Enaliosuchus is a dubious[2] genus of extinct marine crocodyliform within the family Metriorhynchidae that lived during the Valanginian stage of the Early Cretaceous. It is known from fossil remains found in France and Germany and it was first described in 1883,.[1] The name Enaliosuchus means "Marine crocodile", and is derived from the Greek Enalios- ("marine") and -suchos ("crocodile").[1]
Only the type species is known, which is E. macrospondylus, and it was described in 1883.[1]
Enaliosuchus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea.[3] No Enaliosuchus eggs or nest have been discovered, so little is known of the reptile's lifecycle, unlike other large marine reptiles of the Mesozoic, such as plesiosaurs or ichthyosaurs which are known to give birth to live young out at sea. Where Enaliosuchus mated, whether on land or at sea, is currently unknown.[3]
The species within Enaliosuchus include :
Recent phylogenetic analyses found the genusEnaliosuchus to be monophyletic, but also to be nested within the genus Geosaurus or Cricosaurus[4][5]. Sachs et al. (2020) hypothesised that the two species within the genus Enaliosuchus were not monophyletic. They hypothesised that E. schroederi belong to a new, undescribed, genus.[2]
In 2024, Enaliosuchus schroederi, from Germany,[6] which was previously believed to likely be a junior synonym of E. macrospondylus,[3] was moved to the new genus Enalioetes in 2024.[7]
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