Smilosuchus

Smilosuchus (from Ancient Greek σμίλη (smílē), meaning "knife, chisel", and Σοῦχος (Soûkhos), meaning "Sobek") is an extinct genus of leptosuchomorph parasuchid phytosaurs from the Late Triassic of North America. Three species have been named: the type species S. gregorii, S. adamanensis, and S. lithodendrorum, all recovered from the Norian-aged Chinle Formation of Arizona.

==History== left|thumb|S. gregorii skull The type species was first described in 1995 as a replacement generic name for Leptosuchus gregorii. Because of the large rostral crest it possessed, it was considered to be distinct enough from other species of Leptosuchus (all of which had smaller and more restricted crests) to be within its own genus. Some studies seem to suggest that Smilosuchus is congeneric with Leptosuchus, as the enlarged crest could have been independently developed in Leptosuchus. However, newer studies support the idea that Smilosuchus is distinct from the type species of Leptosuchus, Leptosuchus crosbiensis. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that Smilosuchus is more closely related to mystriosuchins than to Leptosuchus species.