrontals are small and elongated, as are the lacrimals, which lack a ventral process and are wider towards the orbital margin and with no signs of possessing an antorbital fenestra. The frontal bone meanwhile roughly resembles an elongated triangle and consists of an anterior process that extends forward between the eyesockets to about the same level as the prefrontals and a posterior section. Overall the frontal has been described as reaching about half the length of the nasals, which it contacts along an irregular suture, inserting itself in between the two nasals. The eyesockets are large, circular and directed more laterally. Each orbit is protected by two palpebral bones, with the anterior being better developed than its posterior partner. The two bones cover most of the upper orbital margin and articulate with the surrounding bones. The anterior palpebral attaches to the prefrontal, lacrimal and frontal while the posterior rests on the frontal and postorbital bone.