''Crocodylus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of true crocodiles in the family

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 even more loosely to include all extant ...

Taxonomy

The generic name, ''Crocodylus'', was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. ''Crocodylus'' contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species. There are additional extinct species attributed to the genus ''Crocodylus'' that studies have shown no longer belong, although they have not yet been reassigned to new

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

Extant species

The 13–14 living species are:

Fossils

''Crocodylus'' also includes five extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

: * † '' Crocodylus anthropophagus'' is an extinct crocodile from Plio-Pleistocene of Tanzania. * † '' Crocodylus checchiai'' is an extinct crocodile from Late Miocene of Kenya. * † '' Crocodylus falconensis'' is an extinct crocodile from Early Pliocene of Venezuela. * † '' Crocodylus palaeindicus'' is an extinct crocodile the Miocene to the Pleistocene of southern Asia. * † '' Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni'' is an extinct crocodile from Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya.

Evolution

''Crocodylus'' likely originated in Africa and radiated outwards towards Southeast Asia and the Americas, although an Australia/Asia origin has also been considered.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

evidence supports ''Crocodylus'' diverging from its closest recent relative, the extinct '' Voay'' of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, around 25 million years ago, near the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

boundary.

Phylogeny

A 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular ( DNA sequencing), and

stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers ( strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostr ...

(

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

age) data established the inter-relationships within

. In 2021, Hekkala ''et al.'' were able to use paleogenomics, extracting DNA from the extinct '' Voay'', to better establish the relationships within Crocodylidae, including the subfamilies Crocodylinae and Osteolaeminae. The below

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

shows the results of the latest study:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q309495 Crocodylidae Extant Miocene first appearances Reptile genera Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti