Overview
- CONICET scientists formally named and described Shakajlura riojanensis in a Papers in Palaeontology paper, based on material excavated in 2017–2018 from the Chañares Formation in Talampaya National Park.
- The species is placed within Paracrocodylomorpha, a distant lineage related to modern crocodiles, and is estimated at about six metres long with a skull near 60 centimetres.
- Diagnostic features include reduced ornamentation on the upper maxilla and an unusual shape and proportions of the mandibular prearticular bone, which helped distinguish it from related taxa.
- This is the first paracrocodylomorph formally described from Argentina since 1997, and researchers say the rarity of such finds increases the scientific value of the specimen.
- The discovery adds new evidence about terrestrial predator diversity in the Middle–Late Triassic and reinforces the Chañares Formation as a key site for studying post‑Permian recovery and early archosaur evolution.