Peirosauridae is a
Gondwana
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
n family of
mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the
Cretaceous period. It was a
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, ...
of terrestrial crocodyliforms that evolved a rather dog-like form, and were terrestrial carnivores. It was
phylogenetically
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
defined in 2004 as the
most recent common ancestor of ''
Peirosaurus'' and Lomasuchinae and all of its descendants. Lomasuchinae is a
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
of peirosaurids that includes the genus ''
Lomasuchus''.
Lomasuchinae was defined in the same 2004 study as the most recent common ancestor of ''Lomasuchus'' and Mahajangasuchini and all of its descendants. Mahajangasuchini, also constructed in the study, was defined as the most recent common ancestor of ''
Mahajangasuchus'' and ''
Uberabasuchus'' and all of its descendants.
However, all more recent phylogenetic analyses placed ''Mahajangasuchus'' within its own family,
Mahajangasuchidae, along with the newly named ''
Kaprosuchus''.
Genera
The following list of genera follows Martinelli ''et al.'', 2012 unless otherwise noted.
*''
Antaeusuchus
''Antaeusuchus taouzensis'' is a species of peirosaurid notosuchian from the Late Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco. It was described in 2021, and it is the only species in the genus ''Antaeusuchus''. It is the fourth notosuchian described from ...
'' from the
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
of
Morocco.
*''
Barcinosuchus'' from the
Aptian
The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...
-
Albian of
Argentina.
*''
Bayomesasuchus'' from the Turonian - Cenomanian of Argentina.
*''
Barrosasuchus'' from the Santonian of Argentina.
*''
Caririsuchus
''Caririsuchus'' is an extinct genus of peirosaurid crocodylomorph. Fossils have been found from the Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group in the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil, dating back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous
Th ...
'' from the lower Albian of Brazil.
[C. F. C. Geroto and R. J. Bertini. 2018]
New material of Pepesuchus (Crocodyliformes; Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Bauru Group: implications about its phylogeny and the age of the Adamantina Formation
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 185(2):312-334
*''
Colhuehuapisuchus'' from the
Campanian- early Maastrichtian of Argentina.
*''
Gasparinisuchus'' from the
Santonian - early Campanian of Argentina.
*''
Hamadasuchus'' from the Albian -
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
of
Morocco.
*''
Kinesuchus'' from the Santonian of
Argentina.
*''
Lomasuchus'' from the Santonian of Argentina.
*''
Montealtosuchus
''Montealtosuchus'' was an extinct genus of terrestrial crocodyliform.C. F. C. Geroto and R. J. Bertini. (2019). New material of ''Pepesuchus'' (Crocodyliformes; Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Bauru Group: implications about its phylogeny and the age ...
'' from the
Turonian - Santonian of Brazil.
*''
Patagosuchus
''Patagosuchus'' is an extinct genus of peirosaurid crocodyliform known from the early Late Cretaceous Portezuelo Formation of Neuquén Province, western central Argentina. It contains a single species, ''Patagosuchus anielensis''. It is distingu ...
'' from the
Coniacian
The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series and spans the time between 89.8 ± 1 Ma and 86.3 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Coniacian is preceded by t ...
of Argentina.
*''
Peirosaurus'' from the late Maastrichtian of Brazil.
*''
Rukwasuchus'' from the Cenomanian of
Tanzania.
*''
Uberabasuchus'' from the late Maastrichtian of Brazil.
References
I. d. S. Carvalho, F. M. d. Vasconcellos, and S. A. S. Tavares. (2007). Montealtosuchus arrudacamposi, a new peirosaurid crocodile (Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of Brazil. Zootaxa 1607:35-46
External links
Description of ''Uberabasuchus''Description of ''Montealtosuchus''
Early Cretaceous crocodylomorphs
Terrestrial crocodylomorphs
Late Cretaceous crocodylomorphs
Early Cretaceous first appearances
Maastrichtian extinctions
Prehistoric reptile families
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