Retymaijychampsa


Retymaijychampsa is an extinct genus of proterochampsid archosauriforms from the MidLate Triassic Santa Maria Formation of Brazil. The genus contains a single species, R. beckerorum, known from a complete right hindlimb.

Discovery and naming

The Retymaijychampsa holotype specimen, CAPPA/UFSM 0430, was discovered in outcrops of the Santa Maria Formation in Paraíso do Sul of Rio Grande do Sul Brazil. This locality is part of the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence of the Santa Maria Supersequence, representing the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone. The specimen consists of a complete, articulated right hind limb.
In 2025, Rodrigo T. Müller described Retymaijychampsa beckerorum as a new genus and species of CLADE proterochampsid archosauriforms based on these fossil remains. The generic name, Retymaijychampsa, combines the Guarani words retyma, meaning "leg" and ijy, meaning "strong" with the Greek word champsa, meaning "crocodile", in reference to the hindlimb's robust morphology. The specific name, beckerorum, honors the Becker family, on whose property the type locality is located.

Classification

In his phylogenetic analysis, Müller recovered Retymaijychampsa within the proterochampsian clade Proterochampsidae. It further placed in a polytomy with Proterochampsa spp. in a clade also including Sphodrosaurus. This group was named the Proterochampsinae. These results are displayed in the cladogram below: