Massaliasuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodyliform that is known from fossils found in Santonian–Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous rocks of southeastern France.[1]
| Massaliasuchus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration of the fossilized remains from the Fuvelian Lignites of France, 1869 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
| Clade: | Eusuchia |
| Clade: | †Allodaposuchidae |
| Genus: | †Massaliasuchus Martin & Buffetaut, 2008 |
| Species: | †M. affuvelensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Massaliasuchus affuvelensis (Matheron, 1869) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Systematics
Massaliasuchus was first described in 1869 by Philippe Matheron as Crocodilus affuvelensis, based on remains including skull bones.[2] The new genus name was given to it in 2008 by Jeremy Martin and Eric Buffetaut. Massaliasuchus was considered to be related to early alligatoroids. Its name means "Marseille crocodile".[1]
Recent cladistic analysis places Massaliasuchus as a member of Allodaposuchidae, a clade of basal eusuchians from the Late Cretaceous of southern Europe.[3] The genus can be distinguished from Musturzabalsuchus in having 15 alveoli in the dentary.[4] However, Massaliasuchus is usually omitted from phylogenetic analyses since it is only represented by poorly-preserved material.[5]