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Notosuchians
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahajangasuchidae
Mahajangasuchidae is an extinct family (biology), family of notosuchian crocodyliforms. It currently contains two genera, ''Mahajangasuchus'' and ''Kaprosuchus'', both of which lived during the Late Cretaceous in Gondwana. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing ''Mahajangasuchus insignis'' but not ''Notosuchus, Notosuchus terrestris'', ''Simosuchus, Simosuchus clarki'', ''Araripesuchus, Araripesuchus gomesii'', ''Baurusuchus, Baurusuchus pachecoi'', ''Peirosaurus, Peirosaurus torminni'', ''Goniopholis, Goniopholis crassidens'', ''Pholidosaurus, Pholidosaurus schaumbergensis'', or ''Crocodylus niloticus''. Phylogenetically, Mahajangasuchidae is placed just outside Pholidosauridae, pholidosaurids and more derived neosuchians. Defining characters of the family include fused nasal bone, nasals, a jaw articulation below the posterior maxillary tooth row, a deep mandibular symphysis that is oriented anterodorsally, and the formation of a hornlike posterodorsal process fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period (geology), Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 161.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations containing land animal fossils include the Forest Marble Formation in England, the Kilmaluag Formation in Scotland,British Geological Survey. 2011Stratigraphic framework for the Middle Jurassic strata of Great Britain and the adjoining continental shelf: research report RR/11/06 British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham. the Calcaire de Caen of France, the Daohugou Beds in China, the Itat Formation in Russia, the Tiouraren Formation of Niger, and the Isalo III Formation of western Madagascar. Rocks of the Middle Jurassic were formerly (until about 1980s) in Europe called ''Dogger'' or ''Brown Jurassic''. Paleogeography During the Middle Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea began to separate into Laurasia and Gond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brasileosaurus
''Brasileosaurus'' (meaning "Brazil lizard") is a genus of notosuchid notosuchian from the Late Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of Brazil. The type species is ''B. pachecoi'', discovered by the Brazilian Eng. Joviano Pacheco and described by the prolific German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1931. ''Brasileosaurus'' is not to be confused with the mesosaur '' Brazilosaurus''. Classification Although originally classified as a coelurosaur in the original description, it was later recognized as being a crocodylomorph, possibly synonymous with '' Uruguaysuchus''. In his description of ''Sebecus'', George Gaylord Simpson George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 – October 6, 1984) was an American paleontologist. Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century, and a major participant in the modern synthesis, contributing '' Tempo ... assigned ''Brasileosaurus'' to Notosuchidae, noting similarities with members of Mesoeucrocodylia.Simpso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ninth and longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin , 'chalk', which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation . The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high Sea level#Local and eustatic, eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow Inland sea (geology), inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was largely ice-free, although there is some evidence of brief periods of glaciation during the cooler first half, and forests extended to the poles. Many of the dominant taxonomic gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the second and middle period of the Mesozoic, Mesozoic Era as well as the eighth period of the Phanerozoic, Phanerozoic Eon and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified. The start of the Jurassic was marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, associated with the eruption of the Central Atlantic magmatic province, Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). The beginning of the Toarcian Age started around 183 million years ago and is marked by the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, a global episode of Anoxic event, oceanic anoxia, ocean acidification, and elevated global temperatures associated with extinctions, likely caused by the eruption of the Kar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylomorpha
Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. Extinct crocodylomorphs were considerably more ecologically diverse than modern crocodillians. The earliest and most primitive crocodylomorphs are represented by " sphenosuchians", a paraphyletic assemblage containing small-bodied, slender forms with elongated limbs that walked upright, which represents the ancestral morphology of Crocodylomorpha. These forms persisted until the end of the Jurassic. During the Jurassic, crocodylomorphs morphologically diversified into numerous niches, with the subgroups Neosuchia (which includes modern crocodilians) and the extinct Thalattosuchia adapting to aquatic life, while some terrestrial groups adopted herbivorous and omnivorous lifestyles. Terrestrial crocodylomorphs would continue to co-exist alongside aquatic forms until becoming extinct d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia is the clade that includes Eusuchia and crocodyliforms formerly placed in the paraphyletic group Mesosuchia. The group appeared during the Early Jurassic, and continues to the present day. Diagnosis It was long known that Mesosuchia was an evolutionary grade, a hypothesis confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis of Benton and Clark (1988) which demonstrated that Eusuchia (which includes all living crocodylian species) was nested within Mesosuchia. Due to the paraphyly of Mesosuchia, Mesoeucrocodylia was erected to replace Mesosuchia. Several anatomical characteristics differentiate Mesoeucrocodylia from the other crocodylomorph clades. The frontal bones of the skull are fused together into a single compound element, for example. Mesoeucrocodylians possess something of a secondary palate, formed by the posterior extension of sutured palatine bones. The otic aperture of the members of this clade is blocked posteriorly by the squamosal bone. Classification Phy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zealandia, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent. Gondwana was formed by the Accretion (geology), accretion of several cratons (large stable blocks of the Earth's crust), beginning with the East African Orogeny, the collision of India and Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar with East Africa, and culminating in with the overlapping Brasiliano orogeny, Brasiliano and Kuunga orogeny, Kuunga orogenies, the collision of South America with Africa, and the addition of Australia and Antarctica, respectively. Eventually, Gondwana became the largest piece of continental crust of the Paleozoic Era, covering an area of some , about one-fifth of the Earth's surface. It fused with Laurasia during the Carboniferous to form Pan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy adopted by most biological fields. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or Extant taxon, extant). Clades are nested, one in another, as each branch in turn splits into smaller branches. These splits reflect evolutionary history as populations diverged and evolved independently. Clades are termed ''monophyletic'' (Greek: "one clan") groups. Over the last few decades, the cladistic approach has revolutionized biological classification and revealed surprising evolutionary relationships among organisms. Increasingly, taxonomists try to avoid naming Taxon, taxa that are not clades; that is, taxa that are not Monophyly, monophyletic. Some of the relationships between organisms that the molecul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphagesauridae
Sphagesauridae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodilians that evolved very mammal-like teeth and jaws.MARINHO, T.S. & CARVALHO, I.S. Revision of the Sphagesauridae KUHN, 1968 (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia). In: CARVALHO, I.S.; CASSAB, R.C.T.; SCHWANKE, C.; CARVALHO, M.A.; FERNANDES, A.C.S.; RODRIGUES, M.A.; CARVALHO, M.S.S.; ARAI, M.; OLIVEIRA, M.E.Q. (Orgs.). Paleontologia: Cenários de Vida. 1 ed. Rio de Janeiro: Interciência, 2007, v.1, p.589-599.Pol D. 2003. New remains of ''Sphagesaurus huenei'' (Crocodylomorpha: Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 23 (4): 817–831. Both '' Sphagesaurus'' and '' Adamantinasuchus'' are known from the Turonian to Santonian of Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Notosuchus
''Notosuchus'' (; 'southern crocodile') is an extinct genus of South American notosuchian crocodyliforms. It was terrestrial, living approximately 85 million years ago in the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Description ''Notosuchus'' was relatively small, reaching in length and a weight of . Remains have been found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation in Patagonia, Argentina. First named in 1896, ''Notosuchus'' was the first known notosuchian. The type species is ''N. terrestris''. A second species, ''N. lepidus'', was named in 1957. A paper published in 2008 by Fiorelli and Calvo described new remains of the type species ''N. terrestris''. In it, the authors suggested that the skull would have supported a short trunk, or "hog's snout" as well as fleshy upper and lower lips. The anteriorly directed nares and the absence of a bony nasal septum (which presumably indicates cartilaginous tissue serving its place) provide evidence for a trunk-like snout, while striations on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mariliasuchus
''Mariliasuchus'' ("Marilia crocodile") is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous notosuchian crocodyliforms found near Marilia, Brazil. The first bone remains were found and collected in 1995 by Brazilian paleontologist William Nava, in red rocks from the fossiliferous Adamantina Formation.''Mariliasuchus'' at .org Four years later, it was described as ''Mariliasuchus amarali'', by Brazilian s Ismar de Souza Carvalho and Reinaldo J. Bertini. Its type species ''M. amarali'', in honour of Sérgio Estanislaw do Amaral, Brazilian |
