Aegyptosuchus

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Aegyptosuchus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous: Cenomanian, 100.5–93.9  Ma
Aegyptosuchus peyeri.jpg
Skull
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Superorder: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Neosuchia
Clade: Eusuchia
Family: Aegyptosuchidae
Genus: Aegyptosuchus
Stromer, 1933
Type species
Aegyptosuchus peyeri
Stromer, 1933
Aegyptosuchus (A) compared with Aegisuchus Aegisuchus and Aegyptosuchus.png
Aegyptosuchus (A) compared with Aegisuchus

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. [1] 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 can be shown in the cladogram below: [1]

Neosuchia

Theriosuchus

Goniopholis

Bernissartia

Eusuchia

Isisfordia

Hylaeochampsa

Crocodylia

Gavialoidea

Borealosuchus

Leidyosuchus

Crocodyloidea

Alligatoroidea

Aegyptosuchidae

Aegyptosuchus

Aegisuchus

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavialidae</span> Family of gharial crocodylians

Gavialidae is a family of large semiaquatic crocodilians with elongated, narrow snouts. Gavialidae consists of two living species, the gharial and the false gharial, 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 diet with mature adults preying upon larger vertebrates, such as ungulates.

<i>Allodaposuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Allodaposuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliforms 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 eusuchian 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.

<i>Boverisuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Boverisuchus is an extinct genus of planocraniid crocodyliforms known from the middle Eocene of Germany and western North America. It grew to approximately 3 m (9.8 ft) in length.

<i>Borealosuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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.

Argochampsa is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph, usually regarded as a gavialoid crocodilian, related to modern gharials. It lived in the Paleocene of Morocco. Described by Hua and Jouve in 2004, the type species is A. krebsi, with the species named for Bernard Krebs. Argochampsa had a long narrow snout, and appears to have been marine in habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eusuchia</span> Clade of reptiles

Eusuchia is 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 47 and 11 million years ago respectively, all living crocodilian species are eusuchians, as are many extinct forms.

<i>Acynodon</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Acynodon is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous, with fossils found throughout Southern Europe.

<i>Massaliasuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Massaliasuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodyliform that is known from fossils found in Santonian–Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous rocks of southeastern France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hylaeochampsidae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

Hylaeochampsidae is an extinct family of basal eusuchian crocodylomorphs thought to be closely related to the order Crocodylia.

<i>Musturzabalsuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Musturzabalsuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodyliform. The type and only species is Musturzabalsuchus buffetauti.

<i>Planocrania</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Planocrania is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodyliforms from what is now China. Two species are currently known to belong to the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocodyloidea</span> Superfamily of crocodiles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brevirostres</span> Taxon of reptiles

Brevirostres is a paraphyletic group of crocodilians that included alligatoroids and crocodyloids. Brevirostres are crocodilians with small snouts, and are distinguished from the long-snouted gharials. It is defined phylogenetically as the last common ancestor of Alligator mississippiensis and Crocodylus niloticus and all of its descendants. This classification was based on morphological studies primarily focused on analyzing skeletal traits of living and extinct fossil species, and placed the gharials outside the group due to their unique skull structure, and can be shown in the simplified cladogram below:

<i>Aegisuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Aegisuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of giant, flat-headed crocodyliform within the family Aegyptosuchidae. It was found in the Kem Kem Formation of southeast Morocco, which dates back to the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous epoch. The type species Aegisuchus witmeri was named in 2012 by paleontologists Casey Holliday and Nicholas Gardner, who nicknamed it "Shieldcroc" for the shield-like shape of its skull. A. witmeri is known from a single partial skull including the braincase and skull roof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aegyptosuchidae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

Aegyptosuchidae is an extinct family of eusuchian crocodyliforms from the Cretaceous period of Africa. They are characterized by their large size and flat heads. The family includes two genera, Aegyptosuchus and Aegisuchus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planocraniidae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allodaposuchidae</span> Extinct clade of reptiles

Allodaposuchidae is an extinct clade of eusuchians that lived in Europe during the Late Cretaceous (Santonian-Maastrichtian).

<i>Lohuecosuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Lohuecosuchus is an extinct genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodylomorph that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Spain and southern France.

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. The type species is P. azenhae, described in 2018, and it is known from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)-aged Tentugal Formation in Portugal. 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. A 2022 tip dating analysis incorporating both morphological and DNA data placed Portugalosuchus outside of Crocodylia, as the sister taxon of the family Allodaposuchidae. A cladogram simplified after that analysis is shown below:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longirostres</span> Clade of crocodilians

Longirostres is a clade of crocodilians that includes the crocodiles and the gavialids, to the exclusion of the alligatoroids. Named in 2003 by Harshman et al., Longirostres is a crown group defined phylogenetically as including the last common ancestor of Crocodylus niloticus and Gavialis gangeticus and all of its descendants.

References

  1. 1 2 Casey M. Holliday and Nicholas M. Gardner (2012). "A New Eusuchian Crocodyliform with Novel Cranial Integument and Its Significance for the Origin and Evolution of Crocodylia". PLOS ONE . 7 (1): e30471. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...730471H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030471 . PMC   3269432 . PMID   22303441.