Laevisuchus
| Laevisuchus Temporal range: Maastrichtian, | |
|---|---|
| Cervical vertebra K20/613 in multiple views | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Noasauridae |
| Genus: | †Laevisuchus Huene & Matley, 1933 |
| Type species | |
| †Laevisuchus indicus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Laevisuchus (/ˌlɛvɪˈsjuːkəs/, "light crocodile") is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. Its remains were discovered by Charles Alfred Matley near Jabalpur in Maastrichtian "Carnosaur Bed" deposits in the Lameta Formation in Madhya Pradesh, central India, and were named and described by paleontologists Friedrich von Huene and Matley in 1933.
The type species is Laevisuchus indicus. The generic name is derived from Latin laevis, "light" and the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian crocodile god, Soukhos. The specific name means "Indian" in Latin. It is known only from three cervical vertebrae (GSI K20/613, GSI K20/614, and GSI K27/696) and a dorsal vertebra (GSI K27/588). A holotype was not assigned by Huene and Matley, and a lectotype has never been chosen from the syntypes. All remains except GSI K27/696 were lost, though GSI K20/613 was rediscovered in 2012. A 2024 revision of the small-bodied theropods from India classified "Jubbulpuria tenuis" as a junior synonym of Laevisuchus, and suggested that other taxa ("Compsosuchus solus" and "Ornithomimoides? barasimlensis") are likely indeterminate abelisaurs.