''Ogresuchus'' is an extinct

sebecid Sebecidae is an extinct family of prehistoric terrestrial sebecosuchian crocodylomorphs. The oldest known member of the group is ''Ogresuchus furatus'' known from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Tremp Formation (Spain). Sebecids were di ...

known from the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...

(

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from ...

stage)

Tremp Formation The Tremp Formation ( es, Formación de Tremp, ca, Formació de Tremp), alternatively described as Tremp Group ( es, Grupo Tremp), is a geological formation in the comarca Pallars Jussà, Lleida, Spain. The formation is restricted to the Trem ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is the oldest known member of the Sebecidae and it is also the only known

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

sebecid. The type species, ''O. furatus'', was named in 2020. It was a small crocodilian, measuring long and weighing about .

Discovery and naming

The holotype was discovered in July 2013 at the

Mirador del Cretaci Mirador del Cretaci is a paleontological site in Catalonia, Spain. Mainly found at the site are fossils of dinosaur footprints, eggshell fragments and bone fragments, although the partial skeleton of the sebecid crocodyliform ''Ogresuchus'' is al ...

site, but it was stolen before palaeontologists could excavate it. After several weeks of searching, the Mossos d'Esquadra Historical Heritage Unit tracked down the stolen specimen and the thief was promptly arrested. The holotype was in a rather precarious state of conservation until it was correctly prepared several years later. It was named ''Ogresuchus furatus'' in 2020 and the holotype is now on display at the

Coll de Nargó Dinosaur Museum Coll (; gd, Cola; sco, Coll)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and for ...

(Dinosfera). The generic name means "

Ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...

crocodile", referring to its possible diet of infant

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their bo ...

s, which the specific name is derived from a Latin word being "to be stolen", referring to the theft of the specimen.

References

External links

* Enrico de Lazaro
Small Cretaceous Crocodile May Have Preyed on Baby Titanosaurs
On: sci-news. Oct 5, 2020 * A. G. Sellés ''et al.'' 2020. A small Cretaceous crocodyliform in a dinosaur nesting ground and the origin of sebecids. In: Sci Rep 10, 15293; 17 September 2020; doi:10.1038/s41598-020-71975-y {{Taxonbar, from=Q99500246 Sebecids Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera Maastrichtian life Cretaceous Spain Fossils of Spain Tremp Formation Fossil taxa described in 2020