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Gavialoidea
Gavialoidea is one of three superfamilies of crocodylians, the other two being Alligatoroidea and Crocodyloidea. Although many extinct species are known, only the gharial ''Gavialis gangeticus'' and the false gharial ''Tomistoma schlegelii'' are alive today, with ''Hanyusuchus'' having become extinct in the last few centuries. Extinct South American gavialoids likely dispersed in the mid Tertiary from Africa and Asia. Fossil remains of the Puerto Rican gavialoid '' Aktiogavialis puertorisensis'' were discovered in a cave located in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico and dated to the Oligocene. This individual is thought to have crossed the Atlantic coming from Africa, indicating that this species was able to withstand saltwater. Classification Gavialoidea is cladistically defined as ''Gavialis gangeticus'' (the gharial) and all crocodylians closer to it than to ''Alligator mississippiensis'' (the American alligator) or ''Crocodylus niloticus'' (the Nile crocodile). This is a stem-bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gavialidae
Gavialidae is a family (biology), family of large semiaquatic crocodilians with elongated, narrow snouts. Gavialidae consists of two extant taxon, living species, the gharial (''Gavialis gangeticus'') and the false gharial (''Tomistoma schlegelii''), both occurring in Asia. Many extinct members are known from a broader range, including the recently extinct ''Hanyusuchus''. Gavialids are generally regarded as lacking the jaw strength to capture the large mammalian prey favoured by crocodiles and alligators of similar size so their thin snout is best used to catch fish, however the false gharial has been found to have a Generalist and specialist species, generalist diet with mature adults preying upon larger vertebrates, such as Ungulate, ungulates. Taxonomy The family Gavialidae was proposed by Arthur Adams (zoologist), Arthur Adams in 1854 for reptiles with a very long and slender muzzle, webbed feet and nearly equal teeth. It is currently recognized as a crown group, meaning that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentisuchus
''Kentisuchus'' is an extinct genus of gavialoid crocodylian, traditionally regarded as a member of the subfamily Tomistominae. Fossils have been found from England and France that date back to the early Eocene. The genus has also been recorded from Ukraine, but it unclear whether specimens from Ukraine are referable to ''Kentisuchus''. Species The genus ''Kentisuchus'' was erected by Charles Mook in 1955 for the species ''"Crocodylus" toliapicus'', described by Richard Owen, in 1849. William Buckland named ''"Crocodylus" spenceri'' on the basis of a partial skull found from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, England. In 1888 Richard Lydekker considered ''"C." toliapicus'' synonymous with ''"C." champsoides'' and ''"C." arduini'', named by De Zigno, and reapplied the name ''"C." spenceri'' to all of these species. The genus name ''Kentisuchus'' was constructed only after it was realized that these specimens were clearly distinct from the genus ''Crocodylus'' and that some specimens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paratomistoma
''Paratomistoma'' (meaning "next to or near ''Tomistoma''") is an extinct monospecific genus of gavialoid crocodylian. It is based on the holotype specimen CGM 42188, a partial posterior skull and lower jaw discovered at Wadi Hitan, Egypt, in Middle Eocene-age rocks of the Gehannam Formation. The skull is unfused but considered morphologically mature. ''Paratomistoma'' was named in 2000 by Christopher Brochu and Philip Gingerich; the type species is ''P. courti'' in honor of Nicholas Court, who found CGM 42188. They performed a phylogenetic analysis and found ''Paratomistoma'' to be a derived member of Tomistominae, related to the false gharial. It may have been a marine or coastal crocodilian. Below is a cladogram based morphological studies comparing skeletal features that shows ''Paratomistoma'' as a member of Tomistominae: Based on morphological studies of extinct taxa, the tomistomines were long thought to be classified as crocodiles and not closely relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maroccosuchus
''Maroccosuchus zennaroi'' is an extinct gavialoid crocodylian from the Early Eocene of Morocco, traditionally regarded as a member of the subfamily Tomistominae. Below is a cladogram based on morphological studies comparing skeletal features that shows ''Maroccosuchus'' as a member of Tomistominae, related to the false gharial: Based on morphological studies of extinct taxa, the tomistomines were long thought to be classified as crocodiles and not closely related to gavialoids. However, recent molecular studies using DNA sequencing have consistently indicated that the false gharial (''Tomistoma'') (and by inference other related extinct forms in Tomistominae) actually belong to Gavialoidea (and Gavialidae). Below is a cladogram from a 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data that shows ''Maroccosuchus'' as an early-diverging gavialoid, more basal than the last common ancestor to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dollosuchoides
''Dollosuchoides'', colloquially known as the Crocodile of Maransart, is an extinct monospecific genus of gavialoid crocodilian, traditionally regarded as a member of the subfamily Tomistominae. Fossils have been found in the Brussel Formation of Maransart, Belgium and date back to the middle Eocene. The holotype, IRScNB 482, was discovered in 1915 and it was prepared during 1926–1927 by M. Hubert, J. Mehschaert and M. Jean de Kleermaeker, and also in 1927, Louis Dollo had the holotype put on display in the Museum of Natural Sciences and he intended to describe the specimen but he died in 1931 before he was able to describe it and the specimen was eventually referred to '' Dollosuchus'' by Swinton (1937)Swinton, W. E. (1937)The Crocodile of Maransart (Dollosuchus dixoni [Owen]).''Mémoire'' 80: 3–46 until it was moved to its own genus by Brochu (2007). It is currently housed in the Gand Museum in Belgium. Phylogeny Below is a cladogram based morphological studies c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ocepesuchus
''Ocepesuchus'' (meaning "Ocepe crocodile", in reference to the OCP, or Office Chérifien des Phosphates, a phosphate-mining company that participated in the excavation of the specimen) is an extinct genus of gavialoid crocodilian, related to modern gharials. It lived in the Late Cretaceous of Morocco. Described by Jouve and colleagues in 2008, the type species is ''O. eoafricanus'', with the specific name meaning "dawn African" in reference to its great age relative to other African crocodilians. ''Ocepesuchus'' had a long snout with a tubular shape, wider than high. It is the oldest known true crocodilian from Africa.Other crocodile-like animals from older strata in Africa, like ''Sarcosuchus'', are not true crocodilians, but related animals. ''Ocepesuchus'' is based on OCP DEK-GE 45, a crushed but mostly complete skull from late Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous)-age rocks in the Oulad Abdoun Basin, in the vicinity of Khouribga, Morocco. The individual is interpreted as a small a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alligatoroidea
Alligatoroidea is one of three superfamilies of crocodylians, the other two being Crocodyloidea and Gavialoidea. Alligatoroidea evolved in the Late Cretaceous period, and consists of the alligators and caimans, as well as extinct members more closely related to the alligators than the two other groups. Evolution The superfamily Alligatoroidea is thought to have split from the crocodile-gharial lineage in the late Cretaceous, about 80 million years ago, but possibly as early as 100 million years ago based on molecular phylogenetics. ''Leidyosuchus'' of Alberta is the earliest known genus. Fossil alligatoroids have been found throughout Eurasia as land bridges across both the North Atlantic and the Bering Strait have connected North America to Eurasia during the Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neogene periods. Alligators and caimans split in North America during the early Tertiary or late Cretaceous (about 53 million to about 65 million years ago) and the latter reached South Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodyloidea
Crocodyloidea is one of three superfamilies of crocodilians, the other two being Alligatoroidea and Gavialoidea, and it includes the crocodiles. Crocodyloidea may also include the extinct Mekosuchinae, native to Australasia from the Eocene to the Holocene, although this is disputed. Classification Cladistically, it is defined as ''Crocodylus niloticus'' (the Nile crocodile) and all crocodylians more closely related to ''C. niloticus'' than to either ''Alligator mississippiensis'' (the American alligator) or ''Gavialis gangeticus'' (the gharial). This is a stem-based taxon, stem-based definition for crocodiles Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant memb ..., and is more inclusive than the crown group Crocodylidae. As a crown group, Crocodylidae only includes the last common anc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
False Gharial
The false gharial (''Tomistoma schlegelii''), also known by the names Malayan gharial, Sunda gharial and tomistoma is a freshwater crocodilian of the family Gavialidae native to Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the global population is estimated at around 2,500 to 10,000 mature individuals. The specific name ''schlegelii'' honors Hermann Schlegel. Taxonomy The scientific name ''Crocodilus (Gavialis) schlegelii'' was proposed by Salomon Müller in 1838 who described a specimen collected in Borneo. In 1846, he proposed to use the name ''Tomistoma schlegelii'', if it needs to be placed in a distinct genus. The genus ''Tomistoma'' potentially also contains several extinct species like ''T. cairense'', ''T. lusitanicum'', ''T. taiwanicus'', and ''T. coppensi''. However, these species may need to be reclassified to different genera as are paraphyletic. The false gharial's snout broadens considerably towards the ... [...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] |
Dolichochampsa
''Dolichochampsa'' is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph. It is the type genus and only member of the family Dolichochampsidae. Fossils have been found in the Yacoraite Formation of Argentina and the El Molino Formation of Bolivia of Maastrichtian age. It had a distinctive slender snout. Because the material associated with the specimens is so fragmentary, its relationships with other eusuchians remain unknown. Jouve ''et al.'' (2020) assigned ''Dolichochampsa'' to Gavialoidea Gavialoidea is one of three superfamilies of crocodylians, the other two being Alligatoroidea and Crocodyloidea. Although many extinct species are known, only the gharial ''Gavialis gangeticus'' and the false gharial ''Tomistoma schlegelii'' ..., making it the oldest known South American member of this clade. References Maastrichtian life Late Cretaceous crocodylomorphs of South America Cretaceous Argentina Fossils of Argentina Salta Basin Cretaceous Bolivia Fossils of Bol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylian
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 the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
