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Scientists Name Tainrakuasuchus Bellator, Armored Crocodile-Line Predator From Triassic Brazil

Phylogenetic results tie the species to Tanzania's Mandasuchus, underscoring long-distance faunal links across Gondwana.

Overview

  • The peer-reviewed description in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology formally establishes the new genus and species.
  • Researchers place it within Pseudosuchia, distinguishing it from dinosaurs by pelvic and hip-joint anatomy.
  • The May 2025 find at Dona Francisca yielded a partial lower jaw, cervical and dorsal vertebrae, and an ilium, indicating an armored reptile about 2.4 m long and roughly 60 kg with osteoderms.
  • Authors infer an active, precision hunter with a long neck and recurved teeth, though locomotion is provisional because limbs were not preserved.
  • Cladistic analyses recover close affinity to Mandasuchus from Tanzania, reinforcing shared Triassic faunas across South America and Africa.