Brochuchus

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Brochuchus
Temporal range: Early Miocene, 20.4–16  Ma [1]
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Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Crocodylidae
Subfamily: Osteolaeminae
Genus: Brochuchus
Conrad et al., 2013 [2]
Type species
Brochuchus pigotti
(Tchernov & Van Couvering, 1978 [originally Crocodylus pigotti]) [3]
Other species
  • B. parvidensCossette et al., 2020 [4]

Brochuchus is an extinct genus of crocodile known from the Early Miocene Hiwegi Formation of Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria, Kenya; it was originally named as a species of Crocodylus . [3] It contains two species, B. parvidens and B. pigotti. Brochuchus belongs to the family Crocodylidae, which includes all living crocodiles. The closest living relative of Brochuchus is Osteolaemus , the dwarf crocodile. Compared to Osteolaemus, which has a small body and blunt snout, Brochuchus has a more generalized crocodylid anatomy. Brochuchus is characterized by a flat and relatively narrow skull, and although it is larger than Osteolaemus it is smaller than most other crocodylids. It has two prominent bumps on the surface of its snout. [2]

Contents

The genus was named in honor of Christopher A. Brochu, for his scientific work on Crocodylia and its relatives. The unusual combination and spelling are intended as an auditory and visual pun such that the ‘ch’ sound in Brochu takes the place of the ‘s’ sound in ‘suchus.’ combined with ‘souchus’ (Greek for crocodile), which is a common suffix for crocodylomorph genera. [2]

Phylogeny

A phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 found that Brochuchus was a close relative of Osteolaemus. Brochuchus and Osteolaemus are part of a clade within Crocodylidae called Osteolaeminae. This clade is the sister taxon to Crocodylinae which contains the genus Crocodylus , which includes most living crocodiles. [2]

Paleobiology

Brochuchus has a generalized crocodylid body form with a long, narrow snout and a robust skeleton. Like most other species within Crocodylidae, Brochuchus was probably predatory and likely spent much of its time in water. As shown by the many mammal fossils that have been found on Rusinga Island, Brochuchus lived alongside several species of proboscideans (elephant relatives) and primates, the most famous of which is the early ape Proconsul . Although there is no direct evidence for what Brochuchus ate, it may have preyed on Proconsul. If this is the case, Brochuchus may have been one of the earliest anthropoidophagous ("ape-eating") crocodilians. [2]

Related Research Articles

Crocodylinae Subfamily of crocodiles

Crocodylinae is a subfamily of true crocodiles within the family Crocodylidae, and is the sister taxon to Osteolaeminae.

<i>Crocodylus</i> Genus of reptiles

Crocodylus is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae.

Dwarf crocodile Species of reptile

The dwarf crocodile, also known as the African dwarf crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile or bony crocodile, is an African crocodile that is also the smallest extant (living) species of crocodile.

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

Ceratosuchus is an extinct genus of alligatorine crocodylian from latest Paleocene rocks of Colorado's Piceance Basin and earliest Eocene rocks of Wyoming's Bighorn Basin in North America, a slice of time known as the Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age. Like its modern relatives, Ceratosuchus was a swamp-dwelling predator. It is named for the pair of flattened, triangular bony plates that extend from the back of its head.

<i>Mecistops</i> Genus of reptiles

Mecistops is a genus of crocodiles, the slender-snouted crocodiles, native to sub-Saharan Africa.

Wannaganosuchus is an extinct genus of small alligatorid crocodylian. It was found in Late Paleocene-age rocks of Billings County, North Dakota, United States.

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

Gavialosuchus is an extinct genus of gavialid crocodylian from the early Miocene of Europe. Currently only one species is recognized, as a few other species of Gavialosuchus have since been reclassified to other genera.

Procaimanoidea is an extinct genus of alligatorid from the Eocene of North America. It was named posthumously in 1946 by Charles W. Gilmore; the type species is P. utahensis, from the Uintan of Utah. It is based on USNM 15996, a nearly complete skull and partial left hind leg. A second species, P. kayi, was named in 1941 by C.C. Mook as a species of Hassiacosuchus, for remains from the Bridgerian of Wyoming. It was reassigned to Procaimanoidea in 1967 by Wassersug and Hecht. Procaimanoidea was a small alligatorid, and slightly heterodont, the last four teeth on each side of the jaws having blunt tips.

Caiman Subfamily of reptiles

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

Allognathosuchus is an extinct genus of alligatorine crocodylian with a complicated taxonomic history. It was named in 1921.

<i>Euthecodon</i> Extinct genus of crocodilian

Euthecodon is an extinct genus of long-snouted crocodylid crocodilians. It was common throughout much of Africa during the Neogene, with fossils being especially common in Kenya. Although superficially resembling that of gharials, the long snout was a trait developed independently from that of other crocodilians and suggests a diet of primarily fish. Euthecodon coexisted with a wide range of other crocodiles in the areas it inhabited before eventually going extinct during the Pleistocene.

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

Voay is an extinct genus of crocodile from Madagascar that lived during the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, containing only one species, V. robustus. Numerous subfossils have been found, including complete skulls, noted for their distinctive pair of horns on the posterior, as well as vertebrae and osteoderms from such places as Ambolisatra and Antsirabe. The genus is thought to have become extinct relatively recently. It has been suggested to have disappeared in the extinction event that wiped out much of the endemic megafauna on Madagascar, such as the elephant bird and Malagasy hippo, following the arrival of humans to Madagascar around 2000 years ago. Its name comes from the Malagasy word for crocodile.

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

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<i>Alligator prenasalis</i> Extinct species of reptile

Alligator prenasalis is an extinct species of alligator from the Late Eocene period. It is well known, with many fossils having been collected from the Chadron and Brule Formations in South Dakota. The species was first named in 1904, but was originally classified as a crocodile in the genus Crocodilus. It was reassigned to the genus Alligator in 1918 on the basis of more complete material. It is the earliest known member of the genus Alligator.

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

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Rimasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodile from the Miocene of Egypt and possibly Libya. Only one species - Rimasuchus lloydi - is currently known. It was previously thought to be a species of Crocodylus, but is now thought to be more closely related to the modern African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus).

Osteolaeminae Subfamily of crocodiles

Osteolaeminae is a subfamily of true crocodiles within the family Crocodylidae containing the dwarf crocodiles and slender-snouted crocodiles, and is the sister taxon to Crocodylinae.

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<i>Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni</i> Species of extinct reptile

Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni is an extinct species of crocodile from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of the Turkana Basin in Kenya. It is closely related to the species Crocodylus anthropophagus, which lived during the same time in Tanzania. C. thorbjarnarsoni could be the largest known true crocodile, with the largest skull found indicating a possible total length up to 7.6 m (25 ft). It may have been a predator of early hominins. Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni was named by Christopher Brochu and Glenn Storrs in 2012 in honor of John Thorbjarnarson, a conservationist who worked to protect endangered crocodilians.

<i>Crocodylus checchiai</i> Extinct species of reptile

Crocodylus checchiai is an extinct species of crocodile from the Miocene to Pliocene of Libya and Kenya. C. checchiai was named in 1947 based on a skull from the Sahabi Formation. Remains from the lower Nawata Formation in the Turkana Basin of Kenya that were first attributed to the Nile crocodile have now been reassigned to C. checchiai, extending its geographic range. The morphology of the species, in particular the pronounced rostral boss, indicates that it may be the connecting link between African and American species of the genus Crocodylus.

References

  1. Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ . 9: e12094. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12094 . PMC   8428266 . PMID   34567843.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Conrad, J. L.; Jenkins, K.; Lehmann, T.; Manthi, F. K.; Peppe, D. J.; Nightingale, S.; Cossette, A.; Dunsworth, H. M.; Harcourt-Smith, W. E. H.; McNulty, K. P. (2013). "New specimens of "Crocodylus" pigotti (Crocodylidae) from Rusinga Island, Kenya, and generic reallocation of the species". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (3): 629. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.743404. S2CID   86141651.
  3. 1 2 E. Tchernov and J. Van Couvering. 1978. New crocodiles from the Early Miocene of Kenya. Palaeontology 21(4):857-867
  4. Adam P. Cossette; Amanda J. Adams; Stephanie K. Drumheller; Jennifer H. Nestler; Brenda R. Benefit; Monte L. McCrossin; Frederick K. Manthi; Rose Nyaboke Juma; Christopher A. Brochu (2020). "A new crocodylid from the middle Miocene of Kenya and the timing of crocodylian faunal change in the late Cenozoic of Africa". Journal of Paleontology. 94 (6): 1165–1179. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.60. S2CID   222232657.