Nundasuchus
genus of reptiles
Nundasuchus is an extinct genus of crurotarsan, possibly a suchian archosaur related to Paracrocodylomorpha. Remains of this genus are known from the Middle Triassic Manda beds of southwestern Tanzania. It contains a single species, Nundasuchus songeaensis, known from a single partially complete skeleton, including vertebrae, limb elements, osteoderms, and skull fragments.
Nundasuchus lived in what is now Tanzania, Africa around 240 million years ago. Members of this genus were likely carnivores, with ziphodont (steak knife-like) teeth and rows of bony plates (osteoderms) along their back. Phylogenetic analyses consistently place this genus within the group Crurotarsi based on features of the ankle. Most studies also consider it a pseudosuchian, meaning that it was more closely related to modern crocodilians than it was to dinosaurs. However, Nundasuchus had an upright stance, with legs situated directly underneath the body, as with various other early pseudosuchians (such as "rauisuchians" and aetosaurs) but unlike modern crocodilians.
The classification of Nundasuchus relative to other pseudosuchians is somewhat controversial. Some phylogenetic analyses place it near or at the base of the group, sometimes along with phytosaurs, based on certain plesiomorphic (primitive) features such as teeth on the palate, a short pubis, and characteristics of the calcaneum (heel bone).
The public source identifies “Nundasuchus” as genus of reptiles. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Nundasuchus, genus and reptiles.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18908063. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Nundasuchus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.