Teleosauridae

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Teleosauridae

The teleosaurids were marine crocodyliforms similar to the modern gharial

Gharial

The gharial , sometimes called the Indian gavial or gavial, is one of two surviving members of the family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodile-like reptiles with long, narrow jaws....
that during the Early Jurassic

Early Jurassic

The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic ....
to the Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous Period . It began about 146 million years ago....
. They had long snouts, indicative of piscivory (fish eating) and were the closest relatives to the Metriorhynchidae

Metriorhynchidae

Metriorhynchids were a clade of fully-aquatic crocodyliforms that lived in seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Their fore-legs were reduced and paddle-like, and unlike living crocodilians, they lost their osteoderms ....
, the Mesozoic

Mesozoic

The Mesozoic Era is one of three Geologic time scale of the Phanerozoic eon . The division of time into eras dates back to Giovanni Arduino, in the 18th century, although his original name for the era now called the 'Mesozoic' was 'Secondary' ....
crocodilians that returned to the sea and evolved paddle-like forelimbs and a fish-like tail.

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Encyclopedia

The teleosaurids were marine crocodyliforms similar to the modern gharial

Gharial

Early Jurassic

Early Cretaceous

Metriorhynchidae

Mesozoic

Geographical distribution

The family has a wide geographic distribution, with material found in Africa (Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
, Madagascar

Madagascar

Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the List of islands by area, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are Endemism to Madagascar....
and Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
), Europe (Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, England

England

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
and Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
), North America (Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
), South America (Argentina

Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
), India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
and possibly China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
.

Genera

Genus	Status	Age	Location	Description
†Aeolodon	Junior synonym.			Junior synonym of Steneosaurus Steneosaurus *Steneosaurus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous . Fossil specimens have been found in England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Morocco....
†Machimosaurus Machimosaurus *Machimosaurus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous . The type species, Machimosaurus hugii, was found in France....	Valid.	Late Jurassic Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic Epoch of the Jurassic Period is the unit of geologic time scale from 161.2 ? 4.0 to 145.5 ? 4.0 million years ago, which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum.... -Early Cretaceous Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous Period . It began about 146 million years ago.... .	Africa Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area.... . Europe Europe Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast.... .
†Mycterosuchus	Junior synonym.			Junior synonym of Steneosaurus Steneosaurus *Steneosaurus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous . Fossil specimens have been found in England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Morocco....
†Mystriosaurus	Junior synonym.			Junior synonym of Steneosaurus Steneosaurus *Steneosaurus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous . Fossil specimens have been found in England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Morocco....
†Peipehsuchus Peipehsuchus *Peipehsuchus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic . The type species, P. teleorhinus, is known from China....	Valid.	Early Jurassic Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic ....	Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....	May not be a teleosaurid.
†Pelagosaurus Pelagosaurus *Pelagosaurus* is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 annum to 175 Ma , in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe....	Valid.	Early Jurassic Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic .... .	Europe Europe Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast.... .
†Pelagosuchus	Lapsus calami.			Probable lapsus calami of Pelagosaurus Pelagosaurus *Pelagosaurus* is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 annum to 175 Ma , in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe....
†Platysuchus Platysuchus *Platysuchus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic . All specimens are known from Germany....	Valid.	Early Jurassic Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic .... .	Europe Europe Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast.... .
†Sericodon	Junior synonym.			Junior synonym of Steneosaurus Steneosaurus *Steneosaurus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous . Fossil specimens have been found in England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Morocco.... .
†Steneosaurus Steneosaurus *Steneosaurus* is an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous . Fossil specimens have been found in England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Morocco....	Valid.	Early Jurassic Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic .... -Early Cretaceous Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous Period . It began about 146 million years ago....	Africa Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area.... and Europe Europe Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
†Teleosaurus Teleosaurus *Teleosaurus* was an extinct genus of Teleosauridae crocodyliform that lived during the Middle Jurassic. It was approximately 3 metres in length....	Valid.	Middle Jurassic Middle Jurassic The Middle Jurassic, called the Dogger in the European system of classification, is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period . It lasted from 176-161 million years ago.... .	Europe Europe Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast.... .

Teleosauridae

Geographical distribution

Genera

See also