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{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}}
{{Distinguish|Barcinosuchus}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = Barinasuchus
| fossil_range = [[Eocene|Mid Eocene]]-[[Miocene|Mid Miocene]] ([[Divisaderan]]-[[Laventan]])<br />~{{fossil range|42.2|11.8}}
| image = Barinasuchus Arveloi.JPG
| image_caption = Holotype fossil of ''Barinasuchus arveloi''
| authority = Paolillo and Linares, [[2007 in paleontology|2007]]
| type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Barinasuchus arveloi'''''
| type_species_authority = Paolillo and Linares, 2007
}}

'''''Barinasuchus''''' (meaning "[[Barinas (state)|Barinas]] crocodile", in reference to where the [[holotype|type material]] was found) is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of [[sebecid]] [[mesoeucrocodylia]]n. The first specimen of ''Barinasuchus'' was recovered from the [[Miocene]] [[Ipururo Formation]] of Peru, and was described in 1977 by [[Éric Buffetaut]] and [[Robert Hoffstetter]], though was originally assigned to ''Sebecus''. Another specimen was recovered from the [[Eocene]]-age [[Divisadero Largo Formation]] of Argentina in 1984 by [[Zulma Brandoni de Gasparini]]. The type specimen was recovered from the Miocene-age [[Parángula Formation]], and was described in 1982 by Alfredo Paolillo and Omar J. Linares.

''Barinasuchus''{{'}} body length has been estimated, based on comparisons with other [[Crocodyliformes|crocodyliforms]], at between {{Convert|6.3–10|m|ft|abbr=on}}, though smaller estimates of {{Convert|3–4|m|ft|abbr=on}} have been suggested. Its body mass was initially estimated at {{Convert|1,610–1,720|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, making it considerably larger than any terrestrial predatory mammal alive today, though a smaller estimate of {{Convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=on}} has since been put forward. ''Barinasuchus'' was [[heterodont]], meaning that it possessed two types of teeth. Those of the [[premaxilla]] and the front of the [[maxilla]] were longer and more conical than those further back, which were shorter and thinner. The fourth [[Mandible|mandibular]] (lower jaw) tooth was very large, and slotted into a prominent notch between the premaxilla and maxilla when the jaws were closed.

== Discovery and naming ==
In 1977, [[Éric Buffetaut]] and [[Robert Hoffstetter]] published on a [[Sebecidae|sebecid]] specimen recovered from the [[Ipururo Formation]] of eastern Peru,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Buffetaut |first1=Éric |author-link1=Éric Buffetaut |last2=Hoffstetter |first2=Robert |author-link2=Robert Hoffstetter |date=1977 |title=Découverte du Crocodilien Sebecus dans le Miocene du Pérou oriental |journal=Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences |pages=1663–1666}}</ref> dated to the [[middle Miocene]].<ref name="APOL07">{{cite journal |last1=Paolill |first1=Alfredo |last2=Linares |first2=Omar J. |year=2007 |title=Nuevos cocodrilos Sebecosuchia del Cenozoico Suramericano (Mesosuchia: Crocodylia) |url=http://www.paleobio.labb.usb.ve/Paleobio03.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Paleobiologia Neotropical |language=Spanish |volume=3 |pages=1–25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303221605/http://www.paleobio.labb.usb.ve/Paleobio03.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-03 |access-date=2009-02-15}}</ref> The specimen was referred to as ''[[Sebecus]]'' cf. ''huilensis'', though no specimen number was provided, and it has since fallen into the hands of a private collector.<ref name="APOL07" /> In 1982, locals living near a tributary of the [[Masparro River|Rio Masparro]] river in Venezuela, near the eastern foothills of the [[Andes]], discovered the [[Anatomical terms of location|anterior]] (front) half of a skull and [[mandible]]. The [[Stratum|strata]] from which the specimen (MAAT-0260) was recovered have been dated to the middle [[Miocene]], specifically the [[Friasian]] [[South American land mammal age|South American Land Mammal Age]], and are part of the [[Parángula Formation]].<ref name="APOL07" /> In 2007, as part of a paper describing multiple genera of South American sebecids, Alfredo Paolillo and Omar J. Linares described the latter specimen, and assigned it to a taxon of its own, ''Barinasuchus arveloi''. Buffetaut and Hoffstetter's specimen was assigned to the same taxon. The binomial name refers to [[Barinas (state)|Barinas]], the Venezuelan state from which the holotype is known, and Alberto Arvelo Torrealba, a local educator and the namesake of the museum where it is housed.<ref name="APOL07" /> Another ''Barinasuchus'' specimen, initially assigned to [[Sebecosuchia]] indet. by [[Zulma Brandoni de Gasparini]] in 1984,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gasparini |first=Zulma |date=1984-09-01 |title=New Tertiary Sebecosuchia (Crocodylia: Mesosuchia) from Argentina |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.1984.10011988 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |doi=10.1080/02724634.1984.10011988 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref> is known from [[Eocene|middle Eocene]]-age strata of Argentina's [[Divisadero Largo Formation]].<ref name="APOL07" />

== Description ==
[[File:Barinasuchus Size Comparison.png|thumb|223x223px|Hypothetical appearance and size of ''Barinasuchus arveloi''|left]]A total body length of anywhere from {{Convert|6.3–10|m|ft|abbr=on}} has been estimated for ''Barinasuchus arveloi'' based on extrapolations from more complete sebecosuchians, like ''[[Stratiotosuchus]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Molnar |first1=Ralph E. |last2=Vasconcellos |first2=Felipe Mesquita de |date=2016 |title=Cenozoic dinosaurs in South America – revisited |url=https://museumsvictoria.com.au/collections-research/journals/memoirs-of-museum-victoria/volume-74-2016/pages-363-377/ |journal=Memoirs of Museum Victoria |volume=74 |pages=363–377 |doi=10.24199/j.mmv.2016.74.25 |issn=1447-2546|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, a more conservative body size of {{Convert|3–4|m|ft|abbr=on}} has since been put forward, resulting in a similar body size to ''[[Dentaneosuchus]]''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Jeremy E. |last2=Pochat-Cottilloux |first2=Yohan |last3=Laurent |first3=Yves |last4=Perrier |first4=Vincent |last5=Robert |first5=Emmanuel |last6=Antoine |first6=Pierre-Olivier |date=2022-10-28 |title=Anatomy and phylogeny of an exceptionally large sebecid (Crocodylomorpha) from the middle Eocene of southern France |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2023.2193828 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=42 |issue=4 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2023.2193828 |bibcode=2022JVPal..42E3828M |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The absence of postcranial remains makes estimating ''Barinasuchus''{{'}} body mass extremely difficult, and efforts must by necessity rely on anatomical proxies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gayford |first1=Joel H. |last2=Engelman |first2=Russell K. |last3=Sternes |first3=Phillip C. |last4=Itano |first4=Wayne M. |last5=Bazzi |first5=Mohamad |last6=Collareta |first6=Alberto |last7=Salas-Gismondi |first7=Rodolfo |last8=Shimada |first8=Kenshu |date=2024 |title=Cautionary tales on the use of proxies to estimate body size and form of extinct animals |journal=Ecology and Evolution |language=en |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=e70218 |doi=10.1002/ece3.70218 |issn=2045-7758 |pmc=11368419 |pmid=39224151|bibcode=2024EcoEv..1470218G }}</ref> Based on their initial body size estimates, and a method of estimating crocodilian body mass put forward by [[Paul Sereno]] et al. in 2001 (which uses the lengths of ''Striatosuchus'' and ''[[Saltwater crocodile|Crocodylus porosus]]'' as reference points),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sereno |first1=Paul C. |last2=Larsson |first2=Hans C. E. |last3=Sidor |first3=Christian A. |last4=Gado |first4=Boubé |date=2001-11-16 |title=The Giant Crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1066521 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=294 |issue=5546 |pages=1516–1519 |doi=10.1126/science.1066521 |pmid=11679634 |bibcode=2001Sci...294.1516S |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Ralph Molnar]] and Felipe Mesquita de Vasconcellos provided an estimate mass of {{Convert|1,610–1,720|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. Even taking a margin of error of 50% into account, this would make ''Barinasuchus'' larger than any (extant) terrestrial predatory mammal.<ref name=":0" /> In 2025, Gonzalo Gabriel Bravo et al. calculated a smaller body mass of {{Convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bravo |first=Gonzalo Gabriel |last2=Pol |first2=Diego |last3=Leardi |first3=Juan Martín |last4=Krause |first4=Javier Marcelo |last5=Nicholl |first5=Cecily S. C. |last6=Rougier |first6=Guillermo |last7=Mannion |first7=Philip D. |date=2025 |title=A new notosuchian crocodyliform from the Early Palaeocene of Patagonia and the survival of a large-bodied terrestrial lineage across the K–Pg mass extinction |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.1980 |journal=Proceedings B |language=EN |doi=10.1098/rspb.2024.1980 |pmc=11936684 |pmid=40132624}}</ref>[[File:Cráneo reconstruido de Barinasuchus arveloi.png|alt=Reconstructed based on the known two specimens of Barinasuchus, representing the holotype in terms of size, and the rest of the skull was completed based on more complete sebecids like Sebecus and Bretesuchus.|left|thumb|Reconstructed skull of ''Barinasuchus''.]]

=== Skull and dentition ===
The holotype skull, as preserved and measured from the anterior tip of the rostrum to the [[Anatomical terms of location|posterior]] (rear) end of the damaged [[surangular]], measures {{Convert|70|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, and {{Convert|41|cm|in|abbr=on}} in height.<ref name="APOL07" /><ref name=":2" /> Based on these dimensions, ''Barinasuchus'' likely had a total skull length of about {{Convert|1|m|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=":2" /> Its [[Rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]] was tall and laterally compressed, a condition which, in crocodyliforms, is referred to as being [[wiktionary:oreinirostral|oreinirostral]]. This condition is similar to that of most other sebecids, including such as ''[[Langstonia]]'' and ''Sebecus'' (with the exception of ''[[Sahitisuchus]]'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kellner |first1=Alexander W. A. |last2=Pinheiro |first2=André E. P. |last3=Campos |first3=Diogenes A. |date=2014-01-15 |editor-last=Dodson |editor-first=Peter |title=A New Sebecid from the Paleogene of Brazil and the Crocodyliform Radiation after the K–Pg Boundary |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=e81386 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0081386 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmid=24454686|pmc=3893294 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...981386K }}</ref> The [[Nasal bone|nasals]] are curved, forming a narrow dome shape.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bravo |first=Gonzalo Gabriel |last2=Pol |first2=Diego |last3=García-López |first3=Daniel A. |date=2021-05-04 |title=A new sebecid mesoeucrocodylian from the Paleocene of northwestern Argentina |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.1979020 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |doi=10.1080/02724634.2021.1979020 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Like ''Ogresuchus'' and ''Sebecus'', the perinarial fossa (a depression on the lower margin of the nasal opening<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Leardi |first=Juan Martín |last2=Pol |first2=Diego |last3=Montefeltro |first3=Felipe |last4=Da Silva Marinho |first4=Thiago |last5=Ruiz |first5=Juan Vitor |last6=Bravo |first6=Gonzalo Gabriel |last7=Piacentini Pinheiro |first7=André Eduardo |last8=Godoy |first8=Pedro L. |last9=Nicholl |first9=Cecily S. C. |last10=Lecuona |first10=Agustina |last11=Larsson |first11=Hans C. E. |date=2024-08-05 |title=Phylogenetic nomenclature of Notosuchia (Crocodylomorpha; Crocodyliformes) |url=https://mapress.com/bpn/article/view/bpn.1.3.2 |journal=Bulletin of Phylogenetic Nomenclature |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=44–82 |doi=10.11646/bpn.1.3.2 |issn=2815-9241|doi-access=free }}</ref>) was slightly larger than in other sebecids.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sellés |first=Albert G. |last2=Blanco |first2=Alejandro |last3=Vila |first3=Bernat |last4=Marmi |first4=Josep |last5=López-Soriano |first5=Francisco J. |last6=Llácer |first6=Sergio |last7=Frigola |first7=Jaime |last8=Canals |first8=Miquel |last9=Galobart |first9=Àngel |date=2020-09-17 |title=A small Cretaceous crocodyliform in a dinosaur nesting ground and the origin of sebecids |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-71975-y |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=15293 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-71975-y |issn=2045-2322|pmc=7499430 }}</ref> ''Barinasuchus''{{'}} [[Premaxilla|premaxillae]] were short and high, and their junction with the [[maxilla]] bore a prominent notch, which accommodated the fourth [[Mandible|mandibular]] tooth. The maxillae were fairly short, and were very high posteriorly. The [[Pterygoid bone|pterygoid cavity]] was large and concave, and was broader posteriorly. The basisphenoids, two bones that lie between the [[Basilar part of occipital bone|basioccipital]] and [[Sphenoid bone|presphenoid]] bones, were strongly compressed. ''Barinasuchus''{{'}} mandible was very robust, and was widest and highest at the level of the fourth mandibular tooth.<ref name="APOL07" />

Whereas many sebecids had fairly small teeth and a high tooth count, ''Barinasuchus'' and ''Dentaneosuchus'' had a condition more similar to [[Baurusuchidae|baurusuchids]], in which the teeth are reduced in number and hypertrophied.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=dos Santos |first=Daniel Martins |last2=de Carvalho |first2=Joyce Celerino |last3=de Oliveira |first3=Carlos Eduardo Maia |last4=de Andrade |first4=Marco Brandalise |last5=Santucci |first5=Rodrigo Miloni |date=2025 |title=Cranial and postcranial anatomy of a juvenile baurusuchid (Notosuchia, Crocodylomorpha) and the taxonomical implications of ontogeny |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ar.25419 |journal=The Anatomical Record |language=en |volume=308 |issue=6 |pages=1707–1752 |doi=10.1002/ar.25419 |issn=1932-8494|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''Barinasuchus''{{'}} dentition was [[heterodont]], meaning that multiple tooth morphologies were present. The teeth of the premaxilla and the anterior portion of the maxilla are more [[Cone|conical]] than those of the posterior portion of the maxilla, which are shorter and more laterally compressed. All of the teeth were laterally compressed, particularly those of the posterior maxilla. The fourth mandibular tooth was the largest (out of both upper and lower jaws), and was curved. Due to how the [[holotype]] of ''Barinasuchus'' is preserved, the lower dentition, beyond the fourth mandibular tooth, is not known.<ref name="APOL07" />

== Classification ==
In 2014, Diego Pol and his colleagues made a [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetic analysis]], integrating many of the new genera and species found in the early 2010s. Compiling various phylogenetic studies in order to make a matrix that included 109 genera of [[Crocodyliformes|Crocodyliforms]], of which 412 morphological characteristics were studied. [[Notosuchia]] according to Diego Pol ''et al''. includes 45 genera and 54 species.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Pol D, Nascimento PM, Carvalho AB, Riccomini C, Pires-Domingues RA, Zaher H | title = A new notosuchian from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil and the phylogeny of advanced notosuchians | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 9 | issue = 4 | pages = e93105 | date = 2014-04-02 | pmid = 24695105 | pmc = 3973723 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0093105 | bibcode = 2014PLoSO...993105P | doi-access = free }}</ref> In their [[cladogram]], ''Barinasuchus'' is classified as a [[Sebecosuchia]]n belonging to the family [[Sebecidae]], close to the ''[[Lorosuchus]]'' genus and forms a sister taxon to the genera of ''[[Ayllusuchus]]'' and ''[[Bretesuchus]]'', indicating that ''Barinasuchus'' belonged to a distant, basal lineage within the family.<ref name=":1" />

Cladogram based on the study done by Kellner ''et al''. (2014), showing the position of ''Barinasuchus'' within Sebecosuchia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kellner |first1=Alexander W. A. |last2=Pinheiro |first2=André E. P. |last3=Campos |first3=Diogenes A. |date=2014-01-15 |title=A New Sebecid from the Paleogene of Brazil and the Crocodyliform Radiation after the K–Pg Boundary |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=e81386 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0081386 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3893294 |pmid=24454686|bibcode=2014PLoSO...981386K }}</ref>

{{clade| style=font-size:85%;line-height:85%
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Chimaerasuchus]]''
|2=''[[Sphagesaurus]]''}}
|label2=[[Sebecosuchia]]
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Pehuenchesuchus]]''
|2={{clade
|label1=[[Baurusuchidae]]
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Pabwehshi]]''
|2=''[[Stratiotosuchus]]''}}
|2=''[[Baurusuchus]]''}}
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Cynodontosuchus]]''
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Bergisuchus]]''
|2=''[[Iberosuchus]]''}}
|label2=[[Sebecidae]]
|2={{clade
|1='''''Barinasuchus'''''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Lorosuchus]]''
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Ayllusuchus]]''
|2=''[[Bretesuchus]]'' }}
|2=Lumbrera's Form
|3=''[[Langstonia]]''
|4=''[[Sahitisuchus]]''
|5=''[[Sebecus]]''
|6=''[[Zulmasuchus]]'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Notosuchia|S.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3281318}}

[[Category:Sebecidae]]
[[Category:Eocene crocodylomorphs]]
[[Category:Oligocene crocodylomorphs]]
[[Category:Miocene crocodylomorphs]]
[[Category:Eocene reptiles of South America]]
[[Category:Oligocene reptiles of South America]]
[[Category:Miocene reptiles of South America]]
[[Category:Laventan]]
[[Category:Colloncuran]]
[[Category:Friasian]]
[[Category:Santacrucian]]
[[Category:Colhuehuapian]]
[[Category:Deseadan]]
[[Category:Tinguirirican]]
[[Category:Divisaderan]]
[[Category:Paleogene Argentina]]
[[Category:Fossils of Argentina]]
[[Category:Neogene Peru]]
[[Category:Fossils of Peru]]
[[Category:Neogene Venezuela]]
[[Category:Fossils of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2007]]
[[Category:Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera]]

Barinasuchus - Revision history

imported>OAbot: Open access bot: doi, url-access=subscription, pmc updated in citation with #oabot.