Named By: | Sankar Chatterjee in 1993 |
Time Period: | Late Triassic |
Location: | USA, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas |
Size: | Up to 2 meters long |
Diet: | Carnivore |
Fossil(s): | Remains of several individuals, though usually incomplete |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Archosauria | Crurotarsi | Pseudosuchia | Suchia | Rauisuchia | Paracrocodylomorpha | Poposauroidea | Shuvosauridae | |
Also known as: | | Chatterjeea elegans | |
Shuvosaurus (meaning "Shuvo's lizard") is a genus of beaked reptile from the Late Triassic of Texas. It was described by Sankar Chatterjee in 1993 after it was discovered by his son Shuvo. It was initially interpreted as a Triassic member of the Cretaceous dinosaur family Ornithomimidae. However, the recent discovery of the related Effigia from Ghost Ranch shows that Shuvosaurus is more closely related to crocodilians, and that similarities between this animal and ornithomimids result from convergent evolution. Additionally, this discovery demonstrated that the taxon Chatterjeea was synonymous with Shuvosaurus.