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2025 In Archosaur Paleontology
This article records new taxa of fossil Archosaur, archosaurs of every kind that are scheduled Binomial nomenclature, described during the year 2025, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of archosaurs that are scheduled to occur in the year 2025. Pseudosuchians New pseudosuchian taxa General pseudosuchian research * Fitch, Kammerer & Sterling Nesbitt, Nesbitt (2025) describe Femur, femora of Poposauroidea, poposauroids similar to ''Poposaurus, Poposaurus gracilis'' from the Cumnock Formation, Cumnock and Pekin Formation, Pekin formations (Chatham Group; North Carolina, United States), expanding known geographical range of Late Triassic poposauroids. * McDavid (2025) discusses the validity and authorship of the name ''Prestosuchus'', considering the name ''Huenesuchus'' a junior synonym. Aetosaur research * A study on the histology of osteoderms of ''Stagonolepis, Stagonolepis olenkae'' is published by Błaszczeć & Antczak (2025). ...
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Taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and given a particular ranking, especially if and when it is accepted or becomes established. It is very common, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion, especially in the context of rank-based (" Linnaean") nomenclature (much less so under phylogenetic nomenclature). If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping. Initial attempts at classifying and ordering organisms (plants and animals) were presumably set forth in prehistoric times by hunter-gatherers, as suggested by the fairly sophisticated folk taxonomies. Much later, Aristotle, and later st ...
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Gavialoidea
Gavialoidea is one of three superfamily (zoology), superfamilies of crocodylians, the other two being Alligatoroidea and Crocodyloidea. Although many extinct species are known, only the gharial ''Gavialis gangeticus'' and the false gharial ''Tomistoma schlegelii'' are alive today, with ''Hanyusuchus'' having become extinct in the last few centuries. Extinct South American gavialoids likely Dispersal (ecology), dispersed in the mid Tertiary period, Tertiary from Africa and Asia. Fossil remains of the Puerto Rican gavialoid ''Aktiogavialis puertorisensis'' were discovered in a cave located in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico and dated to the Oligocene. This individual is thought to have crossed the Atlantic coming from Africa, indicating that this species was able to withstand saltwater. Classification Gavialoidea is Cladistics, cladistically defined as ''Gavialis gangeticus'' (the gharial) and all crocodylians closer to it than to ''Alligator mississippiensis'' (the American alligator) ...
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Cumnock Formation
The Cumnock Formation is a Late Triassic-age geologic formation in North Carolina. It is found in the Sanford sub-basin of the Deep River Basin, the southernmost of the large Mesozoic basins forming the Newark Supergroup. It is the middle unit of the Chatham Group, overlying the Pekin Formation and underlying the Sanford Formation. Both of these encompassing formations are primarily red sandstone. The Cumnock Formation, on the other hand, represents a sequence of darker lacustrine (lake) or paludal (swampy/marshy) sediments deposited in a tropical climate. These primarily include shales and coal, with some thin layers of coarser sediment such as siltstone and sandstone. The formation preserves some fossils, including a diverse assemblage of microvertebrates (tiny fragments of vertebrate fossils) from a quarry near Moncure, NC. Palynology and general geological characteristics suggest that the Cumnock Formation is equivalent in age to the Cow Branch Formation of the Dan River/ ...
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Poposaurus
''Poposaurus'' is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur from the Late Triassic of the southwestern and eastern United States. It belongs to the clade Poposauroidea, an unusual group of Triassic pseudosuchians that includes sail-backed, beaked, and aquatic forms. Fossils have been found in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Texas, and Virginia. Except for the skull, most parts of the skeleton are known. The type species, ''P. gracilis'', was described and named by Maurice Goldsmith Mehl in 1915. A second species, ''P. langstoni'', was originally the type species of the genus ''Lythrosuchus''. Since it was first described, ''Poposaurus'' has been variously classified as a dinosaur, a phytosaur, and a "rauisuchian". Like theropod dinosaurs, ''Poposaurus'' was an obligate biped, meaning that it walked on two legs rather than four. However, as a pseudosuchian, it is more closely related to living crocodilians than to dinosaurs. ''Poposaurus'' is thought to have evolved this form of locomot ...
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Poposauroidea
Poposauroidea is a clade of advanced Pseudosuchian, pseudosuchians. It includes poposaurids, Shuvosaurinae, shuvosaurids, ctenosauriscids, and other unusual pseudosuchians such as ''Qianosuchus'' and ''Lotosaurus''. It excludes most large predatory quadrupedal "Rauisuchia, rauisuchians" such as rauisuchids and "prestosuchids". Those reptiles are now allied with Crocodylomorpha, crocodylomorphs (crocodile ancestors) in a clade known as Loricata, which is the Sister group, sister taxon to the poposauroids in the clade Paracrocodylomorpha. Although it was first formally defined in 2007, the name "Poposauroidea" has been used for many years. The group has been referred to as Poposauridae by some authors, although this name is often used more narrowly to refer to the family that includes ''Poposaurus'' and its close relatives. It was phylogenetically defined in 2011 by Sterling Nesbitt as ''Poposaurus gracilis'' and all taxa more closely related to it than to ''Postosuchus kirkpatricki' ...
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Femur
The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femoral head, top of the femur fits into a socket in the pelvis called the hip joint, and the bottom of the femur connects to the shinbone (tibia) and kneecap (patella) to form the knee. In humans the femur is the largest and thickest bone in the body. Structure The femur is the only bone in the upper Human leg, leg. The two femurs converge Anatomical terms of location, medially toward the knees, where they articulate with the Anatomical terms of location, proximal ends of the tibiae. The angle at which the femora converge is an important factor in determining the femoral-tibial angle. In females, thicker pelvic bones cause the femora to converge more than in males. In the condition genu valgum, ''genu valgum'' (knock knee), the femurs conve ...
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Sterling Nesbitt
Sterling Nesbitt (born March 25, 1982, in Mesa, Arizona) is an American paleontologist best known for his work on the origin and early evolutionary patterns of archosaurs. He is currently an associate professor at Virginia Tech in the Department of Geosciences. Biography Sterling Nesbitt received his B.A. in integrative biology with a minor in geology from the University of California Berkeley in 2004. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 2009, completing the majority of his research at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He subsequently held postdoctoral researcher positions at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington, and the Field Museum. He is currently an associate professor in thDepartment of Geosciencesat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. He is also a research associate/affiliate of the American Museum of Natural History, the Vertebrate Paleontology Lab at The University of Texas at Austin, the Virginia M ...
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Notosuchia
Notosuchia is a clade of primarily Gondwanan mesoeucrocodylian Crocodylomorpha, crocodylomorphs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Some phylogeny, phylogenies recover Sebecosuchia as a clade within Notosuchia, others as a sister group (see #Phylogeny, below); if Sebecosuchia is included within Notosuchia its existence is pushed into the Late Miocene or Zanclean, Early Pliocene, about 7 to 4.5 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, mammal-like teeth, flexible bands of shield-like body armor similar to those of armadillos (''Armadillosuchus''), and possibly fleshy cheeks and Pig, pig-like snouts (''Notosuchus''). Th ...
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Quiricó Formation
The Quiricó Formation is a geological formation of the Areado Group in Minas Gerais, Brazil whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous (Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...).Sgarbi, 2000 Many occurrences of fossils are reported in the lacustrine deposits of the Quiricó Formation. Fossil content Dinosaurs Sauropods Theropoda Crocodylomorphs Squamates Crustacean Fish References Bibliography * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quirico Formation Geologic formations of Brazil Lower Cretaceous Series of South America Cretaceous Brazil Aptian Stage Sandstone formations Shale formations Lacustrine deposits Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of South America Paleontology in Brazil Formations ...
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Thilastikosuchus
''Thilastikosuchus'' is an extinct genus of candidodontid notosuchian from the Early Cretaceous Quiricó Formation of Brazil. It is regarded as the oldest known notosuchian from the country and possibly the oldest known notosuchian known from South America. ''Thilastikosuchus'' is most closely related to '' Lavocatchampsa'', ''Pakasuchus'' and '' Malawisuchus''. The genus is monotypic, only containing the species ''Thilastikosuchus scutorectangularis''. History and naming The genus ''Thilastikosuchus'' was described in 2025 on the basis of specimen FUP-Pv-000019, a well preserved articulated skeleton of a juvenile individual discovered in the Sanfranciscana Basin of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The red sandstone where the fossil originates from is assigned to the Quiricó Formation and date to the Early Cretaceous, likely the Barremian to Aptian, making ''Thilastikosuchus'' one of the oldest known notosuchians of South America. The name ''Thilastikosuchus'' is a combination of ...
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Tewkensuchus Holotype
''Tewkensuchus'' ("forehead crocodile") is an extinct genus of large-bodied sebecoid notosuchian from the Paleocene of Argentina. The genus was described on the basis of fragmentary skull remains alongside a few vertebrae and finger bones collected from the Salamanca Formation. Though likely a terrestrial predator akin to genera like ''Sebecus'', ''Tewkensuchus'' much more closely resembles European forms such as ''Iberosuchus'', ''Bergisuchus'' and ''Dentaneosuchus''. These European genera form a clade with ''Tewkensuchus'', which appears to be the sister group to the Sebecidae of South America, with both groups being placed in the clade Sebecoidea. Gonzalo Gabriel Bravo and colleagues furthermore note the great size of the animal, which based on its estimated skull length may have weighed around , not only making it larger than the largest definitive sebecosuchians of the Cretaceous but also putting it far above the maximum weight generally assumed for terrestrial species that su ...
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Sebecosuchia
Sebecosuchia (meaning "Sobek crocodiles") 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, but '' Razanandrongobe'' pushes the origin of Sebecosuchia to the Middle Jurassic. The last surviving members of the group, the sebecids, appear to have lasted until the late Miocene or early Pliocene on the Greater Antilles. Fossils have been found primarily from South America but have also been found in Europe, North Africa, Madagascar, and the Indian subcontinent. History and phylogeny Sebecosuchia was first constructed in 1937 by George Gaylord Simpson. In 1946 the concept was again used by American paleontologist Edwin Colbert to include '' Sebecus'' and Baurusuchidae. ''Sebecus'', which had been known from South America since 1937, was an unusual crocodyliform with a deep snout and teeth that were ziphodont, or serrated and ...
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