Postosuchus, meaning "Crocodile from
Post", is an extinct genus of
rauisuchid reptiles comprising two species,
P. kirkpatricki and
P. alisonae, that lived in what is now
North America during the
Late Triassic.
Postosuchus is a member of the clade
Pseudosuchia, the lineage of
archosaurs that includes modern
crocodilians (the other main group of archosaurs is
Avemetatarsalia, the lineage that includes non-avian
dinosaurs and their descendants,
birds). Its name refers to Post Quarry, a place in
Texas where many fossils of the type species,
P. kirkpatricki, were found. It was one of the
apex predators of its area during the Triassic, larger than the small dinosaur predators of its time (such as
Coelophysis). It was a hunter which probably preyed on
dicynodonts and many other creatures smaller than itself.