Arambourgisuchus was a dyrosaurid

Dyrosauridae

Dyrosauridae is a family of extinct neosuchian crocodyliforms that lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene. Fossils of this group have been found in almost every continent, specifically Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America....

 crocodylomorph

Crocodylomorpha

The Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the crocodilians and their extinct relatives.During Mesozoic and early Tertiary times the Crocodylomorpha were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. These were...

 from the late Palaeocene of Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, found in the region of Sidi Chenane in 2000, following collaboration by French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Moroccan institutions, and described in 2005 by a team led by palaeontologist Stéphane Jouve.

Its type and only species is A. khouribgaensis, after the town of Khouribga

Khouribga

Khouribga is a city in Khouribga Province in the Chaouia-Ouardigha region of Morocco with a population of approximately 172,000. Khouribga owes its growth to the phosphate deposits nearby.-Geography:...

, near which the holotype

Holotype

A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...

 was found.

Material

Four specimens of this taxon

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

 have been found:

• OCP DEK-GE 300 (holotype): nearly complete and crushed skull, lacking the anterior part of the rostrum
• OCP DEK-GE 18: crushed, almost complete skull, including mandible
• OCP DEK-GE 269: posterior part of mandibular symphysis with five or six teeth alveoli on each side
• OCP DEK-GE 1200: Anteriormost portion of a mandibular symphysis

The remains of A. khourgbaensis were found in a phosphate mine in the region of Sidi Chenane, part of the Ouled Abdoun Basin. The age of this animal is therefore Thanetian (late Palaeocene).

Systematics

Arambourgisuchus khourbgaensis is a member of the Dyrosauridae, based on the presence of the following synapomorphies:

• presence of large occipital tuberosities
• supratemporal fenestra largely longer than wide

According to Jouve et al. (2005), it is probably one of the most derived forms, but the lack of better material makes a correct determination of its affinities difficult.

Palaeobiology

The skull of A. khourbgaensis was proportionally one of the longest among all of the Dyrosauridae, reaching a length of 1 meter. Its teeth were sharp but strong and large, as well as being less numerous than the ones in Dyrosaurus phosphaticus

Dyrosaurus

Dyrosaurus was an extinct genus of dyrosaurid crocodyliform from the Eocene of North Africa. The type species D. phosphaticus possessed slender jaws with numerous recurved teeth, indicative of a primarily fish diet...

.

Like other dyrosaurids, it was a marine predator.