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Alligatorine
Alligatorinae is a subfamily within the family Alligatoridae that contains the alligators and their closest extinct relatives, and is the sister taxon to Caimaninae (the caimans). Many genera in Alligatorinae are described, but only the genus ''Alligator'' is extant, with the remaining being extinct. Evolution Alligators and caimans split in North America during the early Tertiary or late Cretaceous (about 53 million to about 65 million years ago). The Chinese alligator split from the American alligator about 33 million years ago and likely descended from a lineage that crossed the Bering land bridge during the Neogene. The modern American alligator is well represented in the fossil record of the Pleistocene. The alligator's full mitochondrial genome was sequenced in the 1990s. The full genome, published in 2014, suggests that the alligator evolved much more slowly than mammals and birds. Phylogeny Alligatorinae is cladistically defined as ''Alligator mississipp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allognathosuchus
''Allognathosuchus'' (meaning "other jaw crocodile") is an extinct genus of alligatorine crocodylian with a complicated taxonomic history. It was named in 1921. Description ''Allognathosuchus'' was a medium-sized predator up to 1.5 m in length. This alligatorine is known for its stout jaws and bulbous teeth, found near the rear of the tooth row in upper and lower jaws. These adaptations have historically been interpreted as having been for crushing mollusks. Isolated bulbous teeth are often assigned to this genus, although such teeth are known from other crocodyliform lineages. Taxonomy The type species, ''A. polyodon'', is from the Eocene-age Bridger Formation of Wyoming; it is based on fossils that are difficult to distinguish from other Paleogene alligatorids. ''A. heterodon'' is from the Eocene-age Wasatch Formation of Wyoming, ''A. wartheni'' is from the Eocene-age Wildwood Formation (also known as the "Wildwood alligatorid" and possibly two species), and ''A. woute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceratosuchus
''Ceratosuchus'' ("horned crocodile") 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. The type species is ''C. burdoshi'', a name chosen by the Field Museum after Theodore Burdosh discovered a nearly complete skull on an expedition to Western Colorado in 1937. "Fortunately, a knob of bone projecting from an otherwise undistinguished piece of rock had caught the eye of Mr. Burdosh, and the block had been broughtto the Museum. When the rock was chipped away, the insignificant external lump proved to belong to a fairly complete skull of a fossil crocodilian allied to the alligators; and on one posterior c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahdeskatanka
''Ahdeskatanka'' is an extinct genus of Alligatorinae, alligator from the Early Eocene Golden Valley Formation of North Dakota, USA. ''Ahdeskatanka'' had a short, rounded snout with globular teeth that are well-suited for crushing hard-shelled prey, though its exact ecology is not known. ''Ahdeskatanka'' inhabited the vast wetlands that covered much of western North Dakota during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, an environment it shared with at least three other crocodilians. These include the large caiman ''Chrysochampsa'' and at least two unnamed forms, one a large Crocodyloidea, crocodyloid and one more similar to ''Ahdeskatanka''. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that it was an early diverging member of the Alligatorinae, possibly related to ''Allognathosuchus'', though its position is not very stable. Only a single species, ''Ahdeskatanka russlanddeutsche'', is placed in this genus. History and naming ''Ahdeskatanka'' was named in 2024 by Adam Cossette and David Tarailo base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arambourgia
''Arambourgia'' is an extinct monotypic genus of alligatorine crocodylian from Europe. It was named in 1905 as ''Allognathosuchus gaudryi''. It was made a separate genus ''Arambourgia'' in 1940. This was synonymized with '' Allognathosuchus haupti'' in 1990 (now known as '' Hassiacosuchus haupti''), but later reassigned as its own genus once again in 2004. ''Arambourgia'' was likely to have been part of an early dispersal event of alligatorines from North America to Europe during the Eocene epoch. ''Arambourgia'' had non-serrated teeth and a deep orienirostral snout, unlike the flatter snouts of most other alligatorids. Recent studies have consistently resolved ''Arambourgia'' as a member of Alligatorinae, although its relative placement is disputed, as shown by the cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Navajosuchus
''Navajosuchus'' is an extinct genus of alligatorine crocodylian. Its fossils have been found in the Paleocene-age Nacimiento Formation of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico (United States). It was named in 1942 by Charles C. Mook, and the original type species was ''N. novomexicanus''. ''N. novomexicanus'' was based on AMNH 5186, a partial skull collected in 1913. Later research showed that ''Navajosuchus novomexicanus'' was the same as the earlier-named ''Allognathosuchus mooki''. However, ''A. mooki'' does not belong to the genus ''Allognathosuchus'', and so the name of the crocodilian becomes ''Navajosuchus mooki''. Under whichever name is used, this animal would have been a generalized predator of the Nacimiento floodplains. It was the most common Nacimiento Formation crocodilian, found in both the Puercan and Torrejonian faunal assemblages. The precise placement of ''Navajosuchus'' within Alligatoroidea is disputed. Some studies have shown it as a basal member of Alliga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caimans
A caiman ( (also spelled cayman) from Taíno language, Taíno ''kaiman'') is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family (biology), family, the other being alligators. Caimans are native to Central America, Central and South America and inhabit marsh, marshes, swamps, lakes, and mangrove rivers. They have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence. They are relatively small-sized crocodilians with an average maximum weight of depending on species, with the exception of the black caiman (''Melanosuchus niger''), which can grow more than in length and weigh in excess of 450 kg (1,000 Ib). The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin. The smallest species is the Cuvier's dwarf caiman (''Paleosuchus palpebrosus''), which grows to long. There are six different species of caiman found throughout the wate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caimaninae
A caiman ( (also spelled cayman) from Taíno ''kaiman'') is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans are native to Central and South America and inhabit marshes, swamps, lakes, and mangrove rivers. They have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence. They are relatively small-sized crocodilians with an average maximum weight of depending on species, with the exception of the black caiman (''Melanosuchus niger''), which can grow more than in length and weigh in excess of 450 kg (1,000 Ib). The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin. The smallest species is the Cuvier's dwarf caiman (''Paleosuchus palpebrosus''), which grows to long. There are six different species of caiman found throughout the watery jungle habitats of Central and Southern America. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tertiary Period
The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete Period (geology), geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non-bird, avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start of the Cenozoic, Cenozoic Era, and extended to the beginning of the Quaternary glaciation at the end of the Pliocene, Pliocene Epoch. The Tertiary has not been recognised by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) since the late 1980s, with the timespan of the Tertiary now being split in to the earlier Paleogene and the more recent Neogene periods, though the Tertiary continues to be used in some scientific publications. Historical use of the term The term Tertiary was first used by Giovanni Arduino (geologist), Giovanni Arduino during the mid-18th century. He classified geologic time into primitive (or primary), secondary, and tertiary periods based on observations of geology in Northern Italy. Later a fourth period, t ... [...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] |
Chinese Alligator
The Chinese alligator (; ), also known as the Yangtze alligator (), China alligator, or historically the muddy dragon, is a crocodilian endemic to China. It and the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') are the only living species in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. Dark gray or black in color with a fully armored body, the Chinese alligator grows to in length and weighs as an adult. It brumates in burrows in winter and is nocturnal in summer. Mating occurs in early summer, with females most commonly producing 20–30 eggs, which are smaller than those of any other crocodilian. The species is an opportunistic feeder, primarily eating fish and invertebrates. A vocal species, adults bellow during the mating season and young vocalize to communicate with their parents and other juveniles. Captive specimens have reached age 70, and wild specimens can live past 50. Living in bodies of fresh water, the Chinese alligator's range is restricted to six regions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (stratigraphy), Series, the Cretaceous geologic period, Period or system (stratigraphy), System, and of the Mesozoic geologic era, Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from . The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian (part of the Paleogene and Paleocene). It is named after the city of Maastricht, the capital and largest city of the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province in the Netherlands. The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (formerly known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary period, Tertiary extinction event) occurred at the end of this age. In this extinction event, mass extinction, many commonly recognized groups such as non-avian dinosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, as well as many other lesser-kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
