Ogresuchus

Ogresuchus; Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, ~67.6–66 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Skeletal
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Crocodylomorpha
(unranked):	†Sebecosuchia
(unranked):	†Sebecia
Family:	†Sebecidae
Genus:	†Ogresuchus; Sellés et al., 2020
Binomial name
	†Ogresuchus furatus; Sellés et al., 2020

Ogresuchus is an extinct sebecid known from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage) Tremp Formation in Spain. It is the oldest known member of the Sebecidae and it is also the only known Mesozoic sebecid. The type species, O. furatus, was named in 2020.^[1]

Discovery and naming

The holotype was discovered in July 2013 at the Mirador del Cretaci site, but it was stolen before palaeontologists could excavate it. After several weeks of searching, the Mossos d'Esquadra Historical Heritage Unit tracked down the stolen specimen and the thief was promptly arrested. The holotype was in a rather precarious state of conservation until it was correctly prepared several years later. It was named Ogresuchus furatus in 2020. The gebetic name means "Ogre crocodile", referring to its possible diet of infant sauropods, which the specific name is derived from a Latin word being "to be stolen", referring to an unspecified unfortunate event that occurred during fieldwork. ^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Sellés, A. G.; Blanco, A.; Vila, B.; Marmi, J.; López-Soriano, F. J.; Llácer, S.; Frigola, J.; Canals, M.; Galobart, À. (2020). "A small Cretaceous crocodyliform in a dinosaur nesting ground and the origin of sebecids". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): Article number 15293. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-71975-y. PMID 32943663.

[Galobart2020-1] Sellés, A. G.; Blanco, A.; Vila, B.; Marmi, J.; López-Soriano, F. J.; Llácer, S.; Frigola, J.; Canals, M.; Galobart, À. (2020). "A small Cretaceous crocodyliform in a dinosaur nesting ground and the origin of sebecids". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): Article number 15293. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-71975-y. PMID 32943663.

[1]