Named By: | M. A. G. Franca, J. Ferigolo & M. C. Langer in 2011 |
Time Period: | Middle Triassic, 240-235 Ma |
Location: | Brazil - Santa Maria Formation |
Size: | Roughly up to about 2.5 meters long |
Diet: | Carnivore |
Fossil(s): | Remains of ten individuals, including three almost complete skulls and partial post cranial skeletal remains |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Paracrocodylomorpha | Loricata | |
Decuriasuchus is an extinct genus of prestosuchid rauisuchian from the Middle Triassic period (Ladinian stage). It is a carnivorous archosaur that lived in what is now southern Brazil, in Paleorrota. It was first named by Marco Aurelio G. Franca, Jorge Ferigolo and Max C. Langer in 2011 and the type species is Decuriasuchus quartacolonia. The generic name means "legion of ten crocodile" in Greek in reference to the ten known specimens and the animal's possible group behavior. The specific name refers to the Quarta Colonia region where the fossils were collected.