Mahajangasuchidae Temporal range: Cenomanian - Maastrichtian | |
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Mahajangasuchus insignis | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauria |
Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
Clade: | Metasuchia |
Family: | † Mahajangasuchidae Sereno and Larsson, 2009 [1] |
Genera | |
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Mahajangasuchidae is an extinct family of notosuchian [2] [3] crocodyliforms. It currently contains two genera, Mahajangasuchus and Kaprosuchus , both of which lived during the Late Cretaceous in Gondwana. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing Mahajangasuchus insignis but not Notosuchus terrestris , Simosuchus clarki , Araripesuchus gomesii , Baurusuchus pachecoi , Peirosaurus torminni , Goniopholis crassidens , Pholidosaurus schaumbergensis , or Crocodylus niloticus . [1] Phylogenetically, Mahajangasuchidae is placed just outside pholidosaurids and more derived neosuchians. [3]
Defining characters of the family include fused nasals, a jaw articulation below the posterior maxillary tooth row, a deep mandibular symphysis that is oriented anterodorsally, and the formation of a hornlike posterodorsal process from the squamosal and parietal (which is much more pronounced in Kaprosuchus).
Cladogram showing the phylogenetic relationship of Mahajangasuchidae within Neosuchia after Sereno and Larsson, 2009: [1]
Neosuchia |
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In 2014, Mahajangasuchidae were grouped within Notosuchia: [2]
The cladogram following by Nicholl et al. 2021: [3]