Dakosaurus andiniensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dakosaurus andiniensis Fossil range: Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Reconstruction of D. andiniensis
|
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Dakosaurus andiniensis (Vignaud and Gasparini 1996) |
Dakosaurus andiniensis was a species of crocodylian that lived during from the end Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous in South America. Fossils of this species was first discovered in 1987 in the Neuquén Basin, a very rich fossil bed in Argentina, although not named until 1996. Two recently discovered skulls (Gasparini et al. 2006) has indicated that D. andiniensis is unique among the metriorhynchids (the most specialised family of crocodylians to marine life) with its short, tall snout (which is why it was nicknamed Godzilla).
Metriorhynchids were quite common in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods; they were small to large in size, pelagic hunters that ate mostly fish and belemnites. Most metriorhynchids, such as Geosaurus, had long, narrow snouts and jaws, which is indicative of predating upon fish and/or cephalopods. Dakosaurus andiniensis on the other hand had a large, wide and relatively short skull; with large, recurved and serrated teeth (more typical of dinosaurs and fossil terrestrial crocodylians than marine crocodylians). This indicates that D. andiniensis was a high-order predator. It probably predated upon other sea reptiles, including the fish-like ichthyosaurs and long necked plesiosaurs, other crocodiles and sharks. During the Jurassic period sharks were not very big, so D. andiniensis only had the gigantic species of pliosaurs as possible predators. From the 80cm long skull an estimate of just under six metres for its total length is recorded, however as crocodylians grow their entire life, there could be even larger specimens.
Dakosaurus fossils where discovered in Europe (Germany) as early as 1843, however the Neuquén specimens are a distinct species better adapted to preying upon large animals.
[edit] Geological ages
Dakosaurus andiniensis is known from the upper Tithonian of the Upper Jurassic and the earliest Berriasian of the Lower Cretaceous.
[edit] References
- Gasparini, Z., Pol, D. & Spalletti, L.A. (2006). An unusual marine crocodyliform from the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary of Patagonia. Science 311: 70-73.
