mesosuchian
mesosuchian noun: any of the informal group †Mesosuchia of terrestrial, semi-aquatic, or fully aquatic crocodylomorph reptiles, previously thought to be true cocodiles.
Noun (1)
mesosuchian (plural mesosuchians)
- Any of the informal group †Mesosuchia of terrestrial, semi-aquatic, or fully aquatic crocodylomorph reptiles, previously thought to be true cocodiles.
- The kind of change which would convert a Parasuchian into a Mesosuchian, would, if continued, convert a Mesosuchian into an Eusuchian.1859, Geological Survey of Great Britain, Edward Forbes, Memoirs of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom: Figures and Descriptions Illustrative of British Organic Remains, H.M. Stationery...
- Most mesosuchians became extinct 65 million years ago, but some managed to survive in Australia, until about one million years ago, when they too became extinct.1993 [1989], Grahame Webb, S. Charlie Manolis, Crocodiles of Australia, Reed, page 16
Adjective (1)
mesosuchian (not comparable)
- Relating to or being part of the informal group †Mesosuchia.
- Near the close of the Jurassic appeared for the first time, so far as we now know, broad-headed mesosuchian crocodiles, forms having less numerous and stronger teeth, and resembling closely modern alligators. It has been believed that these broad-headed1914, Samuel Wendell Williston, Water Reptiles of the Past and Present, University of Chicago Press, page 206
- Crocodilians contribute little to the solution of the Late Cretaceous interchange problem. A number of "mesosuchian" families are present in the Cretaceous of South America.1985, Francis G. Stehli, S. David Webb, editors, The Great American Biotic Interchange, Springer US, page 148
Noun (2) capitalized: Mesosuchian
Mesosuchian (plural Mesosuchians)
- Alternative letter-case form of mesosuchian
Adjective (2) capitalized: Mesosuchian
Mesosuchian (not comparable)
- Alternative letter-case form of mesosuchian
Forms of mesosuchian
| plural | mesosuchians |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Mesosuchian |
| plural | Mesosuchians |
Origin of mesosuchian
From taxonomic name Mesosuchia + -ian.
Questions about mesosuchian
- What does mesosuchian mean?
- Mesosuchian means any of the informal group †Mesosuchia of terrestrial, semi-aquatic, or fully aquatic crocodylomorph reptiles, previously thought to be true cocodiles.
- What part of speech is mesosuchian?
- Mesosuchian can be a noun or an adjective.
- What is the plural of mesosuchian?
- The plural of mesosuchian is mesosuchians.
Words near mesosuchian in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mesosuchian (page history and authors); Mesosuchian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “mesosuchian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mesosuchian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.