Caririsuchus

Caririsuchus is an extinct genus of itasuchid crocodylomorph from the Aptian to Albian Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group in the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil. The genus was described in 1987 based on multiple bones secured in a Brazilian fossil collection, but the much more complete fossil slab that these pieces were taken from was illegally shipped to Europe before being presumably sold into a private collection with its current whereabouts unknown. Some of the few remains that had stayed in Brazil were destroyed in the 2018 fire that destroyed large parts of the collection held in Rio de Janeiro.

Caririsuchus was a relatively small animal, measuring about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length. It had a triangular head similar to modern crocodiles and has been noted for the extensive osteoderm armor covering not just its back but also its tail, limbs and stomach. The genus is considered to be a member of the clade Notosuchia, usually as a close relative to other platyrostral forms like Pepesuchus and Itasuchus in the clade Itasuchidae, though some authors have placed all these forms in the peirosaurid subfamily Pepesuchinae. Caririsuchus was a semi-aquatic animal that once inhabited the coastal Romualdo Formation.