page_title: Carnufex
section_title: Classification
hierarchical_section_title: Carnufex / Classification
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographic figure of NCSM 21623). right premaxilla and maxilla in lateral (a) and medial (c) views; (b) right premaxilla detail of teeth and alveoli (not to scale); left lacrimal, lateral (d) and medial (e) views; (f) isolated maxillary tooth with root; left jugal in lateral (g) and medial (h) views; (i) right angular, lateral view; left articular in lateral (j) and medial (k) views; cervical neural arch in left lateral (l) and cranial (m) views; dorsal neural arch in right lateral (n) and caudal (o) views; right humerus in caudal (p) and cranial (q) views. Scale bar corresponds to all elements in boxes: 5 cm.
context_page_description: Carnufex is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph suchian from the Late Triassic of North America. The genus was first described in 2015 by Zanno et al., who named the binomial Carnufex carolinensis, meaning "Carolina butcher". Two specimens are known, the holotype skull and skeleton NCSM 21558, and the referred humerus NCSM 21623. The specimens are from the Carnian-age Pekin Formation, which dates to 231 million years ago. Based on the holotype, Carnufex would have been about 3 m long and 1.5 m tall, although it may have gotten larger due to the holotype not being fully grown.
context_section_description: Carnufex is a primitive crocodylomorph, a group including suchians more derived than Rauisuchidae. It is the most basal of the group, along with an unnamed genus. Zanno et al. (2015) conducted a phylogenetic analysis, including taxa as basal as Mesosuchus and as derived as Protosuchus and Alligator.
  Below is a simplified version of their cladogram, including only Loricata and Crocodylomorpha.
caption: Holotype elements
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