Piscogavialis

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Piscogavialis
Temporal range: Late Miocene,
11.6–5.3 Ma[1]
Piscogavialis 1.jpg
Skull
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Gavialidae
Subfamily: †Gryposuchinae
Genus: †Piscogavialis
Kraus 1998
Type species
†Piscogavialis jugaliperforatus

Piscogavialis is an extinct genus of gryposuchine gavialid crocodylian. The only species yet known is P. jugaliperforatus. Fossils of Piscogavialis have been found from the Mio-Pliocene Pisco Formation of the in southern Peru in 1998.[2] It is the first reptile known from the formation, which is otherwise notable for its high diversity of fossil vertebrates.[3]

Piscogavialis is known only from a single specimen, but it represents some of the best preserved gavialid material known from South America. The skull is preserved in three dimensions and is nearly complete. A mandible and some postcranial material have also been found in association with the skull. Several important features of the occipital region of the skull support a referral to the family Gavialidae, which also includes the extant gharial and false gharial.

Paleobiology[]

The strata from which remains of Piscogavialis have been found suggest that it lived in a coastal environment.[3][4] Another extinct gavialid, Siquisiquesuchus, is also known to have lived in a coastal setting.[5] The presence of other gryposuchines in coastal strata may be an indication that all members of the subfamily inhabited coastal environments.[6][7] However, some gryposuchines have been found from localities that clearly represent non-marine environments.[8]

Phylogeny[]

A phylogenetic analysis conducted in a 2007 study found Gryposuchinae to include the genera Aktiogavialis, Gryposuchus, Ikanogavialis, Piscogavialis, and Siquisiquesuchus. Below is a cladogram from the 2007 analysis showing the phylogenetic relationships of gryposuchines among gavialoids:[4]

Gavialoidea 
 

Eothoracosaurus

 
 
 

Thoracosaurus

 
 
 

Eosuchus

 
 

Argochampsa

 
Gavialidae 
 

Eogavialis

 
 
��

Gavialis

 
Gryposuchinae 
 

Ikanogavialis

 
 

Piscogavialis

 
 

Siquisiquesuchus

 
 

Gryposuchus

 
 

Aktiogavialis

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Alternatively, a 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data indicated that the members of Gryposuchinae may in fact be paraphyletic and rather an evolutionary grade towards Gavialis and the gharial, as shown in the cladogram below:[9]

Gavialidae
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gavialis gangeticus Gharial

 
 

Gavialis bengawanicus†

 
 
 

Gavialis browni†

 
 
 

Gryposuchus colombianus†

 
 
 

Ikanogavialis†

 
 
 
 

Gryposuchus pachakamue†

 
 

Piscogavialis†

 
 
 
 

Harpacochampsa†

 
 
 
 
 

Toyotamaphimeia†

 
 

Penghusuchus†

 
 
 

Gavialosuchus†

 
 
 
 
 

Tomistoma lusitanica†

 
 

Tomistoma schlegelii False gharial

 
 
Gryposuchinae
 

References[]

  1. ^ Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9: e12094. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
  2. ^ Piscogavialis at Fossilworks.org
  3. ^ a b Kraus, R. M. (1998). "The cranium of Piscogavialis jugaliperforatus n.gen., n.sp. (Gavialidae, Crocodylia) from the Miocene of Peru". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 72 (3): 389–406. doi:10.1007/bf02988368. S2CID 84214781.
  4. ^ a b Vélez-Juarbe, J.; Brochu, C. A.; Santos, H. (2007). "A gharial from the Oligocene of Puerto Rico: transoceanic dispersal in the history of a non-marine reptile". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 274 (1615): 1245–1254. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.0455. PMC 2176176. PMID 17341454.
  5. ^ Brochu, C. A.; Rincon, A. D. (2004). "A gavialoid crocodylian from the Lower Miocene of Venezuela". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 71: 61–78.
  6. ^ Iturralde-Vinent, M. A.; MacPhee, R. D. E. (1999). "Paleogeography of the Caribbean region: implications for Cenozoic biogeography". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 238: 1–95.
  7. ^ Sánchez-Villagra, M. R.; Aguilera, O. A. (2006). "Neogene vertebrates from Urumaco, Falcón State, Venezuela: diversity and significance". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 4 (3): 213–220. doi:10.1017/S1477201906001829. S2CID 84357359.
  8. ^ Kay, R. F.; Madden, R. H. (1997). "Paleogeography and paleoecology". In R. F. Kay; R. H. Madden; R. L. Cifelli; J. J. Flynn (eds.). Vertebrate paleontology in the neotropics: the Miocene fauna of La Venta, Colombia. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 520–550. ISBN 1-56098-418-X.
  9. ^ Michael S. Y. Lee; Adam M. Yates (27 June 2018). "Tip-dating and homoplasy: reconciling the shallow molecular divergences of modern gharials with their long fossil". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285 (1881). doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.1071. PMC 6030529. PMID 30051855.
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