Planocrania is an extinct genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of eusuchia

Eusuchia

Eusuchia is a clade of crocodylomorphs that first appears in the Early Cretaceous with Hylaeochampsa. All living crocodilian species are eusuchians, as are many extinct forms.-Description:...

n crocodylian. Planocrania is included in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Pristichampsidae along with the genus Pristichampsus

Pristichampsus

Pristichampsus is an extinct genus of pristichampsid crocodylian that grew to approximately three metres in length....

. Both genera were previously assigned to the subfamily Pristichampsinae within the family Crocodylidae before they were placed in their own family, the Pristichampsidae. Two species are currently known to belong to the genus. The type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

, P. datangensis, was named in 1976 from material found from Nanxiong

Nanxiong

Nanxiong is a city district of Guangdong Province, China. It is under the administration of Shaoguan city....

 in Guangdong Province

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. A second species, P. hengdongensis, is known from Hengdong County

Hengdong County

Hengdong County is a county of Hunan, China. It is under the administration of Hengyang city.-References:*...

 in Hunan Province

Hunan

' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...

 and was described in 1984.

External links

• Planocrania in the Paleobiology Database
  Paleobiology Database
  ' is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.-History:The Paleobiology Database was founded in 2000. It has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council...