An ancient, 95 million-year-old, tiny croc has been discovered and nicknamed 'Elton', by experts who listened to Crocodile Rock as they did their research🤩🎹🐊

Thikarisuchus lived on land and was about 2 feet long - the size of a small lizard 🦎

More👇
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A 2021 dig in Montana’s Blackleaf Formation uncovered a tiny 2‑ft juvenile crocodyliform skull, dubbed “Elton,” now named Thikarisuchus xenodentes and dated to about 95 million years ago. https://getnews.me/tiny-fossil-reveals-new-species-of-cretaceous-crocodile-in-montana/ #montana #crocodyliform

Paleontologové v Montaně objevili fosilii drobného krokodylomorfa, kterého odborně nazvali Thikarisuchus xenodenes. Na rozdíl od dnešních krokodýlů žil v norách a živil se rostlinami a hmyzem […]

Happy #FossilFriday! Meet #Thikarisuchus xenodentes (#MOR11969)! The skull of this small #Cretaceous #crocodyliform fits in the palm of your hand. Thikarisuchus was named this week in a Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology paper by #MontanaStateUniversity alumnus Harrison Allen and colleagues.

Nuova specie di coccodrilliforme del Cretaceo scoperta in Montana

#paleontologia @scienze

I paleontologi hanno identificato una nuova specie di coccodrilliforme estinto dai resti fossilizzati di un esemplare giovane rinvenuto nel sud-ovest del Montana, negli […]

[Original post on mastodon.uno]

"Shortly after finding Elton's skull, Allen returned to collect bagfuls of the surrounding sediment to search it for more clues about the animal. He spent hours sifting through the dirt, extracting fragments of bone and reconstructing the Thikarisuchus skeleton it by bit."

"but not Elton: He and fellow members of the newfound species, named Thikarisuchus xenodentes, had an assortment of differently shaped teeth, including sheathed and other pecialized fangs, which they used to devour plants and insects, according to the statement."

Thikarisuchus(With Oryctodromeus)

モンタナ州、白亜紀後期の新鰐類、ワンチャンプスス科（新科）新種
Thikarisuchus xenodentes
属名：（ギ）鞘の縮小形「thiki」の縮小形「thikari」に由来。上顎後歯が歯列に隣接する歯骨の縦溝に「鞘」のように収まっている様子と、標本の小型化を指している＋（ギ→ラ）ワニ
種小名：（ギ）奇妙な＋（ラ）歯
異歯性で、陸上で植物・昆虫・小動物を捕食と考えられる
論文 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
ニュース www.montana.edu/news/24802/m...

Finally, Thikarisuchus was likely fairly terrestrial, as indicated by the long limbs, laterally/anteriorly directed eyes and nose openings, the overall skull shape and the fact that it was found in a semi-arid environment, among other factors

Whats also interesting is the variety of teeth. Thikarisuchus features three tooth types, some more conical, others laterally compressed and even others compressed, elongated and low-crowned. These resemble some other atoposaurids as well as uruguayusuchids

This size is not very surprising tho, as Thikarisuchus and its close relative Wannchampsus (who form a newly named family) are closely related to atoposaurids, a clade already known for their dimunitive size, which includes animals like Knoetschkesuchus and Tarsomordeo

When I say this is a little guy, I mean little. The holotype has a skull length of only 55 mm, tho granted its regarded as a juvenile. A second, larger specimen may indicate that it could have grown at least twice that size, but that's still not very large.

Please do keep in mind that the images above are the authors 3D reconstruction of the material, a sadly the actual fossil is not quite that well preserved

Croc fans simply can't catch a break, after Kostensuchus in late August and Paarthurnax just a week ago we got ANOTHER fossil croc published
Meet Thikarisuchus, a very small neosuchian from the Cenomanian of Montana

thikarisuchus

The diminutive Thikarisuchus xenodentes (1/2 scale) wanders the forest floor at night. I'm glad the Blackleaf has another taxa and I'm so grateful to have helped in the process. There's more research from yours truly on this guy down the pipeline, so stay tuned! #sciart #crocodile #paleoart #clayart

A newly identified crocodyliform species from Cretaceous Montana, Thikarisuchus xenodentes, displays unique teeth and terrestrial adaptations, expanding knowledge of crocodyliform diversity. doi.org/g94j5m