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Thalattosuchia
Thalattosuchia is a clade of mostly marine crocodylomorphs from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous that had a cosmopolitan distribution. They are colloquially referred to as marine crocodiles or sea crocodiles, though they are not members of Crocodilia and records from Thailand and China suggest that some members lived in freshwater. The clade contains two major subgroupings, the Teleosauroidea and Metriorhynchoidea. Teleosauroids are not greatly specialised for oceanic life, with back osteoderms similar to other crocodyliformes. Within Metriorhynchoidea, the Metriorhynchidae displayed extreme adaptions for life in the open ocean, including the transformation of limbs into flippers, the development of a tail fluke, and smooth, scaleless skin, and probably gave Viviparity, live birth, seemingly uniquely among archosaurs. Taxonomy The term Thalattosuchia was coined by Fraas in 1901.Fraas E. 1901. Die Meerkrokodile (Thalattosuchia n. g.) eine neue Sauriergruppe der Juraform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metriorhynchidae
Metriorhynchidae is an extinct family of specialized, aquatic metriorhynchoid crocodyliforms from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous period ( Bajocian to early Aptian) of Europe, North America and South America. The name Metriorhynchidae was coined by the Austrian zoologist Leopold Fitzinger in 1843.Fitzinger LJFJ. 1843. ''Systema Reptilium''. Wien: Braumüller et Seidel, 106 pp. The group contains two subfamilies, the Metriorhynchinae and the Geosaurinae. They represent the most marine adapted of all archosaurs. Description Metriorhynchids are fully aquatic crocodyliforms. Their forelimbs were small and paddle-like, and unlike living crocodylians, they lost their osteoderms ("armour scutes"). Their body shape maximised hydrodynamy (swimming efficiency), as they did have a shark-like tail fluke. Like ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turnersuchus
''Turnersuchus'' is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian, a group of marine crocodylomorphs, from the Pliensbachian of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest diagnostic member of Thalattosuchia and was also found to be the group's most basal member, being situated outside the two major groups Metriorhynchoidea and Teleosauroidea. Subsequently, this genus is considered to be of great importance to understanding the relationship between thalattosuchians and other crocodylomorphs as well as their rapid diversification during the early Jurassic. ''Turnersuchus'' is a monotypic genus, meaning it includes only a single species, ''Turnersuchus hingleyae''. History and naming The fossils of ''Turnersuchus'' were discovered in 2017 within the Belemnite Marl Member of the British Charmouth Mudstone Formation in Dorset and the specimens were recorded under the West Dorset Fossil Collecting Code due to their rarity. The holotype, LYMPH 2021/45, is preserved in five large blocks with several ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cricosaurus
''Cricosaurus'' is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliforms of the Late Jurassic. belonging to the family Metriorhynchidae. The genus was established by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1858 for three skulls from the Tithonian (Late Jurassic) of Germany. The name ''Cricosaurus'' means "Ring lizard", and is derived from the Greek '- ("ring") and -' ("lizard"). It was a relatively small reptile, with ''C. suevicus'' and ''C. araucanensis'' measuring and in total body length, respectively. Discovery ''Cricosaurus'' was first named by Wagner in 1858,Wagner A. 1858. Zur Kenntniss der Saurier aus den lithographischen Schiefern. ''Abhandlungen der Mathemat.-Physikalischen Classe der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften'' 8: 415-528. as a reclassification of a specimen he had previously described in 1852 ("Stenosaurus" ''elegans'', "Stenosaurus" being a misspelling of ''Steneosaurus'').Wagner A. 1852. Neu-aufgefundene Saurier-Überreste aus dem lithographischen Schiefern und ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metriorhynchus Brevirostris
''Metriorhynchus'' is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform that lived in the oceans during the Late Jurassic. The type species, ''M. brevirostris'' was named in 1829 as a species of ''Steneosaurus'' before being named as a separate genus by the German palaeontologist Christian von Meyer in 1832. The name ''Metriorhynchus'' means "moderate snout", and is derived from the Greek ''Metrio''- ("moderate") and -''rhynchos'' ("snout"). Discovery and species Fossil specimens referrable to ''Metriorhynchus'' are known from Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) deposits of France. Valid species Only one valid species is recognized today, the type species ''M. geoffroyii'' (now called ''M. brevirostris''). ''"Metriorhynchus" hastifer'' and ''"M." palpebrosus'' are generically distinct from the ''Metriorhynchus'' type species, with ''hastifer'' being recovered as a geosaurine. Species in this genus were traditionally classed into two skull groups: longirostrine (long, narrow jaws) and brevirost ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelagosaurus
''Pelagosaurus'' (meaning "lizard of the open sea") is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 Ma to 176 Ma (million years ago), in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe. The systematic taxonomy of ''Pelagosaurus'' has been fiercely disputed over the years, and was assigned to Thalattosuchia after its systematics within Teleosauridae were disputed. ''Pelagosaurus'' measured long. Discovery ''Pelagosaurus'' was originally described from a specimen from Normandy, but the holotype for ''P. typus'' was discovered north of the town of Ilminster in Somerset, England. Most ''Pelagosaurus'' remains have been found in the Ilminster area, but numerous other remains, predominantly skulls and articulated skeletons, have been found around Western Europe in locations such as France, Germany, and Switzerland. Specimens from the Somerset region come primarily from the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machimosaurus
''Machimosaurus'' is an extinct genus of machimosaurid crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian and Tithonian) and Early Cretaceous. The type species, ''Machimosaurus hugii'', was found in Switzerland. Other fossils have been found in England, France, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and Tunisia.Steel R. 1973. ''Crocodylia. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie, Teil 16''. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag,116 pp. ''Machimosaurus rex'' is the largest named teleosauroid and thalattosuchian, with an estimated length of up to (skull length ). ''Machimosaurus'' is the largest known crocodyliform of the Jurassic. Discovery and species Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1837 named isolated conical, blunt teeth with numerous longitudinal lines from Switzerland, ''Madrimosaurus hugii''. However, in 1838, realising he had misspelled the name, he emended ''Madrimosaurus'' to ''Machimosaurus'', from the Greek ''machimoi'', ancient Egyptian troops deployed during the Ptolemaic Dynasty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metriorhynchoidea
Metriorhynchoidea is an extinct superfamily of thalattosuchian crocodyliforms from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous (Toarcian - Valanginian, possibly as late as early Aptian) of Europe, North America and South America. Metriorhynchids are fully aquatic crocodyliforms. Named by Fitzinger, in 1843, it contains the basal taxa like '' Teleidosaurus'', '' Zoneait'' and '' Eoneustes'' and the family Metriorhynchidae. An unnamed taxon is known from Chile. Phylogeny Metriorhynchoidea is a stem-based taxon defined in the ''PhyloCode'' by Mark T. Young and colleagues in 2024 as "the largest clade within Thalattosuchia containing '' Metriorhynchus brevirostris'', but not '' Teleosaurus cadomensis'' and '' Macrospondylus bollensis''". The more derived clade Euthalattosuchia was named by Young and colleagues in 2024 to contain those thalattosuchians with both cranial and postcranial adaptations to a fully marine lifestye. It is defined in the ''PhyloCode'' as the "smallest clade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodylomorph
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 du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teleosauroidea
Teleosauroidea is an extinct superfamily of thalattosuchian crocodyliforms living from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. It is phylogenetically defined by Mark T. Young and colleagues in 2024 in the ''PhyloCode'' as "the largest clade within Thalattosuchia containing '' Teleosaurus cadomensis'', but not '' Metriorhynchus brevirostris''". This group contains two main families, the more piscivorous A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that primarily eats fish. Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evolution (via water-bound amphibians during the Devonian period); insectivory came next; then in time, the more terrestrially adapted rept ... and gracile Teleosauridae and the more macropredatory and robust Machimosauridae. References Thalattosuchia Animal superfamilies {{Paleo-archosaur-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macrospondylus Bollensis
''Macrospondylus'' is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of Europe. Fossils are known from the Posidonia Shale of Germany, the Whitby Mudstone of the United Kingdom, and the "'' schistes bitumineux"'' of Luxembourg. Evolutionary relationships ''Macrospondylus'' has historically been synonymized with ''Steneosaurus''. A 2005 phylogenetic analysis of Thalattosuchia, however, did not support the monophyly of ''Steneosaurus'', as the genera '' Machimosaurus'' and ''Teleosaurus'' both fell within ''Steneosaurus''. Reinforcing the paraphyly of ''Steneosaurus'', Young et al. (2012), Ősi et al. (2018), and Wilberg et al. (2019) recovered ''Steneosaurus bollensis'' and other ''Steneosaurus'' species in disparate positions within Teleosauridae. In 2016, its length was estimated at , making it the largest known Early Jurassic crocodylomorph. In 2020, the genus was formally revived. Palaeobiology ''M. bollensis'' exhibited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thalattosuchus Superciliosus
''Thalattosuchus'' is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform that lived in the oceans during the Middle to Late Jurassic. Though the genus ''Thalattosuchus'' itself was named in 2020, its fossils have historically been included under the well known name '' Metriorhynchus'' as the species ''M. superciliosus'', from which much of the research on the latter genus has been based upon. ''M. superciliosus'' was named as its own genus after a team of palaeontologists led by Mark Young in 2020 argued that the name ''Metriorhynchus'' could only be definitively applied to the type species, ''M. geoffroyii'', and named ''Thalattosuchus'' ("sea crocodile", and from its parent group Thalattosuchia). Not all researchers have accepted this split, and in 2022 another team led by Jonas le Mort have proposed ''Thalattosuchus'' be syonymised back into ''Metriorhynchus''. ''Thalattosuchus'' was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea. No ''Thalattosuchus'' eggs or nests have b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machimosauridae
Machimosauridae is an extinct family of teleosauroid thalattosuchian crocodyliforms. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License The family was first identified in 2016, when fossils of teleosauroid thalattosuchians, including an indeterminate close relative of '' Lemmysuchus'' and '' Machimosaurus'', were described from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Morocco. The family was largely expanded in 2020 when the systematics of Teleosauroidea were re-reviewed. Members of this family generally were larger than the teleosaurids. Classification Machimosauridae is a diverse group of teleosauroids, phylogenetically defined in the ''PhyloCode'' by Mark T. Young and colleagues as "the largest clade within Teleosauroidea containing '' Machimosaurus hugii'', but not ''Teleosaurus cadomensis''." The less inclusive subfamily Machimosaurinae is defined in the ''PhyloCode'' as "the largest clade within Teleosauroidea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
