Aristosuchus

best crocodile (or "noble crocodile")

• aristos · Greek · best, noblest
• suchos · Greek · crocodile (from the Egyptian crocodile god Sobek)

Aristosuchus combines the Greek words "aristos" (best or noble) and "suchos" (crocodile), giving "best crocodile". Harry Seeley used a crocodile-based name because he compared the fossils with crocodile-like reptiles. The type species is Aristosuchus pusillus, and "pusillus" is Latin for "very small".

Named by

Seeley

Year named

1887

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Barremian

Found in

Wessex Formation, Isle of Wight, England

A small theropod, usually regarded as a basal coelurosaur (often linked to compsognathids). It is known from fragmentary remains, mainly a sacrum and some other bones. Not a crocodile, despite the name.