Rimasuchus
Rimasuchus Temporal range: Miocene – Early Pleistocene
Early | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Crocodilia |
Family: | Crocodylidae |
Subfamily: | Osteolaeminae |
Genus: | †Rimasuchus Storrs, 2003 |
Type species | |
†Rimasuchus lloydi (Fourtau, 1918)
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Synonyms | |
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Rimasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodile from the Miocene of Egypt and possibly Libya. Only one species - Rimasuchus lloydi - is currently known. It was previously thought to be a species of Crocodylus, but is now thought to be more closely related to the modern African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus).
Fossil crocodiles from all over Africa and the Middle East of Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene age were previously referred to R. lloydi. The majority are now known to be extinct forms of Crocodylus. The generic name "Rimasuchus" comes from the Latin words rima, meaning "crack" (referencing the East African rift valley),[1] which is ironic because Rimasuchus is not currently known from deposits in East Africa.
Phylogeny[]
A 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data established the inter-relationships within Crocodylidae.[2] 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.[3]
The below cladogram shows the results of the latest study:
Crocodylidae |
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(crown group) |
References[]
- ^ Leakey, M. G. and Harris, J. M. (2003). Lothagam: the Dawn of Humanity in Eastern Africa. Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 0-231-11870-8 p. 144
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hekkala, E.; Gatesy, J.; Narechania, A.; Meredith, R.; Russello, M.; Aardema, M. L.; Jensen, E.; Montanari, S.; Brochu, C.; Norell, M.; Amato, G. (2021-04-27). "Paleogenomics illuminates the evolutionary history of the extinct Holocene "horned" crocodile of Madagascar, Voay robustus". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 505. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02017-0. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 8079395. PMID 33907305.
External links[]
- Miocene crocodylomorphs
- Crocodilians
- Crocodylidae
- Pliocene crocodylomorphs
- Pleistocene crocodylomorphs
- Prehistoric pseudosuchian genera