''Brochuchus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

known from the

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

Hiwegi Formation The Hiwegi Formation is a geological formation on Rusinga Island in Kenya preserving fossils dating to the Early Miocene period. The Hiwegi Formation is known for the well preserved plant fossils it preserves, which indicate a tropical forest envi ...

Rusinga Island Rusinga Island, with an elongated shape approximately 10 miles (16 km) from end to end and 3 miles (5 km) at its widest point, lies in the eastern part of Lake Victoria at the mouth of the Winam Gulf. Part of Kenya, it is linked to Mbita ...

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

; it was originally named as a species of ''

Crocodylus ''Crocodylus'' is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae. Taxonomy The Genus, generic name, ''Crocodylus'', was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. ''Crocodylus'' contains 13–14 extant taxon, extant (living) species ...

''. It contains two species, ''B. parvidens'' and ''B. pigotti''. ''Brochuchus'' belongs to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Crocodylidae Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include all extant membe ...

, which includes all living crocodiles. The closest living relative of ''Brochuchus'' is ''

Osteolaemus ''Osteolaemus'' is a genus of crocodiles. They are small, secretive crocodiles that occur in wetlands of West and Middle Africa. They are commonly known as the African dwarf crocodiles. Unlike other crocodiles, ''Osteolaemus'' are strictly noctur ...

'', 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. The genus was named in honor of

Christopher A. Brochu Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

, 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’, which stems from the word ‘souchos’ (Greek for crocodile), a common suffix for crocodylomorph genera.

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

called

Osteolaeminae 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. Taxonomy Osteolaeminae was named by Christopher Brochu in ...

. This clade is the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

Crocodylinae Crocodylinae is a subfamily of true crocodiles within the family Crocodylidae, and is the sister taxon to Osteolaeminae ( dwarf crocodiles and slender-snouted crocodiles). Taxonomy Crocodylinae was cladistically defined by Christopher Brochu ...

which contains the genus ''

'', which includes most living crocodiles.

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

, ''Brochuchus ''lived alongside several species of

proboscideans Proboscidea (; , ) is a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. Three liv ...

(elephant relatives) and

primates Primates is an order of mammals, which is further divided into the strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorisids; and the haplorhines, which include tarsiers and simians ( monkeys and apes). Primates arose 74–63 ...

, the most famous of which is the early ape ''

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

''. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brochuchus Crocodylidae Miocene crocodylomorphs Miocene reptiles of Africa Fossils of Kenya Fossil taxa described in 2013 Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera