Ceratosuchops

Did You Know?

• Ceratosuchops was named alongside Riparovenator milnerae in 2021.
• A 2022 study suggested Ceratosuchops and Riparovenator might be the same taxon.

Discovery and naming

The holotype of Ceratosuchops inferodios consists of IWCMS 2014.95.5, IWCMS 2021.30, and IWCMS 2014.95.1-3, along with a referred right postorbital (IWCMS 2014.95.4). These were recovered from sandstone blocks on the foreshore at Chilton Chine between 2013 and 2017, so their exact stratigraphic position is unknown. The specimens were accessioned at the Dinosaur Isle Museum alongside the holotype of Riparovenator milnerae. The generic name combines Greek for 'horn', 'crocodile', and 'face', while the specific name inferodios combines Latin for 'hell' and Greek for 'heron', reflecting the team's view of its heron-like ecology.

Description

Because only skull fragments are known, the overall size of Ceratosuchops cannot be reliably estimated, though its body mass was probably similar to that of Baryonyx. The premaxillae have short subnarial processes like Baryonyx, but the narial fossae more closely resemble a specimen assigned to cf. Suchomimus. The postorbital bone bears a large rugose boss, which may have been used for signalling or agonistic behaviours. The subcondylar recess of the basioccipital is narrow and lacks lateral crests, unlike Baryonyx or Riparovenator, while the dorsal process is relatively thick like that of Baryonyx.

Palaeobiology

Like most spinosaurs, Ceratosuchops would have fed on small to medium-sized aquatic and terrestrial prey such as fish, small turtles, young crocodiles, baby dinosaurs, and mammals. A 2023 CT-scan study of the braincases of Ceratosuchops and Baryonyx found that their brain anatomy was similar to that of other non-maniraptoriform theropods, with unexceptional hearing and olfaction. Their gaze stabilisation was less developed than in spinosaurines, suggesting that the transition to a semi-aquatic lifestyle did not require major changes to brain or sensory systems, only modifications to the mouth bones.

Palaeoenvironment

The Wessex Formation was a floodplain with rivers and lakes, where water levels varied due to high evaporation despite substantial precipitation. Extreme storms and periodic floods created debris flows that deposited dead organisms in ponds. Frequent wildfires, evidenced by burned plant and insect material, limited dense gymnosperm growth, leaving low ground cover of pteridophytes with occasional conifers, cycads, and the tree fern Tempskya. The dinosaur fauna included theropods such as Aristosuchus, Eotyrannus, Neovenator, and Riparovenator; sauropods like Eucamerotus; thyreophorans including Polacanthus; and ornithopods such as Iguanodon and Hypsilophodon. Pterosaurs, neosuchian crocodyliforms, plesiosaurs, mammals, amphibians, and a diverse fish fauna are also known from the formation.