Purussaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Purussaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 15 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Crocodile relatives |
|---|---|
| Lived | 27.3–0.0117 million years ago (Chattian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Paleogene, Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Alligatoridae |
| Named by | Barbosa Rodrigues 1892 |
| Fossil records | 62 occurrences at 43 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Argentina |
| Rock formations | Urumaco, Pebas, Solimões, txn:38421, Solimoes, Castillo |
About Purussaurus
Purussaurus is a genus of extinct giant caimans that lived in the Americas during the Miocene epoch, from the Friasian to the Huayquerian in the SALMA classification. It is known from skull material found in the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon, Argentina, Colombian Villavieja Formation, Panamanian Culebra Formation, Urumaco, and Socorro Formations of northern Venezuela.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Purussaurus (revision 1376195979), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q133296.
