Lewisuchus

Lewis's crocodile

• Lewis · English (personal name) · Arnold D. Lewis, fossil collector
• suchus · Greek · crocodile

Lewisuchus was named in honour of Arnold D. Lewis, a fossil collector who took part in the expeditions that found Triassic fossils in the Chañares area of Argentina. The ending "suchus" is Greek for "crocodile". The name means "Lewis's crocodile", because the animal was first thought to be a relative of crocodile ancestors.

Named by

Romer

Year named

1972

Period

Middle Triassic

Stage

Ladinian

Found in

Chañares Formation, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Not a true dinosaur. Lewisuchus is a silesaurid, a close relative of dinosaurs (a dinosauriform). It was first interpreted as a pseudosuchian (a relative of crocodiles). Later work moved it to the dinosaur lineage and suggested that Pseudolagosuchus may be the same animal. The type species is Lewisuchus admahualastensis.