Pronunciation: ah-RIS-toe-SOOK-us
Meaning: Superior crocodile
Author/s: Seeley (1887)
Synonyms: Poekilopleuron pusillus
First Discovery: Isle of Wight, UK
Discovery Chart Position: #65
Aristosuchus pusillus
(Small Superior Crocodile)Etymology
Aristosuchus is derived from the Greek "aristos" (superior, best) and "soukhos" (the Greek name for the Egyptian crocodile god, Sobek).
The species epithet, pusillus, means "small" in Latin.
It was initially named Poekilopleuron pusillus by Richard Owen in 1876.
Discovery
The remains of Aristosuchus were discovered in the Wealden Group on the Isle of Wight, England,
likely in the Wessex formation.
The holotype (BMNH R178) consists of a sacrum (a block of five fused hip vertebrae) and a piece of a pubic bone.
