Iharkutosuchus
| Iharkutosuchus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Santonian
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| Holotype skull | |
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| Skull diagram | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Metasuchia |
| Clade: | Neosuchia |
| Clade: | Eusuchia |
| Family: | †Hylaeochampsidae |
| Genus: | †Iharkutosuchus Ősi et al., 2007 |
| Type species | |
| †Iharkutosuchus makadii Ősi et al., 2007
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Iharkutosuchus ("Iharkút crocodile", after where it was found) is an extinct genus of basal eusuchian crocodyliform. Its fossils have been found in the Santonian-aged (Late Cretaceous) Csehbánya Formation in the Bakony Mountains of western Hungary.[2]
Description
Iharkutosuchus is based on MTM 2006.52.1, a nearly complete skull, but several other partial skulls, isolated skull bones, and numerous teeth are also known. It was a small crocodyliform, with a skull length up to 11.1 centimetres (4.4 in), and estimated body length of 80 centimetres (2.6 ft). Its skull was low, and the snout was short. Iharkutosuchus is unusual in its heterodonty: some of its teeth were complex and multicusped, like mammal teeth. The structure of the skull indicates that it could grind food with a mobile lower jaw,[3] an inference corroborated by the extensive horizontal wear facets on its teeth,[4] and together with the teeth suggest a diet of fibrous plant material.[2][3] The enamel structure of Iharkutosuchus was convergent with mammalian Hunter-Schreger bands, suggesting a similar evolutionary pressure caused it to develop traits for efficient mastication.[5]
Classification
The genus was described in 2007 by Attila Ősi and colleagues. The type species is I. makadii, named for László Makádi.[2] A 2011 phylogenetic study recovered Iharkutosuchus as a member of the Hylaeochampsidae, a group of basal eusuchians, as shown in the cladogram below.[3]
References
- ^ Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9 e12094. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
- ^ a b c Ősi, Attila; Clark, James M.; Weishampel, David B. (2007). "First report on a new eusuchian crocodyliform with multicusped teeth from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) of Hungary". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 243 (2): 169–177. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2007/0243-0169.
- ^ a b c Ősi, Attila; Weishampel, David B. (2009). "Jaw mechanism and dental function in the Late Cretaceous basal eusuchian Iharkutosuchus". Journal of Morphology. 270 (8): 903–920. doi:10.1002/jmor.10726. PMID 19206154.
- ^ Ősi, Attila (4 May 2014). "The evolution of jaw mechanism and dental function in heterodont crocodyliforms". Historical Biology. 26 (3): 279–414. doi:10.1080/08912963.2013.777533. hdl:10831/75192. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 24 December 2025 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
- ^ Prondvai, Edina; Horváth, Krisztián; Price, Stephen WT; Gutowski, Olof; Beale, Andrew M. (4 February 2026). "United by chewing: Hunter-Schreger band-like pattern and wavy enamel in a fossil crocodile suggest functional convergence with mammals and dinosaurs". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 293 (2064). doi:10.1098/rspb.2025.1992. ISSN 1471-2954. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via The Royal Society Publishing.
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