Neosuchia
Opisthokonta
Neosuchia is an unranked clade within Mesoeucrocodylia that includes all modern extant crocodilians and their closest fossil relatives[1]. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing all crocodylomorphs more closely related to Crocodylus niloticus (the Nile Crocodile) than to Notosuchus terrestris[2]. Neosuchia is very diverse and may be polyphyletic, as the clade has undergone many revisions since it was first named in 1988[3]. Neosuchians first appear in the Early Jurassic with the earliest known goniopholid Calsoyasuchus, which lived during the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian stages[4].
Characteristics
A tooth notch between the maxilla and premaxilla is a basal characteristic of the Neosuchia, although it is lost in some more derived forms, most notably alligatorids.
Classification
References
- ^ Wilson, J. A.; Malkani, M. S.; Gingerich, P. D. (2001). "New crocodyliform (Reptilia, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Upper Cretaceous Pab Formation of Vitakri, Balochistan (Pakistan)" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 30 (12): 321–336. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48662/2/ID529.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ Larsson, H. C. E.; Sidor, C. A.; Gado, B.; Gado, B (2001). "The giant crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa" (PDF). Science 294 (5546): 1516–1519. doi:10.1126/science.1066521. PMID 11679634. http://iris.nyit.edu/nycom/Faculty/Profiles/Sidor/Sarcosuchus.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ Benton, M. J. & Clark, J. M. (1998). Archosaur phylogeny and the relationships of the Crocodylia, p. 289-332. In Benton, M.J. (ed.), The Phylogeny and Classification of Tetrapods, Vol. 1 ., Clarendon Press, Oxford.
- ^ Tykoski, R. S.; Rowe, T. B.; Ketcham, R. A.; Colbert, M. W. (2002). "Calsoyasuchus valliceps, a new crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22 (3): 593–611. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0593:CVANCF]2.0.CO;2. http://digimorph.org/specimens/Calsoyasuchusvalliceps/calsoyas.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
External links
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| Thalattosuchia |
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| Notosuchia |
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| Sebecia |
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| Neosuchia |
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| Related articles |
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| Related categories |
Marine crocodiles · Terrestrial crocodiles · Jurassic crocodylomorphs · Cretaceous crocodylomorphs · Paleogene crocodylomorphs · Neogene crocodylomorphs
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