Mesosuchia
Encyclopedia
"Mesosuchia" is an obsolete name for a group of terrestrial
, semi-aquatic, or fully aquatic crocodylomorph
reptiles. The marine crocodile Metriorhynchus
had paddle-like forelimbs, Dakosaurus andiniensis had a skull that was adapted to eat large sea reptiles, and Shamosuchus
was adapted for eating molluscs and gastropods. Shamosuchus also looked like modern crocodiles and was very closely related to their direct ancestor.
The "Mesosuchia" were formerly placed at Suborder rank as within Crocodylia. The "first" crocodiles were placed within their own suborder, Protosuchia
; whilst extant species where placed within Suborder Eusuchia
(meaing 'true crocodiles'). Mesosuchia were the crocodylians "in between". As it is a paraphyletic group however, it is not considered valid anymore. It is replaced by its phylogenetic equivalent Mesoeucrocodylia
, which contains the taxa herein, the Crocodylia, and some allied forms more recently discovered.
The "Mesosuchia" was composed as:
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
, semi-aquatic, or fully aquatic crocodylomorph
Crocodylomorpha
The Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the crocodilians and their extinct relatives.During Mesozoic and early Tertiary times the Crocodylomorpha were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. These were...
reptiles. The marine crocodile Metriorhynchus
Metriorhynchus
Metriorhynchus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform that lived in the oceans during the Middle to Late Jurassic. Metriorhynchus was named by the German palaeontologist Christian von Meyer in 1830. Metriorhynchus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea...
had paddle-like forelimbs, Dakosaurus andiniensis had a skull that was adapted to eat large sea reptiles, and Shamosuchus
Shamosuchus
Shamosuchus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodile that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Gobi desert of Mongolia, approximately 85 to 65 million years ago. The teeth were adapted to crush bivalves, gastropods and other animals with a shell or exoskeleton . The genus...
was adapted for eating molluscs and gastropods. Shamosuchus also looked like modern crocodiles and was very closely related to their direct ancestor.
The "Mesosuchia" were formerly placed at Suborder rank as within Crocodylia. The "first" crocodiles were placed within their own suborder, Protosuchia
Protosuchia
Protosuchia is a group of extinct Mesozoic crocodyliforms. They were small in size and terrestrial. In phylogenetic terms, Protosuchia is considered an informal group because it is a grade of basal crocodyliforms, not a true clade....
; whilst extant species where placed within Suborder Eusuchia
Eusuchia
Eusuchia is a clade of crocodylomorphs that first appears in the Early Cretaceous with Hylaeochampsa. All living crocodilian species are eusuchians, as are many extinct forms.-Description:...
(meaing 'true crocodiles'). Mesosuchia were the crocodylians "in between". As it is a paraphyletic group however, it is not considered valid anymore. It is replaced by its phylogenetic equivalent Mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia is the name of the clade that includes Eusuchia and the paraphyletic group Mesosuchia. The group appeared during the Early Jurassic, and continues to the present day....
, which contains the taxa herein, the Crocodylia, and some allied forms more recently discovered.
The "Mesosuchia" was composed as:
- Family Hsisosuchidae
- Family GobiosuchidaeGobiosuchidaeGobiosuchidae is a family of Late Cretaceous crocodyliforms that lived in what is now the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.- Genera :The two genera currently classified within Gobiosuchidae are Gobiosuchus and Zaraasuchus.- Synapomorphies :...
- Infraorder NotosuchiaNotosuchiaNotosuchia is a suborder of primarily Gondwanan mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs that lived during the Cretaceous. Fossils have been found from South America, Africa, and Asia...
- Family NotosuchidaeNotosuchidaeNotosuchidae is a Gondwanan family of notosuchians. They were small-bodied terrestrial crocodyliforms that lived during the Late Cretaceous.-Genera:*Notosuchus: genus from the Coniacian - Santonian of Argentina....
- Family SebecidaeSebecidaeSebecidae is an extinct family of prehistoric crocodylomorphs. They lived mostly in Argentina.This group included many medium and large - sized genera, from Sebecus to a giant indeterminate unnamed species from the Miocene.-Phylogeny:...
- Family BaurusuchidaeBaurusuchidaeBaurusuchidae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is a group of terrestrial hypercarnivorous crocodilians from South America and possibly Pakistan. Baurusuchidae has been defined as a clade containing the most recent common ancestor of Baurusuchus...
- Family Notosuchidae
- Infraorder NeosuchiaNeosuchiaNeosuchia is an unranked clade within Mesoeucrocodylia that includes all modern extant crocodilians and their closest fossil relatives. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing all crocodylomorphs more closely related to Crocodylus niloticus than to Notosuchus terrestris...
- Family TrematochampsidaeTrematochampsidaeTrematochampsidae is an extinct family of mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorph. Fossils are present from Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Argentina, and Brazil...
- Family PeirosauridaePeirosauridaePeirosauridae is a Gondwanan family of mesoeucrocodylians that lived during the Cretaceous period. It was a clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms that evolved a rather dog-like form, and were terrestrial carnivores. It was phylogenetically defined in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of...
- Genus LomasuchusLomasuchusLomasuchus is an extinct genus of peirosaurid mesoeucrocodylian. Fossils have been found from the Bajo de la Carpa Formation of the Neuquén Group outcropping in Neuquén Province, Argentina...
- Genus MontealtosuchusMontealtosuchusMontealtosuchus was an extinct genus of terrestrial crocodyliform. It was discovered in 2004 in the Bauru Basin of Brazil, from Turonian-Santonian deposits of the Adamantina Formation. The species was described in 2007, and assigned to the family Peirosauridae. The type species is M. arrudacamposi...
- Genus Lomasuchus
- Family ElosuchidaeElosuchidaeElosuchidae is an extinct family of neosuchian crocodyliforms. It was named in 2002 to include the genera Elosuchus and Stolokrosuchus, both from the Early Cretaceous of Africa. E. cherifiensis, the type species of Elosuchus, was first classified in the genus Thoracosaurus as a close relative of...
- Family AtoposauridaeAtoposauridaeAtoposauridae is a family of crocodile-like archosaurs. Members of the family have been found from France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Germany, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Cameroon, and Thailand.-Phylogeny:...
- Family DyrosauridaeDyrosauridaeDyrosauridae is a family of extinct neosuchian crocodyliforms that lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene. Fossils of this group have been found in almost every continent, specifically Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America....
- Family PholidosauridaePholidosauridaePholidosauridae is an extinct family of mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs. Fossils have been found in the United States, Canada, China, Kyrgyzstan, Africa and Spain...
- Genus SarcosuchusSarcosuchusSarcosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliform and distant relative of the crocodile that lived 112 million years ago. It dates from the early Cretaceous Period of what is now Africa and is one of the largest giant crocodile-like reptiles that ever lived...
- Genus Sarcosuchus
- Infraorder ThalattosuchiaThalattosuchiaThalattosuchia is the name given to a clade of marine crocodylomorphs from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous that had a cosmopolitan distribution. They are sometimes colloquially referred to as marine crocodiles or sea crocodiles, though they are not actually members of Crocodilia.The term...
- Sea "Crocodiles"- Family TeleosauridaeTeleosauridaeThe teleosaurids were marine crocodyliforms similar to the modern gharial that lived from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. They had long snouts, indicative of piscivory and were the closest relatives to the Metriorhynchidae, the Mesozoic crocodilians that returned to the sea and evolved...
- Family MetriorhynchidaeMetriorhynchidaeMetriorhynchidae is an extinct family of metriorhynchoid crocodyliforms from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous period of Europe, North America and South America. Metriorhynchids are fully aquatic crocodyliforms. Their forelimbs were small and paddle-like, and unlike living crocodilians,...
- Genus Dakosaurus
- Family Teleosauridae
- Family GoniopholididaeGoniopholididaeGoniopholididae is an extinct family of moderate-sized semi-aquatic crocodyliforms similar to living crocodiles. They lived between the Early Jurassic and the Late Cretaceous.-Geographical distribution:...
- Family Paralligatoridae
- Genus ShamosuchusShamosuchusShamosuchus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodile that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Gobi desert of Mongolia, approximately 85 to 65 million years ago. The teeth were adapted to crush bivalves, gastropods and other animals with a shell or exoskeleton . The genus...
- Genus Shamosuchus
- Family Trematochampsidae
- Infraorder Notosuchia