Mekosuchus
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Extinct (fossil)
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Mekosuchus is a genus of an extinct Australasian crocodiles within the subfamily Mekosuchinae. It is believed to have been made extinct by the arrival of man on the South Pacific islands where it lived. This genus was small in size and terrestrial, making it the last group of terrestrial crocodilians.
Fossils of early mekosuchines such as Trilophosuchus have been found from Miocene Australia, although the mekosuchines had gone extinct in Australia prior to the arrival of humans. Mekosuchus survived until the Holocene, and sub-fossils have been found in New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
[edit] Species
There are currently four species of Mekosuchus recognised. The first is the type species M. inexpectatus from the Holocene of New Caledonia which became extinct at some point in the last 4,000 years (with the arrival of man). The poor soils of New Caledonia promote a restriction in large ground-dwelling prey, so Mekosuchus had specialized back teeth for cracking mollusk shells. Another Holocene species is known, M. kolpokasi which lived on island of Efate, Vanuatu approximately 3,000 years ago (again disappearing with the arrival of man). M. whitehunterensis lived during the Late Oligocene in Queensland and M. sanderi also lived in Queensland but later, during the Miocene.
[edit] Reference
- Mead, J.I., Steadman, D.W., Bedford, S.H., Bell, C.J. & Spriggs, M. (2002).New Extinct Mekosuchine Crocodile from Vanuatu, South Pacific. Copeia 2002 (3): 632-641
[edit] Bibliography
The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery.
