Revision of the Late Jurassic teleosaurid genusMachimosaurus(Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia)

Machimosauruswas a large-bodied genus of teleosaurid crocodylomorph, considered to have been durophagous/chelonivorous, and which frequented coastal marine/estuarine ecosystems during the Late Jurassic. Here, we revise the genus based on previously described specimens and revise the species within this genus. We conclude that there were three EuropeanMachimosaurusspecies and another taxon in Ethiopia. This conclusion is based on numerous lines of evidence: craniomandibular, dental and postcranial morphologies; differences in estimated total body length; geological age; geographical distribution; and hypothetical lifestyle. We re-diagnose the type speciesMachimosaurus hugiiand limit referred specimens to only those from Upper Kimmeridgian–Lower Tithonian of Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. We also re-diagnoseMachimosaurus mosae, demonstrate that it is an available name and restrict the species to the uppermost Kimmeridgian–lowermost Tithonian of northeastern France. We re-diagnose and validate the speciesMachimosaurus nowackianusfrom Harrar, Ethiopia. Finally, we establish a new species,Machimosaurus buffetauti, for the Lower Kimmeridgian specimens of France and Germany (and possibly England and Poland). We hypothesize thatMachimosaurusmay have been analogous to the Pliocene–Holocene genusCrocodylusin having one large-bodied taxon suited to traversing marine barriers and additional, geographically limited taxa across its range.