Sarcosuchus fossil map
Where fossils of Sarcosuchus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 115 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 115 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 | 137.05–93.9 million years ago (Valanginian to Cenomanian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Pholidosauridae |
| Named by | de Broin and Taquet 1966 |
| Fossil records | 17 occurrences at 14 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Brazil, Tunisia, Niger, Algeria, Morocco, Mali |
| Rock formations | txn:38345, Aïn el Guettar, Continental Intercalaire, Elrhaz, Gara Sbaa, Tagrezou Sandstone |
About Sarcosuchus
Sarcosuchus, from Ancient Greek σάρξ (sárx), meaning "flesh", and Σοῦχος (Soûkhos), meaning "Sobek", is a genus of crocodyliform that lived during the Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian to Albian ages, 133 to 101 million years ago) in North Africa and Brazil. The genus was first described in 1966 by French paleontologists Frances de Broin and Philippe Taquet on the basis of an incomplete skull that was discovered in Gadoufaoua, northern Niger. They named the type species S. imperator. Prior to 1966, fragmentary fossils of S. imperator had been found in French expeditions to the Sahara as well. In 1977, the species Crocodylus hartti, which had been discovered in Early Cretaceous deposits in Brazil in the 1850s-60s, was reassigned to Sarcosuchus. S. hartti is known from largely fragmentary material compared to S. imperator and is smaller in size. The best-preserved remains of Sarcosuchus were not unearthed until 1997 and 2000, when American paleontologist Paul Sereno and University of Chicago crews collected six new specimens, including several skulls and postcranial remains, of S. imperator.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Sarcosuchus (revision 1372318583), 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.
