Thoracosaurus is an extinct genus of gavialoid crocodilian which existed during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene. It contains the species Thoracosaurus neocesariensis in North America  and Thoracosaurus macrorhynchus in Europe. A number of species have been referred to this genus, but most are dubious.

 Thoracosaurus scanicus was a fairly large gavialid, with a length of more than 4.4 m (14.4 ft) and a 55 cm skull.

 European fossil remains from Thoracosaurus have been discovered in Ivö Klack on Ivö in Skåne, Sweden, and Denmark.

 Gavialoidea is one of three superfamilies of crocodylians, the other two being Alligatoroidea and Crocodyloidea. Although many extinct species are known, only the gharial Gavialis gangeticus and the false gharial Tomistoma schlegelii are alive today.

 Gavialoidea contains the family Gavialidae and several more basal extinct forms such as Thoracosaurus and Eosuchus. Within Gavialidae are two subfamilies: Gavialinae, which includes the living gharial, and Gryposuchinae, which includes several extinct forms such as Gryposuchus and Aktiogavialis.

 In addition to these groups, recent molecular studies consistently indicate that the false gharial (and by inference other related extinct forms) traditionally viewed as belonging to the crocodylian subfamily Tomistominae actually belong to Gavialoidea. As its name suggests, the false gharial was once thought to be only distantly related to the gharial despite its similar appearance. The false gharial and other tomistomines were traditionally classified within the superfamily Crocodyloidea as close relatives of crocodiles. This classification is based on morphological evidence, which, when incorporated into phylogenetic analyses, often place the group within Crocodyloidea.

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Tags: Вымершие рептилии, Мел, архозавроморфы, архозавры, гавиалы, диапсиды, крокодиломорфы, крокодилы, круротарзы, мезоэукрокодилии, неозухии, равизухии, эузухии

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