Named By: | M. T. Young, M. B. d. Andrade, S. L. Brusatte, M. Sakamoto & J. Liston in 2013 |
Time Period: | Middle Jurassic |
Location: | England - Oxford Clay Formation |
Size: | Lower jaw about 66 centimetres long. Total length uncertain but possibly around 2.5-3 meters roughly |
Diet: | Carnivore/Piscivore |
Fossil(s): | Lower jaw and partial post cranial remains including vertebrae, ribs and limbs |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Crocodylomorpha | Thalattosuchia | |
Tyrannoneustes is an extinct genus of geosaurine metriorhynchid crocodyliform from the Middle Jurassic Oxford Clay Formation of England. It contains a single species, Tyrannoneustes lythrodectikos, meaning "blood-biting tyrant swimmer". The genus was rediscovered after a century of storage in a museum basement after being unearthed by fossil hunter Alfred Nicholson Leeds between the years of 1907 and 1909. Its lower jaw measured about 26 inches long and its teeth were blade-like, likely built to attack prey as large or larger than itself, similar to the Late Jurassic Dakosaurus, Torvoneustes, and Plesiosuchus.