Belongs within: Crocodyliformes.
Contains: Neosuchia.
The Metasuchia were defined by Sereno et al. (2001) as the most exclusive clade containing both recent crocodilians and Notosuchus. This differs somewhat from its original usage by Benton & Clark (1988) for all members of the clade Mesoeucrocodylia excluding Thalattosuchia, which have subsequently been classified as derived metasuchians.
The Notosuchia are a group of often small, terrestrial crocodyliforms known from the Cretaceous of Africa and South America. Many notosuchians were markedly heterodont, with the rear teeth become multicusped and/or molariform (O’Connor et al. 2010). The Peirosauridae have been recognised as a group of moderately high-snouted crocodyliforms from the same time and area; it is possible that this group is paraphyletic to the later neosuchians (O’Connor et al. 2010).
<==Metasuchia (see below for synonymy) | i. s.: Brasileosaurus pachecoi Huene 1931CRA04 | ElosuchidaeLB02 | |--Stolokrosuchus Larsson & Gado 2000LB02 | | `--S. lapparenti Larsson & Gado 2000LB02 | `--Elosuchus de Lapparent de Broin 2002LB02 | |--*E. cherifiensis (Lavocat 1955) (see below for synonymy)LB02 | `--E. felixi de Lapparent de Broin 2002LB02 |--+--TrematochampsidaeRRO00 | | |--Trematochampsa taqueti Buffetaut 1974BB00, LB02 | | |--Eremosuchus elkoholicusRRO00 | | |--Hamadasuchus rebouliRRO00 | | `--Amargasuchus minor Chiappe 1988B93 | `--Peirosauridae [Lomasuchinae]CRA04 | |--+--Peirosaurus tormini Price 1955OS10, CRA04 | | `--Lomasuchus Gasparini, Chiappe & Fernandez 1991OS10, CRA04 | | `--L. palpebrosus Gasparini, Chiappe & Fernandez 1991CRA04 | `--+--+--Anatosuchus minorOS10 | | `--NeosuchiaOS10 | `--MahajangasuchiniCRA04 | |--Mahajangasuchus insignisOS10 | `--Uberabasuchus Carvalho, Ribeiro & Avilla 2004CRA04 | `--*U. terrificus Carvalho, Ribeiro & Avilla 2004CRA04 `--+--Araripesuchus Price 1959OS10, SF03 | |--A. wegeneriOS10 | `--+--A. buitreraensisOS10 | `--+--A. gomesii Price 1959OS10, CRA04 | `--A. patagonicus Ortega et al. 2001GPS06, LB02 `--Notosuchia [Notosuchidae]OS10 |--Uruguaysuchus [Uruguaysuchidae]OS10 | `--U. aznaresi Rusconi 1933B93 `--Ziphosuchia [Baurusuchoidea, Sebecosuchia]CRA04 | i. s.: Bergisuchus Kuhn 1968 [Bergisuchidae]RRO00 | `--*B. dietrichbergi Kuhn 1968RRO00 | Ilchunaia parca Rusconi 1946RRO00 | Ayllusuchus fernandezi Gasparini 1984RRO00 |--ChimaerasuchidaeCRA04 | |--Simosuchus Buckley, Brochu et al. 2000OS10, BB00 | | `--*S. clarki Buckley, Brochu et al. 2000BB00 | `--+--Notosuchus Woodward 1896OS10, SF03 | | `--N. terrestris Woodward 1896B93 | `--+--+--Chimaeresuchus Wu & Suess 1995OS10, D07 | | | `--C. paradoxusGPS06 | | `--Sphagesaurus Price 1950OS10, D07 | | `--S. huenei Price 1950CRA04 | `--+--Comahuesuchus [Comahuesuchidae]OS10 | | `--C. brachybuccalis Bonaparte 1991B93 | `--+--+--Iberosuchus macrodonGPS06 | | `--Bretesuchus [Bretesuchidae]GPS06 | | `--B. bonapartei Gasparini et al. 1993RRO00 | `--BaurusuchidaeCRA04 | |--Stratiosuchus maxhechti (Campos et al. 2001)CRA04 | |--Cynodontosuchus rothi Woodward 1896B93 | `--Baurusuchus Prince 1945OS10, D07 | `--B. pachecoi Price 1945CRA04 `--+--SebecidaeCRA04 | |--Libycosuchus Stromer 1914OS10, SF03 [Libycosuchidae] | | `--L. brevirostrisGPS06 | `--SebecusLB02 | |--S. huilensisRRO00 | |--S. icaeorhinusRRO00 | `--S. querejazus Buffetaut & Marshall 1991LB02 `--CandidodontidaeCRA04 |--+--Mariliasuchus amarali Carvalho & Bertini 1999OS10, CRA04 | `--+--Adamantinasuchus navaeOS10 | `--Pakasuchus O’Connor, Sertich et al. 2010OS10 | `--*P. kapilimai O’Connor, Sertich et al. 2010OS10 `--+--Candidodon itapecuruenseOS10 `--ItasuchidaeCRA04 |--Malawisuchus mwakasyungutiensisOS10 `--ItasuchusCRA04 |--I. camposiSF03 [=Cairisuchus camposiRRO00] `--I. jesuinoi Price 1955CRA04
Elosuchus cherifiensis (Lavocat 1955) [=Thoracosaurus cherifiensis, Thoracosuchus (l. c.) cherifiensis, Eleiosuchus africanus ms]LB02
Metasuchia [Gondwanasuchia, Metamesosuchia, Notosuchiformes, Notosuchimorpha, Peirosauriformes, Peirosaurimorpha, Peirosauroidea, Terriasuchia]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B93] Benton, M. J. 1993. Reptilia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 681–715. Chapman & Hall: London.
[BB00] Buckley, G. A., C. A. Brochu, D. W. Krause & D. Pol. 2000. A pug-nosed crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Nature 405: 941–944.
[CRA04] Carvalho, I. de S., L. C. B. Ribeiro & L. dos S. Avilla. 2004. Uberabasuchus terrificus sp. nov., a new Crocodylomorpha from the Bauru Basin (Upper Cretaceous), Brazil. Gondwana Research 7 (4): 975–1002.
[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.
[GPS06] Gasparini, Z., D. Pol & L. A. Spalletti. 2006. An unusual marine crocodyliform from the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary of Patagonia. Science 311: 70–73.
[LB02] Lapparent de Broin, F. de. 2002. Elosuchus, a new genus of crocodile from the Lower Cretaceous of the north of Africa. Comptes Rendus Palevol 1: 275–285.
[OS10] O’Connor, P. M., J. J. W. Sertich, N. J. Stevens, E. M. Roberts, M. D. Gottfried, T. L. Hieronymus, Z. A. Jinnah, R. Ridgely, S. E. Ngasala & J. Temba. 2010. The evolution of mammal-like crocodyliforms in the Cretaceous period of Gondwana. Nature 466: 748–751.
[RRO00] Rossmann, T., M. Rauhe & F. Ortega. 2000. Studies on Cenozoic crocodiles: 8. Bergisuchus dietrichbergi Kuhn (Sebecosuchia: Bergisuchidae n. fam.) from the Middle Eocene of Germany, some new systematic and biological conclusions. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 74: 379–392.
[SF03] Salisbury, S. W., E. Frey, D. M. Martill & M. C. Buchy. 2003. A new crocodilian from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of north-eastern Brazil. Palaeontographica Abteilung A: Paläozoologie—Stratigraphie 270: 3–47.