Thoracosaurus
Introduction '''''Thoracosaurus''''' is an extinct genus of long-snouted eusuchian which existed during the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleocene in North America and Europe.
Taxonomy ''Thoracosaurus'' had traditionally been thought to be related to the modern false gharial, largely because the nasal bones contact the premaxillae. Phylogenetic work starting in the 1990s instead supported affinities within Gavialoidea exclusive of such forms, although a 2018 tip dating study simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data suggests that it might have been a non-crocodylian eusuchian. The genus contains the type species '''''Thoracosaurus neocesariensis''''' in North America, and what is either '''''Thoracosaurus isorhynchus''''' or '''''Thoracosaurus macrorhynchus''''' from Europe; a recent review argues that ''T. macrorhynchus'' is a junior synonym of ''T. isorhynchus,'' but it is unclear whether the type of ''T. isorhynchus'' allows differentiation of European and North American ''Thoracosaurus;'' if not, then ''T. isorhynchus'' would be a ''nomen dubium''. A number of species have been referred to this genus, but most are dubious.
Ecology It is thought to have inhabited marine environments.
Gallery Thoracosaurus macrorhynchus - Maastricht.jpg|''Thoracosaurus macrorhynchus'' skull at the Naturalis Museum in Leiden, NetherlandsImage:Thoracosaurus.jpg|''Thoracosaurus sp.'' teeth at the Geological Museum, Copenhagen
References