Sebecidae

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Sebecids
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - Middle Miocene,
67.6–11.8  Ma
Sebecus icaeorhinus.JPG
Skull of Sebecus icaeorhinus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Suborder: Notosuchia
Clade: Sebecosuchia
Clade: Sebecia
Family: Sebecidae
Simpson, 1937
Subgroups
Synonyms
  • Bretesuchidae Gasparini, Fernandez & Powell, 1993

Sebecidae is an extinct family of prehistoric terrestrial sebecosuchian crocodylomorphs, known from the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic of Europe and South America. They were the latest surviving group of non-crocodilian crocodylomorphs.

The oldest known member of the group is Ogresuchus furatus known from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Tremp Formation (Spain). [2] Other records of the group are known from the Eocene of Europe. [3] Sebecids were diverse, abundant and broadly distributed in South America (mostly in Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia) during the Cenozoic, from the Paleocene until the Middle Miocene; [4] although it has been suggested that at least some forms could have survived until the Miocene-Pliocene boundary in Brazil. [5]

This group included many medium- and large-sized genera, from Sebecus to the giant 6-metre-long (20 ft) Barinasuchus from the Miocene. [6]

Phylogeny

The following cladogram simplified after Diego Pol and Jaime E. Powell (2011). [4]

Sebecosuchia

Pehuenchesuchus

Cynodontosuchus

Baurusuchidae

Pabwehshi

Stratiotosuchus

Baurusuchus pachecoi

Baurusuchus salgadoensis

Bergisuchidae

Bergisuchus

Iberosuchidae

Iberosuchus

Sebecidae

Lorosuchus

Barinasuchus

Ayllusuchus

Bretesuchus

Lumbrera form

Langstonia

Sebecus

Zulmasuchus

Related Research Articles

Atacisaurus is an extinct dubious genus of gavialoid crocodylian. Fossils have been found in the Grès de Carcassonne Member of the Sables du Castrais Formation in Laure-Minervois, France that date back to the Middle Eocene.

<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.

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

Baurusuchidae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is a group of terrestrial hypercarnivorous crocodilians from South America and possibly Pakistan. Baurusuchidae has been, in accordance with the PhyloCode, officially defined as the least inclusive clade containing Cynodontosuchus rothi, Pissarrachampsa sera, and Baurusuchus pachecoi. Baurusuchids have been placed in the suborder Baurusuchia, and two subfamilies have been proposed: Baurusuchinae and Pissarrachampsinae.

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

Barinasuchus 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.

<i>Langstonia</i> Extinct species of reptile

Langstonia is an extinct genus of notosuchian crocodylomorph of the family Sebecidae. It lived in the middle Miocene, in the "Monkey Beds" of the Colombian Villavieja Formation. Langstonia was named in 2007 by Alfredo Paolillo and Omar Linares for fossils originally described by Langston in 1965 as Sebecus huilensis. Thus, the type species is L. huilensis.

Trematochampsidae is an extinct family of mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs. Fossils are present from Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Argentina, and Brazil. Possible trematochampsids have been found from Spain and France, but classification past the family level is indeterminant. The trematochampsids first appeared during the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous and became extinct during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.

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

Bergisuchus is an extinct genus of small sebecosuchian mesoeucrocodylian known primarily from the Eocene Messel Pit in Germany. Few fossils of Bergisuchus have been discovered, only a single incomplete snout, a few partial lower jaws and some teeth. Despite being fragmentary, the jaw bones are enough to indicate that Bergisuchus had a short, deep, narrow snout and serrated teeth, quite unlike the broad flat snouts of modern crocodylians.

Ilchunaia is an extinct genus of sebecid mesoeucrocodylian. Fossils have been found from the Divisadero Largo Formation of Argentina dating back to the Late Eocene, and a locality in Mendoza, Argentina dating back to the Oligocene. Little material is known from the genus, with only the anterior portion of the skull being present to study.

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

Sebecus is an extinct genus of sebecid crocodylomorph from Eocene of South America. Like other sebecosuchians, it was entirely terrestrial and carnivorous. The genus is currently represented by two species, the type S. icaeorhinus and S. ayrampu. Several other species have been referred to Sebecus, but were later reclassified as their own genera.

Sebecosuchia is an extinct group of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms that includes the families Sebecidae and Baurusuchidae. The group was long thought to have first appeared in the Late Cretaceous with the baurusuchids and become extinct in the Miocene with the last sebecids, but Razanandrongobe pushes the origin of Sebecosuchia to the Middle Jurassic. Fossils have been found primarily from South America but have also been found in Europe, North Africa, Madagascar, and the Indian subcontinent.

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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.

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References

  1. Martin, J. E.; Pochat-Cottilloux, Y.; Laurent, Y.; Perrier, V.; Robert, E.; Antoine, P.-O. (2023). "Anatomy and phylogeny of an exceptionally large sebecid (Crocodylomorpha) from the middle Eocene of southern France". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: e2193828. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2193828. S2CID   258361595.
  2. Sellés, A. G.; Blanco, A.; Vila, B.; Marmi, J.; López-Soriano, F. J.; Llácer, S.; Frigola, J.; Canals, M.; Galobart, À. (2020). "A small Cretaceous crocodyliform in a dinosaur nesting ground and the origin of sebecids". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): Article number 15293. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1015293S. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-71975-y . PMC   7499430 . PMID   32943663.
  3. Martin, Jeremy E.; Pochat-Cottilloux, Yohan; Laurent, Yves; Perrier, Vincent; Robert, Emmanuel; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier (2022-10-28). "Anatomy and phylogeny of an exceptionally large sebecid (Crocodylomorpha) from the middle Eocene of southern France". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (4). doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2193828. ISSN   0272-4634.
  4. 1 2 Diego Pol and Jaime E. Powell (2011). "A new sebecid mesoeucrocodylian from the Rio Loro Formation (Palaeocene) of north-western Argentina". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163: S7–S36. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00714.x . hdl: 11336/69518 .
  5. Liccardo, Antonio, and Luiz Carlos Weinschütz. "Registro inédito de fósseis de vertebrados na Bacia Sedimentar de Curitiba (PR) Archived 2015-06-02 at the Wayback Machine ." Revista Brasileira de Geociências 40.3 (2010): 330-338.
  6. Salias-Gismondi, R.; Antoine, P. O.; Baby, P.; Brusset, S.; Benammi, M.; Espurt, N.; de Franceschi, D.; Pujos, F.; et al. (2007). Middle Miocene Crocodiles From the Fitzcarrald Arch, Amazonian Peru (PDF). Instituto Geológical y Minero de España. p. 4. ISBN   978-84-7840-707-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2010.