''Pristichampsus'' ("saw crocodile") is a non-diagnostic

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of crocodylian from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and possibly also

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

that is part of the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Pristichampsidae

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. As the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, ''Pristichampsus rollinatii'', was based on insufficient material when described in 1831 and 1853, the taxonomic status of the genus is in doubt, and other species have been referred to other genera, primarily ''

Boverisuchus ''Boverisuchus'' is an extinct genus of planocraniid crocodyliforms known from the middle Eocene (Lutetian stage) of Germany and western North America. It grew to approximately in length. History The type species ''Boverisuchus magnifrons'' wa ...

''.

History

''Pristichampsus'' was first described and named as a species of ''

Crocodylus ''Crocodylus'' is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae. Taxonomy The generic name, ''Crocodylus'', was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. ''Crocodylus'' contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species ...

'', ''C. rollinati'', by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

in 1831 on the basis of remains from the

Lutetian The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the Midd ...

of France.

J. E. Gray John Edward Gray, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoology, zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ...

. (1831). ''Synopsis Reptilium''. Part I. Cataphracta. Tortoises, Crocodiles, Enaliosauria. 1-85

Paul Gervais Paul Gervais full name François Louis Paul Gervais (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist. Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine ...

(1853) assigned this species to its own genus, creating the

new combination ''Combinatio nova'', abbreviated ''comb. nov.'' (sometimes ''n. comb.''), is Latin for "new combination". It is used in taxonomic biology literature when a new name is introduced based on a pre-existing name. The term should not to be confused wi ...

''Pristichampsus rollinati''. P. Gervais. (1853). Observations regarding the fossil reptiles of France (second part). ''Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences à Paris.'' 36(11):470-474 Other species have been referred to this genus. The genera ''

'' and ''Weigeltisuchus'' from the Lutetian of Germany as well as ''Limnosaurus'' from North America were synonymized with ''Pristichampsus'' and their type species were reassigned to it. Langston (1975) found ''

Limnosaurus ''Pristichampsus'' ("saw crocodile") is a non-diagnostic extinct genus of crocodylian from France and possibly also Kazakhstan that is part of the monotypic Pristichampsidae family. As the type species, ''Pristichampsus rollinatii'', was based on ...

'' to be based on non-diagnostic remains, and therefore considered it to be in its own genus, as a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

''. He also reassigned ''

vorax'' from the Lutetian of Wyoming and West Texas to ''Pristichampsus''. Efimov (1988) named two additional species of ''Pristichampsus'', ''P. birjukovi'' and ''P. kuznetzovi'' from the Middle Eocene of Eastern

. Following a revision of the genus ''Pristichampsus'' by Brochu (2013), ''P. rollinati'' was found to be based on insufficiently diagnostic material and therefore is a ''

''. ''

'' was reinstated as a valid genus, and the species ''Weigeltisuchus geiseltalensis'' was considered to be synonymous with ''B. magnifrons''. Brochu (2013) also reassigned ''P. vorax'' as the second species of ''Boverisuchus''. According to Brochu (2013), material from the middle Eocene of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

may represent other species of ''Boverisuchus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13530206, from2=Q2455388, from3=Q40646978 Crocodilians Terrestrial crocodylomorphs Paleocene crocodylomorphs Eocene crocodylomorphs Eocene reptiles of North America Eocene reptiles of Asia Eocene reptiles of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1853 Nomina dubia Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera