Trematochampsidae

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Trematochampsidae
Temporal range: 130–66.5  Ma
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Superorder: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Metasuchia
Family: Trematochampsidae
Buffetaut, 1974
Genera

Amargasuchus ?
Baharijodon ?
Barreirosuchus
Miadanasuchus ?
Trematochampsa

Contents

Trematochampsidae is an extinct family of mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs. Fossils are present from Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Argentina, and Brazil (in the case of Caririsuchus , where some specimens have been found in the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation [1] ). 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.

Description

Trematochampsids are deep-snouted and have a ziphodont tooth structure. [2] The dentition differs from most other crocodilians in that the teeth are recurved, serrated, and lateromedially compressed. This may be an adaptation to a terrestrial or at least semiterrestrial lifestyle as such teeth would be better suited for cutting and tearing into prey as opposed to capturing them and holding them underwater. Despite this, most trematochampsids are presumed to have been aquatic. [3]

Taxonomy

There has been much controversy surrounding the family's phylogeny, and the group's monophyly has been questioned. [4] Relations between taxa within the family are also poorly understood. Many crocodylomorphs such as Mahajangasuchus , Bergisuchus and Iberosuchus had originally been assigned to Trematochapsidae but have since been assigned to the family Sebecidae or put into their own families. Neogene sebecosuchians of Europe have been reclassified as trematochampsids but have recently been supported as true sebecosuchians as was originally proposed. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Itasuchus had originally been assigned to Trematochapsidae. The phylogenetic analysis of Carvalho et al. (2004) found a sister relations between Malawisuchus and Itasuchus. They named this node family Itasuchidae, and found it to be a member of Peirosauroidea. However, their analysis didn't include any neosuchians or (other than Itasuchus) trematochampsids. [9] All more recent phylogenetic analyses found a close relations between Trematochapsidae and Peirosauridae, [7] [8] and the two clades might be synonymous. [10] [11] Recent studies suggest that Itasuchus is a trematochampsid (and not closely related to the more derived notosuchian Malawisuchus). [10] [11] [12] In 2012, the new trematochampsid Barreirosuchus was described from the Bauru Basin as Itasuchus and it shares with it, and with Caririsuchus camposi from the Araripe Basin, several synapomorphies that are absent in other trematochampsids and peirosaurids. [12] The cladistic analysis of Rukwasuchus found Trematochampsa a member of Peirosauridae. [13]

More recently, Trematochampsa taqueti was declared a nomen dubium by Meunier and Larsson (2018), who found that the materials assigned to it were from several different taxa. They also recommended that the taxon Trematochampsidae be abandoned. [14]

Related Research Articles

The Bajo de la Carpa Formation is a geologic formation of the Neuquén Basin that crops out in northern Patagonia, in the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, Argentina. It is the oldest of two formations belonging to the Río Colorado Subgroup within the Neuquén Group. Formerly, that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Bajo de la Carpa Formation was known as the Bajo de la Carpa Member.

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

Simosuchus is an extinct genus of notosuchian crocodylomorphs from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. It is named for its unusually short skull. Fully grown individuals were about 0.75 metres (2.5 ft) in length. The type species is Simosuchus clarki, found from the Maevarano Formation in Mahajanga Province, although some fossils have been found in India.

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

Mahajangasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliform which had blunt, conical teeth. The type species, M. insignis, lived during the Late Cretaceous; its fossils have been found in the Maevarano Formation in northern Madagascar. It was a fairly large predator, measuring up to 4 metres (13 ft) long.

Trematochampsa is a dubious extinct genus of crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous In Beceten Formation of Niger.

Elosuchus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Middle Cretaceous of what is now Africa.

<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">Peirosauridae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

Peirosauridae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Cretaceous period. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms that evolved a rather dog-like form, and were terrestrial carnivores. It was phylogenetically defined in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of Peirosaurus and Lomasuchinae and all of its descendants. Lomasuchinae is a subfamily of peirosaurids that includes the genus Lomasuchus.

<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.

The Adamantina Formation is a geological formation in the Bauru Basin of western São Paulo state, in southeastern Brazil.

Pabwehshi is an extinct genus of mesoeucrocodylian. It is based on GSP-UM 2000, a partial snout and corresponding lower jaw elements, with another snout assigned to it. These specimens were found in Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous rocks of the Pab Formation in Balochistan, Pakistan, and represent the first diagnostic crocodyliform fossils from Cretaceous rocks of South Asia. Pabwehshi had serrated interlocking teeth in its snout that formed a "zig-zag" cutting edge. Pabwehshi was named in 2001 by Jeffrey A. Wilson and colleagues. The type species is P. pakistanensis, in reference to the nation where it was found. It was traditionally classified as a baurusuchid closely related to Cynodontosuchus and Baurusuchus. Larsson and Sues (2007) found close affinity between Pabwehshi and the Peirosauridae within Sebecia. Montefeltro et al.Pabwehshi has a sagittal torus on its maxillary palatal shelves – a character that is absent in baurusuchids – but they did not include Pabwehshi in their phylogenetic analysis.

Stolokrosuchus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodylomorph that lived during the Early Cretaceous. Its fossils, including a skull with a long thin snout and bony knobs on the prefrontal, have been found in Niger. Stolokrosuchus was described in 2000 by Hans Larsson and Boubacar Gado. The type species is S. lapparenti. They initially described it as related to Peirosauridae, if not a member of that family. One study has shown it to be related to Elosuchus. However, more recent works usually find Stolokrosuchus to be one of the basalmost neosuchian, only distantly related to the elosuchid or pholidosaurid, Elosuchus. It was a semiaquatic crocodylomorph.

Lomasuchus is an extinct genus of peirosaurid notosuchian known from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén Province, western central Argentina. It contains a single species, Lomasuchus palpebrosus.

Peirosaurus is an extinct genus of peirosaurid crocodylomorph known from the Late Cretaceous period of Minas Gerais, southern Brazil. It contains a single species, Peirosaurus torminni. It is the type genus of the family Peirosauridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metasuchia</span> Clade of reptiles

Metasuchia is a major clade within the superorder Crocodylomorpha. It is split into two main groups, Ziphosuchia and Neosuchia. Notosuchia is an extinct group that contains primarily small-bodied Cretaceous taxa with heterodont dentition. Neosuchia includes the extant crocodylians and basal taxa, such as peirosaurids and pholidosaurids. It is phylogenetically defined by Sereno et al. (2001) as a clade containing Notosuchus terrestris, Crocodylus niloticus, and all descendants of their common ancestor.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziphosuchia</span> Extinct clade of reptiles

Ziphosuchia is a clade of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms that includes notosuchians and sebecosuchians.

Itasuchidae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Cretaceous period. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms that evolved a rather dog-like form, and were terrestrial carnivores.

Gasparinisuchus is an extinct genus of peirosaurid notosuchian known from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén and Mendoza Provinces, western central Argentina. It contains a single species, Gasparinisuchus peirosauroides.

Rukwasuchus is an extinct genus of peirosaurid mesoeucrocodylian known from the middle Cretaceous Galula Formation of southwestern Tanzania. It contains a single species, Rukwasuchus yajabalijekundu.

References

  1. Kellner, A.W.A. and Campos, D. A. (1999). Vertebrate Paleontology in Brazil - a review. Episodes, vol. 22, p. 238-251.
  2. Buckley, G. A., and Brochu, C. A. (1999). An enigmatic new crocodile from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar. In Unwin, D. (ed.), Cretaceous Fossil Vertebrates: Special Papers in Palaeontology No. 60, The Palaeontological Association (London), p. 149-175.
  3. Rogers, Raymond R.; Krause, David W.; Curry Rogers, Kristina; Rasoamiaramanana, Armand H.; & Rahantarisoa, Lydia. (2007). Paleoenvironment and Paleoecology of Majungasaurus crenatissimus (Theropoda: Abelisauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(sp8): 21-31.
  4. Gasparini, Z., Chiappe, L. M. and Fernandez, M (1991).A New Senonian Peirosaurid (Crocodylomorpha) from Argentina and a Synopsis of the South American Cretaceous crocodilians. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 11(3): 316-333.
  5. Buckley, G. A., and Brochu, C. A. (1999). An enigmatic new crocodile from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar. In Unwin, D. (ed.), Cretaceous Fossil Vertebrates: Special Papers in Palaeontology No. 60, The Palaeontological Association (London), p. 149-175.
  6. Turner, A. H. and Calvo, J. O. (2005). A new sebecosuchian crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(1): 87–98.
  7. 1 2 Turner, Alan H.; Sertich, Joseph J. W. (2010). "Phylogenetic history of Simosuchus clarki (Crocodyliformes: Notosuchia) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (6, Memoir 10): 177–236. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.532348. S2CID   86737170.
  8. 1 2 Diego Pol; Juan M. Leardi; Agustina Lecuona; Marcelo Krause (2012). "Postcranial anatomy of Sebecus icaeorhinus (Crocodyliformes, Sebecidae) from the Eocene of Patagonia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (2): 328–354. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.646833. S2CID   86565764.
  9. Carvalho, I.S.; Ribeiro, L.C.B.; Avilla, L.S. (2004). "Uberabasuchus terrificus sp. nov., a new Crocodylomorpha from the Bauru Basin (Upper Cretaceous), Brazil" (PDF). Gondwana Research . 7 (4): 975–1002. Bibcode:2004GondR...7..975C. doi:10.1016/S1342-937X(05)71079-0. ISSN   1342-937X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06.
  10. 1 2 Agustín G. Martinelli, Joseph J.W. Sertich, Alberto C. Garrido and Ángel M. Praderio (2012). "A new peirosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina: Implications for specimens referred to Peirosaurus torminni Price (Crocodyliformes: Peirosauridae)". Cretaceous Research. 37: 191–200. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.03.017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. 1 2 Bronzati, M.; Montefeltro, F. C.; Langer, M. C. (2012). "A species-level supertree of Crocodyliformes". Historical Biology. 24 (6): 598–606. doi:10.1080/08912963.2012.662680. S2CID   53412111.
  12. 1 2 Fabiano Vidoi Iori & Karina Lucia Garcia (2012). "Barreirosuchus franciscoi, um novo Crocodylomorpha Trematochampsidae da Bacia Bauru, Brasil". Revista Brasileira de Geociências . 42 (2): 397–410. doi: 10.5327/z0375-75362012000200013 .
  13. a b c d e Sertich, J. J. W.; O’Connor, P. M. (2014). "A new crocodyliform from the middle Cretaceous Galula Formation, southwestern Tanzania". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (3): 576. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.819808.
  14. Meunier, Louise M V; Larsson, Hans C E (2018). "Trematochampsa taqueti as a nomen dubium and the crocodyliform diversity of the Upper Cretaceous In Beceten Formation of Niger". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (3): 659–680. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx061.