Hanyusuchus
| Hanyusuchus Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Life restoration of Hanyusuchus sinensis | |
Extinct (c. 15th century)
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Gavialidae |
| Subfamily: | Gavialinae |
| Genus: | †Hanyusuchus Iijima et al., 2022 |
| Type species | |
| †Hanyusuchus sinensis Iijima et al., 2022
| |
Hanyusuchus is an extinct genus of gavialid crocodilian native to South China, containing a single species, Hanyusuchus sinensis. Reaching a total body length of 5.43–6.19 metres (17.8–20.3 ft), it shares characteristics of both tomistomines and derived gharials, such as a possibly sexually dimorphic vocal structure. Hanyusuchus is a recent Holocene taxon, living in southern China from at least the 4th millennium BC (during the Bronze Age) to as late as the 15th century AD, perhaps even later, when increased efforts of government culling and habitat destruction likely led to its extinction.