Zaraasuchus ("hedgehog crocodile") was a gobiosuchid crocodyliform described in 2004 by Diego Pol and Mark Norell. It was found in the Red Beds of Zos Canyon, in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, thus making it Late Cretaceous in age.
| Zaraasuchus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
| Family: | †Gobiosuchidae |
| Genus: | †Zaraasuchus Pol and Norell, 2004 |
| Type species | |
| †Zaraasuchus shepardi Pol and Norell, 2004
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The type species is Z. shepardi, honouring Dr. Richard Shepard.
Material
editThe holotype of Z. shepardi is IGM 100/1321, consisting of the posterior region of the skull and lower jaws with articulation with cervical vertebrae, forelimb elements and osteoderms.
Systematics
editPol and Norell (2004) found Zaraasuchus shepardi to be the sister taxon of Gobiosuchus kielanae, united by 14 synapomorphies, primarily from the skull, forming the family Gobiosuchidae.
Sources
edit- Pol, D. & Norell, M. A., (2004). "A new gobiosuchid crocodyliform taxon from the Cretaceous of Mongolia". American Museum Novitates 3458: 1-31.
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