Musturzabalsuchus

Last updated

Contents

Musturzabalsuchus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
?Campanian–Maastrichtian
Musturzabalsuchus buffetauti.JPG
Holotype jaw of a Musturzabalsuchus (bottom) next to a skull of a Crocodylus (top)
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: Allodaposuchidae
Genus: Musturzabalsuchus
Buscalioni et al., 1997
Species:
M. buffetauti
Binomial name
Musturzabalsuchus buffetauti
Buscalioni et al., 1997

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

Etymology

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.

Discovery

The material first assigned to Musturzabalsuchus in 1997 has been found from the locality of Laño in Condado de Treviño, northern Spain. [1] 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. [2] 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. [3] Like the holotype and paratype material found from Laño, these fossils, known collectively as UPUAM-502, are Campano-Maastrichtian in age. [1] Another specimen (MHNM 10834.0) from the Fuvelian Lignites of France has been referred to Musturzabalsuchus in 1999. [4] However, the characteristics used to assign the material to better-known specimens of Musturzabalsuchus from Spain were questioned in a later 2008 study. [5] 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. [6]

Classification

Illustration of the remains of "Crocodilus" (Massaliasuchus) affuvelensis from the Fuvelian Lignites, 1869. Mandible resembling Musturzabalsuchus illustrated at top. Crocodilus affuvelensis Matheron.jpg
Illustration of the remains of "Crocodilus" (Massaliasuchus) affuvelensis from the Fuvelian Lignites, 1869. Mandible resembling Musturzabalsuchus illustrated at top.

Musturzabalsuchus was initially assigned to Alligatoroidea on the basis of several characters, including a lateral displacement of the foramen aereum of the articular. Additionally, the enlarged fourth mandibular tooth occludes into a pit in the rostrum. [7] Only the latter feature is present in the more derived alligatorids, and thus it is excluded from the family. [7] The pit that the fourth mandibular occludes into is placed posterior to the last premaxillary tooth, similar to what is seen in "Diplocynodon" hantoniensis, another early alligatoroid. A figure used in an 1869 study by P. Matheron of crocodylian remains from the Fuveau Lignites (illustration) pictured a mandible similar in profile to that of Musturzabalsuchus, but was labeled as belonging to the crocodylian Crocodilus affuvelensis. [8] In 1997 it was suggested that due to this apparent similarity, along with the vagueness of descriptions in the 1869 paper and the loss of the syntype, that C. affuvelensis could be reassigned to Musturzabalsuchus, although it was also acknowledged that the lack of posterior cranial material in the genus made detailed comparisons difficult. [1] A recent 2008 study on Matheron's specimens concluded that they belonged to a new genus distinct from Crocodylus and different from Musturzabalsuchus, named Massaliasuchus . [5]

Recent phylogenetic studies now recover Musturzabalsuchus as a member of Allodaposuchidae, outside Alligatoroidea. [9] [10] However, Musturzabalsuchus is usually omitted from phylogenetic analyses due to the lack of sufficient anatomical information. [10]

Paleobiogeography

Musturzabalsuchus and Acynodon , a contemporary crocodilian also common from Laño, are thought to have been closely related to Paleolaurasian alligatoroids. The latter genus is the only taxon not known from North America to be related to the more derived Late Cretaceous tribodont alligatorids. It is clear that Musturzabalsuchus was endemic to Europe, and was most likely restricted to Ibero-Armorica Island, [11] [12] as the genus is absent from Northern and Eastern European localities from which other alligatoroid fossils have been found. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alligatoridae</span> Family of crocodilians including alligators, caimans and kin

The family Alligatoridae of crocodylians includes alligators, caimans and their extinct relatives.

<i>Pyroraptor</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Pyroraptor is an extinct genus of paravian dinosaur, probably a dromaeosaurid or unenlagiid, from the Late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican island, of what is now southern France and northern Spain. It lived during the late Campanian and early Maastrichtian stages, approximately 70.6 million years ago. It is known from a single partial specimen that was found in Provence in 1992, after a forest fire. The animal was named Pyroraptor olympius by Allain and Taquet in 2000.

<i>Rhabdodon</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Rhabdodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Europe approximately 70-66 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. It is similar in build to a very robust "hypsilophodont", though all modern phylogenetic analyses find this to be an unnatural grouping, and Rhabdodon to be a basal member of Iguanodontia. It was large amongst its relatives, measuring 4 m (13 ft) long and weighing 250 kg (550 lb), with some specimens possibly reaching up to 6 m (20 ft) long.

<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>Diplocynodon</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Diplocynodon is an extinct genus of alligatoroid crocodilian that lived during the Paleocene to Middle Miocene in Europe. Some species may have reached lengths of 3 metres (9.8 ft), while others probably did not exceed 1 metre (3.3 ft). They are almost exclusively found in freshwater environments. The various species are thought to have been opportunistic aquatic predators.

<i>Leidyosuchus</i> Genus of reptiles

Leidyosuchus is an extinct genus of alligatoroid from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta. It was named in 1907 by Lawrence Lambe, and the type species is L. canadensis. It is known from a number of specimens from the middle Campanian age Dinosaur Park Formation. It was a medium-sized alligatorid, with a maximum skull length greater than 40 centimeters (16 in).

<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.

Bottosaurus is an extinct genus of alligatorid from the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene of New Jersey, Texas, and possibly North Carolina and South Carolina. Two species are currently accepted, with a third requiring re-evaluation.

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

Brachychampsa is an extinct genus of alligatoroid, possibly a basal caiman. Specimens have been reported from New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, New Jersey, and Saskatchewan, though only those from Montana, Utah, and New Mexico are based on material sufficient to justify the referral. One specimen has been reported from the Darbasa Formation of Kazakhstan, although the species status is indeterminate for the fossil. The genus first appeared during the late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous and became extinct during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Cretaceous. Brachychampsa is distinguished by an enlarged fifth maxillary tooth in the upper jaw.

Dolichochampsa is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph. It is the type genus and only member of the family Dolichochampsidae. Fossils have been found in the Yacoraite Formation of Argentina and the El Molino Formation of Bolivia of Maastrichtian age. It had a distinctive slender snout. Because the material associated with the specimens is so fragmentary, its relationships with other eusuchians remain unknown. Jouve et al. (2020) assigned Dolichochampsa to Gavialoidea, making it the oldest known South American member of this clade.

Prodiplocynodon is an extinct genus of basal crocodyloid crocodylian. It is one of the only crocodyloids known from the Cretaceous and existed during the Maastrichtian stage. The only species of Prodiplocynodon is the type species P. langi from the Lance Formation of Wyoming, known only from a single holotype skull lacking the lower jaw.

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

Stangerochampsa is an extinct genus of globidontan alligatoroid, possibly an alligatorine or a stem-caiman, from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta. It is based on RTMP.86.61.1, a skull, partial lower jaws, and partial postcranial skeleton discovered in the late Campanian–early Maastrichtian-age Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Stangerochampsa was described in 1996 by Wu and colleagues. The type species is S. mccabei. The generic name honors the Stanger family, the owners of the ranch where the specimen was found, and the species name honors James Ross McCabe, who discovered, collected, and prepared it. Stangerochampsa is described as "small to medium–sized"; the type skull is 20.0 centimetres (7.9 in) long from the tip of the snout to the occipital condyle, and is 13.0 centimetres (5.1 in) wide at its greatest, while the thigh bone is 14.2 centimetres (5.6 in) long. It had heterodont dentition, with large crushing teeth at the rear of the jaws.

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

Ischyrochampsa is an extinct monospecific genus of Late Cretaceous crocodyliform belonging to the eusuchian clade Allodaposuchidae. Fossils of the type species I. meridionalis are late Campanian in age and were found in the commune of Saint-Estève-Janson in Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Material is also known from Spain. It was named and described in 1995, and it had an estimated length of over 4 metres (13 ft).

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

Arenysuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodylomorph from Late Cretaceous deposits of north Spain. It is known from the holotype MPZ ELI-1, a partial skull from Elías site, and from the referred material MPZ2010/948, MPZ2010/949, MPZ2010/950 and MPZ2010/951, four teeth from Blasi 2 site. It was found by the researchers José Manuel Gasca and Ainara Badiola from the Tremp Formation, in Arén of Huesca, Spain. It was first named by Eduardo Puértolas, José I. Canudo and Penélope Cruzado-Caballero in 2011 and the type species is Arenysuchus gascabadiolorum.

<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.

Solemys is an extinct genus of stem turtle known from the Late Cretaceous of southern France and eastern Spain.

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

Agaresuchus is an extinct genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) of Spain. It includes two species, the type species Agaresuchus fontisensis, and Agaresuchus subjuniperus, which was originally named as a species of the related genus Allodaposuchus. However, it has been proposed that both species may instead belong to the genus Allodaposuchus.

Éric Buffetaut is a French paleontologist, author and researcher at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique since 1976 where he is a Doctor of Science and Director of Research. Buffetaut is a specialist of fossil archosaurs, mainly dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and has published many books on paleontology. He is one of the major paleontologists to support the thesis of the fall of a meteorite as the main cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Buscalioni, A. D.; Ortega, F.; Vasse, D. (1997). "New crocodiles (Eusuchia: Alligatoroidea) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern Europe". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série II. 325 (7): 525–530. Bibcode:1997CRASE.325..525B. doi:10.1016/s1251-8050(97)89872-2.
  2. Astibia, H.; Garcia-Garmillo, F.; Orue-Exteborria, X.; Rodríguez-Lázaro, J.; Buscolioni, A. D.; Sonz, J. L.; Jiménez-Fuentes (1987). "The Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in a sector of the South Limb of the Miranda-Treviño Synclinal: the first appearance of Chelonia and Archosauria in the Basque Country". Cretaceous Research. 8 (1): 15–27. doi:10.1016/0195-6671(87)90009-7.
  3. Buffetaut, E. (1989). "Archosaurian reptiles with Gondwanan affinities in the Upper Cretaceous of Europa". Terra Nova. 1 (1): 69–74. Bibcode:1989TeNov...1...69B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3121.1989.tb00328.x.
  4. Buscalioni, A. D.; Ortega, F.; Vasse, D. (1999). "The upper Cretaceous crocodilian assemblage from Laño (northcentral Spain): implications in the knowledge of the finicretaceous European faunas". Estudios Museo de Ciencia Naturales de Alava. 14: 213–233.
  5. 1 2 Martin, J. E.; Buffetaut, E. (2008). "Crocodilus affuvelensis Matheron, 1869 from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: a reassessment". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 152 (3): 567–580. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2007.00358.x .
  6. Rodriguez, J. C.; Feist, M.; Peyrot, D; Barron, E; Robles, F.; Pereda-Suberbiola, J.; Ruiz-Omenaca, J. I. (2005). "Stratigraphic position and palaeoenvironmental traits of the Late Cretaceous vertebrate-bearing sites of Chera (Valencia, Spain), based on micropalaeontological data". Kaupia. 14: 76.
  7. 1 2 Norell, M. A.; Clark, J. M.; Hutchison, J. H. (1994). "The Late Cretaceous alligatoroid Brachychampsa montana (Crocodylia): new material and putative relationships". American Museum Novitates (3116): 1–26.
  8. Matheron, P. (1869). "Note sur les reptiles fossiles des dépôts fluvio-lacustres crétacés du bassin à lignite de Fuveau". Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 26: 781–795.
  9. Narváez, Iván; Brochu, Christopher A.; Escaso, Fernando; Pérez-García, Adán; Ortega, Francisco (2015). "New crocodyliforms from southwestern Europe and definition of a diverse clade of European Late Cretaceous basal eusuchians". PLOS ONE. 10 (11): e0140679. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1040679N. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140679 . PMC   4633049 . PMID   26535893.
  10. 1 2 Blanco, A. (2021). "Importance of the postcranial skeleton in eusuchian phylogeny: Reassessing the systematics of allodaposuchid crocodylians". PLOS ONE. 16 (6): e0251900. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1651900B. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251900 . PMC   8189472 . PMID   34106925.
  11. Ibero-Armorica consisted of what is now the Iberian Peninsula and southern France
  12. Le Loeuff, J. (1991). "The Campano-Maastrichtian vertebrate faunas from southern Europe and their relationships with other faunas in the world: paleobiogeographical implications". Cretaceous Research. 12 (2): 93–114. doi:10.1016/S0195-6671(05)80019-9.