Hesperosuchus

Hesperosuchus Temporal range: Late Triassic, 220 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Hesperosuchus agilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Crocodylomorpha
Genus:	Hesperosuchus
Species:	H. agilis
Binomial name
Hesperosuchus agilis

Hesperosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph reptile that contains a single species, Hesperosuchus agilis. Remains of this sphenosuchian have been found in Late Triassic (Carnian) strata from Arizona and New Mexico.

Size compared to a human

Hesperosuchus was a contemporary of Coelophysis, a primitive predatory theropod dinosaur. Coelophysis was long thought to have been a cannibal, based on the presence of putative juvenile Coelophysis bones in the gut regions of a few adults. In at least one of these cases, though, the "juvenile Coelophysis" bones were actually those of a Hesperosuchus (or something very similar) instead.^[1]

References

1. Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Turner, Alan H.; Erickson, Gregory M.; Norell, Mark A. (22 December 2006). "Prey choice and cannibalistic behaviour in the theropod Coelophysis" (PDF). Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 2 (4): 611–4. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0524. PMC 1834007. PMID 17148302.