Chenanisuchus

Chenanisuchus ("Chenane crocodile") was a dyrosaurid crocodyliform from the Late Paleocene of Sidi Chenane in Morocco. It was described in 2005, after expeditions uncovered it in 2000.

The type species is C. lateroculi ("lateralis", lateral; "oculi", eyes), in reference to the laterally facing eyes.

Material
Two specimens of C. lateroculi have been found:


 * OCP DEK-GE 262 (holotype): nearly complete skull with mandibular fragments
 * OCP DEK-GE 61: nearly complete skull

The fossils come from the Sidi Chenane area in Morocco, making C. lateroculi Late Palaeocene (Thanetian) in age.

Systematics
Chenanisuchus lateroculi is referred to Dyrosauridae by Jouve et al. (2005), based on three morphological characters:


 * Presence of occipital tuberosities
 * Presence of an anterolateral postorbital process
 * Large participation of the quadratojugal and surangular to the jaw joint

Palaeobiology
Chenanisuchus lateroculi has an estimated adult length between 4 and 4.5 meters, based on the 60 centimeter long skull. It has the shortest snout relative to the dorsal skull length among all dyrosaurids.