Turnersuchus is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian, a group of marine crocodylomorphs, from the Pliensbachian of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest diagnostic member of Thalattosuchia and was also found to be the group's most basal member, being situated outside the two major groups Metriorhynchoidea and Teleosauroidea. Subsequently, this genus is considered to be of great importance to understanding the relationship between thalattosuchians and other crocodylomorphs as well as their rapid diversification during the early Jurassic. Turnersuchus is a monotypic genus, meaning it includes only a single species, Turnersuchus hingleyae.
Turnersuchus
Model of T. hingleyae, and an ammonite, on display at the Lyme Regis Museum
Image: Steneosaurus Munich
Image: Cricosaurus albersdoerferi
Thalattosuchia is a clade of mostly marine crocodylomorphs from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous that had a cosmopolitan distribution. They are colloquially referred to as marine crocodiles or sea crocodiles, though they are not members of Crocodilia and records from Thailand and China suggest that some members lived in freshwater. The clade contains two major subgroupings, the Teleosauroidea and Metriorhynchoidea. Teleosauroids are not greatly specialised for oceanic life, with back osteoderms similar to other crocodyliformes. Within Metriorhynchoidea, the Metriorhynchidae displayed extreme adaptions for life in the open ocean, including the transformation of limbs into flippers, the development of a tail fluke, and smooth, scaleless skin, and probably gave live birth, seemingly uniquely among archosaurs.
Image: Platysuchus multiscrobiculatus 1
Image: Cricosaurus albersdoerferi
Life restoration of Machimosaurus (Machimosauridae, Teleosauroidea)