''Erythrochampsa'' ("red crocodile") is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

protosuchia Protosuchia is a group of extinct Mesozoic crocodyliforms. They were small in size (~1 meter in length) and terrestrial. In phylogenetic terms, Protosuchia is considered an informal group because it is a grade of basal crocodyliforms, not a true ...

crocodylomorph Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. During Mesozoic and early Cenozoic times, cro ...

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s have been found from the Red Beds of the

Stormberg Group The Stormberg Group is one of the four geological groups that comprises the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. It is the uppermost geological group representing the final phase of preserved sedimentation of the Karoo Basin. The Stormberg Group roc ...

, the youngest

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

of strata from the

Karoo Supergroup The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Late Carboniferous and Early Jurassic, a perio ...

outcropping in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Description

Material from ''E. longipes'', the type (and only)

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of ''Erythrochampsa'', was originally referred to the genus ''

Notochampsa ''Notochampsa'' is an extinct genus of protosuchian crocodylomorph. Fossils have been found from the lower Clarens Formation of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa, dating back to the Pliensbachian stage of the Early Jurassic. ''Notochampsa'' c ...

'' in 1904 along with specimens of another species named ''N. istedana''. However, certain features of material from this species, such as divided external nares, have been considered to be indications of a position within

Pseudosuchia Pseudosuchia is one of two major divisions of Archosauria, including living crocodilians and all archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds. Pseudosuchians are also informally known as "crocodilian-line archosaurs". Prior to ...

rather than

Crocodilia Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living ...

as was originally supposed. Despite this, the material of ''N. longipes'' remained highly suggestive of a crocodilian, and thus the species was eventually placed within its own distinct genus, ''Erythrochampsa'', in 1924. It was placed in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Notochampsidae, and was considered closely related to ''Notochampsa'', whose position within

Crocodylomorpha Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. During Mesozoic and early Cenozoic times, cro ...

had been reconsidered to be intermediate between " thecodonts" and crocodilians. The family Notochampsidae is now known as

Protosuchidae Protosuchidae was a family of crocodylomorph reptiles from the Late Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous time periods. They were closely related to the Gobiosuchidae. Distribution Triassic protosuchids are known from Lesotho, Argentina, and Arizon ...

There is no skull present in the material associated with the genus, making further classification rather difficult. Although the postcranial skeleton is quite fragmentary, the pelvis clearly shows of its relations to other crocodilians by the absence of the pubis in the acetabular border. Features of the pelvis as well as the hind limb and

pes Pes (Latin for "foot") or the acronym PES may refer to: Pes * Pes (unit), a Roman unit of length measurement roughly corresponding with a foot * Pes or podatus, a * Pes (rural locality), several rural localities in Russia * Pes (river), a river ...

bore a close resemblance to early

crocodyliformes Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the only pseudo ...

such as ''

Protosuchus ''Protosuchus'' is an extinct genus of carnivorous crocodylomorph from the Early Jurassic. The name ''Protosuchus'' means "first crocodile", and is among the earliest animals that resemble crocodilians. ''Protosuchus'' was about in length and ...

'', used as evidence of its relations as a

protosuchid Protosuchidae was a family of crocodylomorph reptiles from the Late Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous time periods. They were closely related to the Gobiosuchidae. Distribution Triassic protosuchids are known from Lesotho, Argentina, and Arizon ...

References

Terrestrial crocodylomorphs Early Jurassic crocodylomorphs Jurassic reptiles of Africa Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera {{paleo-archosaur-stub