Barinasuchus

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Barinasuchus
Temporal range: Mid Eocene-Mid Miocene (Divisaderan-Laventan)
~42.2–11.8  Ma
Barinasuchus Arveloi.JPG
Holotype fossil of Barinasuchus arveloi
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Crocodyliformes
Clade: Notosuchia
Clade: Sebecosuchia
Clade: Sebecia
Family: Sebecidae
Genus: Barinasuchus
Paolillo and Linares, 2007
Type species
Barinasuchus arveloi
Paolillo and Linares, 2007

Barinasuchus (meaning "Barinas crocodile", in reference to where the type material was found) is an extinct genus of sebecid mesoeucrocodylian. Its fossils have been found in middle Eocene-age rocks of the Divisadero Largo Formation of Argentina, middle Miocene-age rocks of the Ipururo Formation of Peru, and middle Miocene-age rocks of the Parángula Formation of Venezuela. [1]

Contents

Description

Barinasuchus was described in 2007 by Alfredo Paolillo and Omar Linares. [2] The holotype comes from the rocks of the Parángula Formation, located in Barinas, Venezuela and consists of an incomplete, articulated skull. Like other sebecosuchians, it was a terrestrial carnivore equipped with ziphodont teeth, remarkably similar to those of theropods, which are compressed laterally, curved facing backwards, and with serrated borders. This dentition made it a formidable predator.

Reconstructed skull of Barinasuchus. Craneo reconstruido de Barinasuchus arveloi.png
Reconstructed skull of Barinasuchus.

The preserved parts of the holotype consist of a skull that is 70 centimeters in length and 40 centimeters in height. Based on this, it is estimated that the total skull length was between 95 and 115 centimeters. [3] The total length of the animal is estimated to be close to 6 m (20 ft) based on more complete sebecosuchians like Stratiotosuchus , [3] making Barinasuchus the largest known sebecid. Without more complete remains, it is difficult to estimate its possible weight; however, based in the lengths of Stratiosuchus mexhechti and Crocodylus porosus , it has been estimated that Barinasuchus weighed around 1,610 and 1,720 kilograms respectively. This implies a superior weight than any of the large carnivoran mammals, and even considering a margin error of 50%, would still make it larger than any terrestrial mammalian predator of the Cenozoic. [3]

Fossils of the same age found in Peru previously assigned to Sebecus cf. huilensis were assigned to the type species, B. arveloi. [2]

Classification

In 2014, Diego Pol and his colleagues made a phylogenetic analysis, integrating many of the new genera and species found in the early 2010s. Compiling various phylogenetic studies in order to make a matrix that included 109 genera of Crocodyliforms, of which 412 morphological characteristics were studied. Notosuchia according to Diego Pol et al. includes 45 genera and 54 species. [4] In their cladogram, Barinasuchus is classified as a Sebecosuchian belonging to the family Sebecidae, close to the Lorosuchus genus and forms a sister taxon to the genera of Ayllusuchus and Bretesuchus , indicating that Barinasuchus belonged to a distant, basal lineage within the family. [4]

Hypothetical appearance and size of Barinasuchus arveloi Barinasuchus Size Comparison.png
Hypothetical appearance and size of Barinasuchus arveloi

Cladogram based on the study done by Kellner et al. (2014), showing the position of Barinasuchus within Sebecosuchia. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notosuchia</span> Extinct suborder of reptiles

Notosuchia is a suborder of primarily Gondwanan mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Some phylogenies recover Sebecosuchia as a clade within Notosuchia, others as a sister group ; if Sebecosuchia is included within Notosuchia its existence is pushed into the Middle Miocene, about 11 million years ago. Fossils have been found from South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Notosuchia was a clade of terrestrial crocodilians that evolved a range of feeding behaviours, including herbivory (Chimaerasuchus), omnivory (Simosuchus), and terrestrial hypercarnivory (Baurusuchus). It included many members with highly derived traits unusual for crocodylomorphs, including mammal-like teeth, flexible bands of shield-like body armor similar to those of armadillos (Armadillosuchus), and possibly fleshy cheeks and pig-like snouts (Notosuchus). The suborder was first named in 1971 by Zulma Gasparini and has since undergone many phylogenetic revisions.

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

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

Dentaneosuchus is a genus of large bodied sebecid crocodylomorph from the Middle Eocene of Issel and Réalmont (France). Originally described as Atacisaurus crassiproratus, the discovery of additional remains led to it being placed in a separate genus in 2023. It was tentatively recovered as the basalmost member of the family Sebecidae. Because of this Dentaneosuchus could play an important part in deciphering the origins and dispersal of European sebecids, as their presence on the continent, far away from their primary range in South America, is still not entirely resolved. It reached a similar size to the enormous Barinasuchus, making it not only one of the biggest sebecids but also the biggest terrestrial carnivore of Cenozoic Europe. Dentaneosuchus would have been an apex predator of its environment, capable of taking large prey such as Lophiodon. However, for as of yet unknown reasons crocodylomorphs would lose their spot as top predator in this part of the world by the end of the Eocene, with Dentaneosuchus representing one of the last members of its group in Europe.

References

  1. Barinasuchus at Fossilworks.org
  2. 1 2 Paolill A, Linares OJ (2007). "Nuevos cocodrilos Sebecosuchia del Cenozoico Suramericano (Mesosuchia: Crocodylia)" (PDF). Paleobiologia Neotropical (in Spanish). 3: 1–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Molnar RE, de Vasconcellos FM (2016). "Cenozoic dinosaurs in South America – revisited". Memoirs of Museum Victoria . 74: 363–377. doi: 10.24199/j.mmv.2016.74.25 .
  4. 1 2 Pol D, Nascimento PM, Carvalho AB, Riccomini C, Pires-Domingues RA, Zaher H (2014-04-02). "A new notosuchian from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil and the phylogeny of advanced notosuchians". PLOS ONE. 9 (4): e93105. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...993105P. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093105 . PMC   3973723 . PMID   24695105.
  5. Kellner AW, Pinheiro AE, Campos DA (2014-01-15). "A new sebecid from the paleogene of Brazil and the crocodyliform radiation after the K-Pg boundary". PLOS ONE. 9 (1): e81386. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...981386K. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081386 . PMC   3893294 . PMID   24454686.