Named By: | M. K. Hecht in 1992 |
Time Period: | Late Paleocene - Early Miocene, 60-20 Ma |
Location: | Czech Republic, France and Germany |
Size: | Roughly about thirty-six centimetres long |
Diet: | Piscivore/Carnivore |
Fossil(s): | A few individuals, including one preserved complete |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Diapsida | Choristodera | |
Lazarussuchus (meaning "Lazarus's crocodile") is a genus of basal choristodere, a type of amphibious reptile, known from France, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Fossils have been found in Late Paleocene, Late Oligocene, and Early Miocene deposit, meaning that the genus lasted about 40 million years. Two species have been named: the type species L. inexpectatus ("unexpected") (Hecht, 1992) from the late Oligocene of France and Germany and L. dvoraki (for Zdenek Dvorak) from the early Miocene of the Czech Republic. It was not a large animal; the skull of L. inexpectatus was only about 4.53 centimeters long (1.78 in). A complete specimen of Lazarussuchus with preserved soft tissue was found from the Late Paleocene of France, but has not been assigned to a species.