Crocodylomorpha
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see taxonomy |
The Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the living crocodilians and their extinct relatives.
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[edit] Evolutionary history
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 supplanted during the early Jurassic by various aquatic and marine forms. The Later Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary saw a wide diversity of terrestrial and semi-aquatic lineages. "Modern" crocodilians do not appear until the Late Cretaceous.
[edit] Phylogenetic definition
The Crocodylomorpha are defined phylogenetically by Sereno 2005 as "The most inclusive clade containing Crocodylus niloticus (Laurenti 1768) but not Poposaurus gracilis Mehl 1915, Gracilisuchus stipanicicorum Romer 1972, Prestosuchus chiniquensis Huene 1942, Aetosaurus ferratus Fraas 1877."
This a stem-based definition and therefore includes all taxa closer to extant crocodilians than to other crurotarsan clades.
[edit] Taxonomy
The following classification is from the Bristol University webpage on Crocodylomorpha. All these taxa are extinct except for the three Eusuchian families shown here. There are in addition many other, less well-known groups that are not included in this current listing. Mikko's Phylogeny Archive provides a more detailed cladogram
- Division ARCHOSAURIA
- Superorder Crocodylomorpha
- Family Saltoposuchidae
- Family Sphenosuchidae
- Order Crocodylia (Crocodyliformes)
- Family Protosuchidae
- Division Mesoeucrocodylia
- Family Teleosauridae
- Family Metriorhynchidae
- Subdivision Metasuchia
- Family Notosuchidae
- Family Sebecidae
- Infradivision Neosuchia
- Family Goniopholidae
- Family Dyrosauridae
- Suborder Eusuchia
- Family Gavialidae
- Family Crocodylidae
- Family Alligatoridae
- Superorder Crocodylomorpha
[edit] References
- Benton, M. J. (2004), Vertebrate Palaeontology, 3rd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd
- Hay, O. P. 1930 (1929-1930). Second Bibliography and Catalogue of the Fossil Vertebrata of North America. Carnegie Institution Publications, Washington, 1,990 pp.
- Sereno, P. C. 2005. Stem Archosauria—TaxonSearch [version 1.0, 2005 November 7]
[edit] External links
- Crocodylomorpha - webpages by Ross Elgin on the University of Bristol server
- Major subgroups classification (used here)
- Crocodylomorpha from Palaeos
- Crocodylomorpha - hyperlinked cladogram at Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
