Macrospondylus

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Macrospondylus
Temporal range: Toarcian 183–180  Ma
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Macrospondylus bollensis Holzmaden.jpg
Macrospondylus bollensis, Holzmaden Germany
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Superorder: Crocodylomorpha
Suborder: Thalattosuchia
Superfamily: Teleosauroidea
Family: Machimosauridae
Genus: Macrospondylus
von Meyer, 1831
Species:
M. bollensis
Binomial name
Macrospondylus bollensis
Jäger, 1828
Synonyms

Macrospondylus is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of Europe. Fossils are known from the Posidonia Shale of Germany, the Whitby Mudstone of the United Kingdom, and the " schistes bitumineux" of Luxembourg.

Contents

Evolutionary relationships

Restoration Steneosaurus NT small.jpg
Restoration

Macrospondylus has historically been synonymized with Steneosaurus . [1] A 2005 phylogenetic analysis of Thalattosuchia, however, did not support the monophyly of Steneosaurus, as the genera Machimosaurus and Teleosaurus both fell within Steneosaurus. [2] Reinforcing the paraphyly of Steneosaurus, Young et al. (2012), Ősi et al. (2018), and Wilberg et al. (2019) recovered Steneosaurus bollensis and other Steneosaurus species in disparate positions within Teleosauridae. [3] [4] [5]

In 2016, its length was estimated at 5.5 m (18 ft), making it the largest known Early Jurassic crocodylomorph. [6] In 2020, the genus was formally revived. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Machimosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles

Machimosaurus is an extinct genus of machimosaurid crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. The type species, Machimosaurus hugii, was found in Switzerland. Other fossils have been found in England, France, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and Tunisia. Machimosaurus rex is the largest named teleosauroid and thalattosuchian, with an estimated length of up to 7.15 m (23.5 ft). Machimosaurus is the largest known crocodyliform of the Jurassic.

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

Metriorhynchus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform that lived in the oceans during the Late Jurassic. The type species, M. brevirostris was named in 1829 as a species of Steneosaurus before being named as a separate genus by the German palaeontologist Christian von Meyer in 1832. The name Metriorhynchus means "Moderate snout", and is derived from the Greek Metrio- ("moderate") and -rhynchos ("snout").

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

Teleosauridae is a family of extinct typically marine crocodylomorphs similar to the modern gharial that lived during the Jurassic period. Teleosaurids were thalattosuchians closely related to the fully aquatic metriorhynchoids, but were less adapted to an open-ocean, pelagic lifestyle. The family was originally coined to include all the semi-aquatic thalattosuchians and was equivalent to the modern superfamily Teleosauroidea. However, as teleosauroid relationships and diversity was better studied in the 21st century, the division of teleosauroids into two distinct evolutionary lineages led to the establishment of Teleosauridae as a more restrictive family within the group, together with its sister family Machimosauridae.

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

Pelagosaurus is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 Ma to 176 Ma, in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe. The systematic taxonomy of Pelagosaurus has been fiercely disputed over the years, and was assigned to Thalattosuchia after its systematics within Teleosauridae were disputed. Pelagosaurus measured 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) long and weighed 60 kg (130 lb).

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

Steneosaurus is a dubious genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Middle or Late Jurassic of France. The genus has been used as a wastebasket taxon for thalattosuchian fossils for over two centuries, and almost all known historical species of teleosauroid have been included within it at one point. The genus has remained a wastebasket, with numerous species still included under the label ‘Steneosaurus’, many of which are unrelated to each other.

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

Aeolodon is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform reptile from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of Germany and France that was initially named as a species of Crocodylus in 1814. Although previously synonymized with Steneosaurus, recent cladistic analysis considers it distantly related to the Steneosaurus type species and the type species is A. priscus, named in 1830 and described in 2020.

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

Mycterosuchus is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of England. Although previously synonymized with Steneosaurus, recent cladistic analysis considers it distantly related to the Steneosaurus type species.

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

Sericodon is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of Germany and Switzerland. The genus contains a single species, S. jugleri. Sericodon was placed in 'Clade T' (Aeolodontinae) and was found to be the sister taxon to Bathysuchus, another teleosaurid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metriorhynchoidea</span> Extinct superfamily of reptiles

Metriorhynchoidea is an extinct superfamily of thalattosuchian crocodyliforms from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous of Europe, North America and South America. Metriorhynchids are fully aquatic crocodyliforms. Named by Fitzinger, in 1843, it contains the basal taxa like Teleidosaurus, Zoneait and Eoneustes and the family Metriorhynchidae. An unnamed taxon is known from Chile.

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

Bathysuchus is an extinct genus of teleosaurid thalattosuchian from Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) deep water marine deposits in England and France. Bathysuchus displays features that suggest it was more pelagic than other teleosaurids, including smoother skull bones and reduced armour plating, similar to the fully marine metriorhynchids. This was possibly an adaptation to rising sea levels during the Kimmeridgian, as its earlier relatives such as Teleosaurus were suited for shallow coasts and lagoon environments.

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

Lemmysuchus is a genus of machimosaurid thalattosuchian from the Middle Jurassic Callovian of England and France. Like many other teleosauroids from Europe, it has had a convoluted taxonomic history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teleosauroidea</span> Extinct superfamily of reptiles

Teleosauroidea is an extinct superfamily of thalattosuchian crocodyliforms living from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.

<i>Plagiophthalmosuchus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Plagiophthalmosuchus is a genus of teleosauroid, known form the Early Jurassic Whitby Mudstone Formation of Whitby, Yorkshire, UK, and Dudelange, Luxembourg. The type species, P. gracilirostris, was originally named as a species of Teleosaurus in 1836, but then it was moved to Steneosaurus in 1961, but it was again moved to its own genus in 2020.

<i>Neosteneosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Neosteneosaurus is a genus of machimosaurid, known from the Middle Jurassic Oxford Clay of the UK, and Marnes de Dives, France. The type species, N. edwardsi, was originally named as a species of Steneosaurus in 1868, but was moved to its own genus in 2020. Steneosaurus durobrivensis and Steneosaurus hulkei are considered junior synonyms.

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

Machimosauridae is an extinct family of teleosauroid thalattosuchian crocodyliforms. The family was first identified in 2016, when fossils of teleosauroid thalattosuchians, including an indeterminate close relative of Lemmysuchus and Machimosaurus, were described from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Morocco. The family was largely expanded in 2020 when the systematics of Teleosauroidea were re-reviewed. Members of this family generally were larger than the teleosaurids.

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

Andrianavoay is an extinct genus of teleosauroid from the Bathonian Kandreho Formation of Madagascar.

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

Charitomenosuchus is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid from the Callovian Oxford Clay Formation of England.

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

Clovesuurdameredeor is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid from the Bathonian Cornbrash Formation of England.

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

Proexochokefalos is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid from the Jurassic of France

<i>Seldsienean</i> Extinct genus of machimosaurid thalattosuchian

Seldsienean in an extinct genus of machimosaurid thalattosuchian from the Middle Jurassic of England and France. It is known from the Calcaire de Caen and the Cornbrash Formation.

References

  1. Steel R. 1973. Crocodylia. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie, Teil 16. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag,116 pp.
  2. Mueller-Töwe, I. J. (2005). "Phylogenetic relationships of the Thalattosuchia" (PDF). Zitteliana. A45: 211–213.
  3. Young, M. T.; Brusatte, S. L.; De Andrade, M. B.; Desojo, J. B.; Beatty, B. L.; Steel, L.; Fernández, M. S.; Sakamoto, M.; Ruiz-Omeñaca, J. I.; Schoch, R. R. (2012). Butler, Richard J, ed. "The Cranial Osteology and Feeding Ecology of the Metriorhynchid Crocodylomorph Genera Dakosaurus and Plesiosuchus from the Late Jurassic of Europe". PLoS ONE 7 (9): e44985. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0044985. PMC   3445579. PMID   23028723. edit
  4. Ősi A, Young MT, Galácz A, Rabi M. 2018. A new large-bodied thalattosuchian crocodyliform from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Hungary, with further evidence of the mosaic acquisition of marine adaptations in Metriorhynchoidea. PeerJ 6:e4668 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4668
  5. Eric W. Wilberg; Alan H. Turner; Christopher A. Brochu (2019). "Evolutionary structure and timing of major habitat shifts in Crocodylomorpha". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): Article number 514. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-36795-1. PMC 6346023. PMID   30679529.
  6. Young, MT; Rabi, M.; Bell, MA; Foffa, D.; Steel, L.; Sachs, S.; Peyer, K. (2016). "Big-headed marine crocodyliforms and why we must be cautious when using extant species as body length proxies for long-extinct relatives". Palaeontologia Electronica. 19 (3): 1–14. doi: 10.26879/648 .
  7. Johnson, Michela M.; Young, Mark T.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (2020). "The phylogenetics of Teleosauroidea (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia) and implications for their ecology and evolution". PeerJ. 8: e9808. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9808 . PMC   7548081 . PMID   33083104.