| Acynodon Temporal range: Santonian - Maastrichtian, | |
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| Skull of Acynodon iberoccitanus (ACAP-FXl) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Neosuchia |
| Clade: | Eusuchia |
| Genus: | † Acynodon Buscalioni et al., 1997 |
| Species | |
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Acynodon is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous, with fossils found throughout Southern Europe.
The genus Acynodon contains three species: A. iberoccitanus, A. adriaticus, and A. lopezi. Fossils have been found in France, Spain, Italy, and Romania, dating back to the Santonian and Maastrichtian periods of the Late Cretaceous. [1]
When first described in 1997, it was placed within the family Alligatoridae. [2] New findings a decade later led to it being reclassified as a basal globidontan. [3] [1] Recent studies have since resolved Acynodon as a basal eusuchian crocodylomorph, outside of the Crocodylia crown group, and a close relative to Hylaeochampsa . [4] [5] [6]
The skull of Acynodon is extremely brevirostrine; it had a very short and broad snout compared to other known alligatorids. [3] Its dentition was quite derived, with enlarged molariform teeth and a lack of maxillary and dentary caniniform teeth, presumably an adaptation to feed on slow prey with hard shells. [1] The paravertebral osteoderms of Acynodon were distinctively double-keeled.
Allodaposuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliforms that includes four species that lived in what is now southern Europe during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. Although generally classified as a non-crocodylian crocodylomorph, it is sometimes placed as one of the earliest true crocodylians. Allodaposuchus is one of the most common Late Cretaceous crocodylomorphs from Europe, with fossils known from Romania, Spain, and France.
Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction.
Boverisuchus is an extinct genus of planocraniid crocodyliforms known from the middle Eocene of Germany and western North America. It grew to approximately three metres (10 ft) in length.
Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation also known as the Argiles Rutilantes Formation is an early Maastrichtian French geologic formation in the département of Var preserving the remains of several types of dinosaurs and other extinct organisms.
Borealosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliforms that lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene in North America. It was named by Chris Brochu in 1997 for several species that had been assigned to Leidyosuchus. The species assigned to it are: B. sternbergii, the type species, from the Maastrichtian of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming; B. acutidentatus, from the Paleocene of Saskatchewan; B. formidabilis, from the Paleocene of North Dakota; B. griffithi, from the Paleocene of Alberta; and B. wilsoni, from the Eocene of Wyoming. B. formidabilis is particularly well-known, represented by the remains of many individuals from the Wannagan Creek site in North Dakota.
The Eusuchia are a clade of crocodylomorphs that first appeared in the Early Cretaceous with Hylaeochampsa. Along with Dyrosauridae and Sebecosuchia, they were the only crocodyliformes who survived the K-T extinction. Since the other two clades died out 35 and 11 million years ago respectively, all living crocodilian species are eusuchians, as are many extinct forms.
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.
Massaliasuchus is an extinct genus of allodaposuchid crocodyliform that is known from fossils found in Santonian–Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous rocks of southeastern France.
Iharkutosuchus is an extinct genus of basal eusuchian crocodyliform. Its fossils have been found in the Santonian-age Upper Cretaceous Csehbánya Formation in the Bakony Mountains of western Hungary.
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 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. 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. Hylaeochampsa is the type genus of the family Hylaeochampsidae, which also includes Iharkutosuchus from the Late Cretaceous of Hungary. James Clark and Mark Norell positioned it as the sister group to Crocodylia. Hylaeochampsa is currently the oldest known unambiguous eusuchian.
Hylaeochampsidae is an extinct family of basal eusuchian crocodylomorphs thought to be closely related to the order Crocodylia.
Thoracosaurus is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph which existed during the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleocene. The animal had traditionally been thought to be related to the modern false gharial, largely because the nasal bones contact the premaxillae. Phylogenetic work starting in the 1990's instead supported affinities within Gavialoidea exclusive of such forms, although a 2018 tip dating study simultaneously using morphological, molecular, and stratigraphic data suggests that it might have been a non-crocodylian eusuchian. The genus contains the species Thoracosaurus neocesariensis in North America and what is either Thoracosaurus isorhynchus or T. macrorhynchus; a recent review argues that T. macrorhynchus is a junior synonym of T. isorhynchus, but it is unclear whether the type of T. isorhynchus allows differentiation of European and North American Thoracosaurus; if not, then T. isorhynchus would be a nomen dubium. A number of species have been referred to this genus, but most are dubious.
Musturzabalsuchus is an extinct genus of crocodylian, and one of the oldest known members of the superfamily Alligatoroidea. The generic name means "Broadened rostrum crocodile", with "Musturzabal" meaning "broadened rostrum" in Basque and "suchus" meaning "crocodile" in Greek. The type and only species is M. buffetauti, named after the French paleoherpetologist Eric Buffetaut. The material first assigned to Musturzabalsuchus in 1997 has been found from the locality of Laño in Condado de Treviño, northern Spain. Although dating back to the Late Cretaceous, the exact age of the strata in which material of Musturzabalsuchus occurs in the locality is not known: it is either Late Campanian or very Early Maastrichtian. Despite the unusually high quantity of remains belonging to the genus, the only skeletal elements known from Musturzabalsuchus are the maxilla and mandible. Some fragments of these bones have been found from the locality of Armuña in the province of Segovia that were previously referred to an unnamed trematochampsid. Like the holotype and paratype material found from Laño, these fossils, known collectively as UPUAM-502, are Campano-Maastrichtian in age. Another specimen from the Fuvelian Lignites of France has been referred to Musturzabalsuchus in 1999. However, the characteristics used to assign the material to better-known specimens of Musturzabalsuchus from Spain were questioned in a later study. Material from Musturzabalsuchus has been found more recently from Valencia, Spain, being slightly older in age than specimens from other localities, dating back to the Early or Middle Campanian.
The Csehbánya Formation is a geological formation in the Transdanubian Mountains of Veszprém County, Hungary. The formation dates to the Late Santonian of the Late Cretaceous. It represents a floodplain environment as opposed to the swampy lacustrine environment of the simultaneous Ajka Coal Formation, though there is complete overlap in terms of fauna. It underlies the Jákó Marl Formation, and laterally transitions to the Ajka Coal Formation.
Planocraniidae is an extinct family of eusuchian crocodyliforms known from the Paleogene of Asia, Europe and North America. The family was coined by Li in 1976, and contains three genera, Boverisuchus, Duerosuchus and Planocrania. Planocraniids were highly specialized crocodyliforms that were adapted to living on land. They had extensive body armor, long legs, and blunt claws resembling hooves, and are sometimes informally called "hoofed crocodiles".
Allodaposuchidae is an extinct clade of eusuchians that lived in Europe during the Late Cretaceous (Santonian-Maastrichtian).
Lohuecosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliforms related to the current crocodiles. It lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Spain and southern France. Fossils of the genus have been recovered from the Villalba de la Sierra Formation at Lo Hueco.
Agaresuchus is an extinct genus of allodaposuchid. It includes two species, the type species A. fontisensis and A. subjuniperus, which was originally named as a species of the related genus Allodaposuchus; both species may belong to this genus. It was recovered from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian)-aged Conquès Formation, part of the Tremp Group, in the province of Huesca, Spain.
Portugalosuchus is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodyliform that was possibly a basal crocodylian – if so then it would be the oldest known crocodylian to date. A 2021 morphological study recovered Portugalosuchus within Crocodylia as a member of Gavialidae closely related to similar "thoracosaurs", while also noting that is might also possibly be outside of Crocodylia completely. The type species is P. azenhae, described in 2018, and it is known from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)-aged Tentugal Formation in Portugal.
Aprosuchus is a genus of small-bodied Maastrichtian atoposaurid Eusuchian from the Hateg Basin, Romania.
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