Venaticosuchus

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Venaticosuchus
Fossil range: Late Triassic

Venaticosuchus rusconii

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Subclass:	Diapsida
Infraclass:	Archosauromorpha
(unranked)	Archosauria
Family:	Ornithosuchidae
Genus:	Venaticosuchus Bonaparte, 1971

Species

V. rusconii Bonaparte, 1971 (type)

Venaticosuchus is a genus of Late Triassic quadrupedal crurotarsan archosaur. Originally it was thought to be the ancestor to the carnosaur dinosaurs (which then included Tyrannosaurus); however, now it is known to be more closely related to crocodilians than dinosaurs. It was a carnivore.

[edit] Species

A single species of Venaticosuchus has been described, the type species, V. rusconii from the Late Triassic of Argentina, around 210 million years ago.

[edit] Closely related species

Venaticosuchus is a member of Ornithosuchidae, a family of facultatively bipedal carnivores that were geographically widespread during the Late Triassic. Two other genera, Ornithosuchus and Riojasuchus, are currently known.