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Aegyptosuchus Peyeri
''Aegyptosuchus'' ("Egyptian crocodile") is an extinct monospecific genus of aegyptosuchid eusuchian crocodyliform. It was found in the Bahariya Formation of Egypt, which dates back to the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous. The type and only species is ''Aegyptosuchus peyeri''. ''Aegyptosuchus'' is a member of the family Aegyptosuchidae, along with the genus ''Aegisuchus''. Aegyptosuchidae belongs to the clade Eusuchia, and is proposed to be the sister clade to the crown group Crocodylia, which contains all extant (living) crocodilians. The phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ... can be shown in the cladogram below: References Neosuchians Late Cretaceous crocodylomorphs of Africa Bahariya Formation Fossil taxa described in 1933 Prehist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia and Ant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, the equivalent Latin term ''cladus'' (plural ''cladi'') is often used in taxonomical literature. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant). Clades are nested, one in another, as each branch in turn splits into smaller branches. These splits reflect evolutionary history as populations diverged and evolved independently. Clades are termed monophyletic (Greek: "one clan") groups. Over the last few decades, the cladistic approach has revolutionized biological classification and revealed surprising evolutionary relationships among organisms. Increasingly, taxonomists try to avoid naming taxa that are not clades; that is, taxa that are not monophyletic. Some of the relationships between organisms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hylaeochampsa
''Hylaeochampsa'' is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorphs. It is known only from a partial skull recovered from Barremian-age rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Vectis Formation (Wealden Group) of the Isle of Wight. This skull, BMNH R 177, is short and wide, with a eusuchian-like palate and inferred enlarged posterior teeth that would have been suitable for crushing.Owen, R. (1874). Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck formations. Supplement no. V. Dinosauria (''Iguanodon''). ealden and Purbeck. ''The Palaeontographical Society, London'' 1873:1-18 ''Hylaochampsa'' was described by Richard Owen in 1874, with ''H. vectiana'' as the type species. It may be the same genus as the slightly older ''Heterosuchus'', inferred to have been of similar evolutionary grade, but there is no overlapping material as ''Heterosuchus'' is known only from vertebrae. If the two could be shown to be synonyms, ''Hylaeochampsa'' would have priority because it is the older name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isisfordia
''Isisfordia'' is an extinct genus of crocodyliform closely related to crocodilians that lived in Australia during the Middle Cretaceous ( Albian–Cenomanian). Description The type species, ''I. duncani''. (named after the discoverer; former Deputy Mayor of Isisford, Ian Duncan) was discovered in the Winton Formation in Isisford, Queensland, Australia in the mid-1990s. Most of the animal was discovered, with the exception of the front portion of the skull. On a later expedition to the location, paleontologists discovered a complete skull which differed from the original specimen in size only. A second species ''I. molnari'' was named in 2019 from a braincase found in the Griman Creek Formation near Lightning Ridge, and the nominal species ''Crocodylus (Bottosaurus) selaslophensis'' Etheridge, 1917, based on a maxillary fragment from the same unit, was referred to ''I. molnari''. Later, however, Hart (2020) noted that the ''selaslophensis'' holotype doesn't overlap with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernissartia
''Bernissartia'' ('of Bernissart') is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodyliform that lived in the Early Cretaceous, around 130 million years ago. At only in length, ''Bernissartia'' is one of the smallest crocodyliforms that ever lived. It resembled modern species in many respects, and was probably semi-aquatic. It had long, pointed teeth at the front of the jaws that would have been of use in catching fish, but broad and flat teeth at the back of its jaws that were suited for crushing hard food, such as shellfish, and possibly bones. It is known primarily from skulls and skeletons found in the Sainte-Barbe Clays Formation of Belgium and the Camarillas Formation of Spain. Less complete material has been referred to ''Bernissartia'' from the United Kingdom and North America. See also * ''Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti'' * Smallest organisms The smallest organisms found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of organism size, including volume, mass, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goniopholis
''Goniopholis'' (meaning "angled scale") is an extinct genus of goniopholidid crocodyliform that lived in Europe and Africa during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Being semi-aquatic it is very similar to modern crocodiles. It ranged from 2–4 metres in length, and would have had a very similar lifestyle to the American alligator or Nile crocodile. Discovery and species The type species of the genus is ''G. crassidens'' which is known from the Berriasian of England, and the referable species ''G simus'' from the Berriasian of NW Germany, might be conspecific. Other species that are referable to ''Goniopholis'' include ''G. kiplingi'' from the Berriasian of England, and ''G. baryglyphaeus'' from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Portugal making it the oldest known ''Goniopholis'' species. The species ''G. kiplingi'' honors the author Rudyard Kipling, "in recognition for his enthusiasm for natural sciences". Eggs attributed to ''Goniopholis'' were found in the Late Jura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theriosuchus
''Theriosuchus'' is an extinct genus of atoposaurid neosuchian from Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Europe (Hungary & southern England), Southeast Asia (Thailand) and western North America (Wyoming), with fragmentary records from Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous sites in China, Morocco, and Scotland. Taxonomy Three valid species are currently recognized: ''Theriosuchus pusillus'' from southern England, ''T. grandinaris'' from Thailand, and ''T. morrisonensis'' from the Morrison Formation of North America. ''Theriosuchus'' was previously assigned to Atoposauridae, but a 2016 cladistic analysis recovered it as a neosuchian more closely related to members of the family Paralligatoridae than to atoposaurids. Two species previously assigned to this genus, ''Theriosuchus ibericus'' and ''T. symplesiodon'', have been reassigned to the new genus ''Sabresuchus''. On the other hand, ''Theriosuchus guimarotae'' from Portugal has been reassigned to ''Knoetschkesuchus ''Knoets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neosuchia
Neosuchia is a clade within Mesoeucrocodylia that includes all modern extant crocodilians and their closest fossil relatives. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing all crocodylomorphs more closely related to ''Crocodylus niloticus'' (the Nile Crocodile) than to ''Notosuchus terrestris''. Members of Neosuchia generally share a crocodilian-like bodyform adapted to freshwater aquatic life, as opposed to the terrestrial habits of more basal crocodylomorph groups. The earliest neosuchian is suggested to be the Early Jurassic ''Calsoyasuchus'', which lived during the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian stages in North America. It is often identified as a member of Goniopholididae, though this is disputed, and the taxon may lie outside Neosuchia, which places the earliest records of the group in the Middle Jurassic. Characteristics A tooth notch between the maxilla and premaxilla is a basal characteristic of the Neosuchia, although it is lost in some more derived forms, most nota ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show how much they have changed, so many differing evolutionary trees can be consistent with the same cladogram. A cladogram uses lines that branch off in different directions ending at a clade, a group of organisms with a last common ancestor. There are many shapes of cladograms but they all have lines that branch off from other lines. The lines can be traced back to where they branch off. These branching off points represent a hypothetical ancestor (not an actual entity) which can be inferred to exhibit the traits shared among the terminal taxa above it. This hypothetical ancestor might then provide clues about the order of evolution of various features, adaptation, and other evolutionary narratives about ance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics. All life on Earth is part of a single phylogenetic tree, indicating common ancestry. In a ''rooted'' phylogenetic tree, each node with descendants represents the inferred most recent common ancestor of those descendants, and the edge lengths in some trees may be interpreted as time estimates. Each node is called a taxonomic unit. Internal nodes are generally called hypothetical taxonomic units, as they cannot be directly observed. Trees are useful in fields of biology such as bioinformatics, systematics, and phylogenetics. ''Unrooted'' trees illustrate only the relatedness of the leaf nodes and do not require the ancestral root to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extant Taxon
Neontology is a part of biology that, in contrast to paleontology, deals with living (or, more generally, '' recent'') organisms. It is the study of extant taxa (singular: extant taxon): taxa (such as species, genera and families) with members still alive, as opposed to (all) being extinct. For example: * The moose (''Alces alces'') is an extant species, and the dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct species. * In the group of molluscs known as the cephalopods, there were approximately 600 extant species and 7,500 extinct species. A taxon can be classified as extinct if it is broadly agreed or certified that no members of the group are still alive. Conversely, an extinct taxon can be reclassified as extant if there are new discoveries of living species ("Lazarus species"), or if previously-known extant species are reclassified as members of the taxon. Most biologists, zoologists, and botanists are in practice neontologists, and the term neontologist is used large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylia
Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period (Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria. Members of the order's total group, the clade Pseudosuchia, appeared about 250 million years ago in the Early Triassic period, and diversified during the Mesozoic era. The order Crocodilia includes the true crocodiles (family Crocodylidae), the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), and the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae). Although the term 'crocodiles' is sometimes used to refer to all of these, crocodilians is a less ambiguous vernacular term for members of this group. Large, solidly built, lizard-like reptiles, crocodilians have long flattened snouts, laterally compressed tails, and eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
