Fruitachampsa
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Fruitachampsa Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 149 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Family: | †Shartegosuchidae |
| Genus: |
†Fruitachampsa Clark, 2011 |
| Type species | |
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†F. callisoni Clark, 2011 |
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Fruitachampsa is a genus of shartegosuchid crocodyliform from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Colorado. It is known from multiple specimens that show it to have been a relatively long-limbed terrestrial quadrupedal predator less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) long, with a short face and a prominent pair of canine-like teeth in the lower jaw. Before it was formally described in 2011, it was also known as the "Fruita form". Its type species is F. callisoni.
Fossils of Fruitachampsa have been found from the Fruita Paleontological Area (FPA) in Fruita, Colorado. The deposits in the FPA belong to the Morrison Formation, which is Late Jurassic in age. The first remains of Fruitachampsa were found by paleontologists James Clark and George Callison in 1975, who discovered a diverse assemblage of microvertebrates at the FPA. More complete material of Fruitachampsa was found in 1976, 1977, and 1979. Fruitachampsa has been found alongside another more primitive crocodylomorph, Macelognathus.
The name Fruitachampsa has existed since the late 1980s. Because the name was not published with a formal description, Fruitachampsa was considered a nomen nudum or "naked name." Fruitachampsa callisoni was formally described by James Clark in 2011, with the specific name honoring George Callison.
Most of the body of Fruitachampsa is known from several partial skeletons and skulls. It is a small crocodyliform under 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length. Although small, Fruitachampsa is large in comparison to other shartegosuchids, with a maximum skull length of 9 centimetres (3.5 in). Viewed from above, the skull is square-shaped in the back and narrows toward the snout. The snout is similar in appearance to that of the living caiman genus Paleosuchus, although it is not flattened like in modern crocodylians. As in other early crocodylomorphs, a bone called the palpebral extends backwards over the eye socket like an eyebrow. The teeth at the back of the jaws have flattened tops with ridges running along their length. Unlike other crocodyliforms, Fruitachampsa lacks mandibular or antorbital fenestrae (holes in the lower jaw and in front of the eye sockets). Fruitachampsa differs from other shartegosuchids in that it has procoelous vertebrae with concave anterior surfaces and convex posterior surfaces.
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