- Gavialosuchus
Taxobox
name = "Gavialosuchus"
image_width =
fossil_range=lateOligocene -earlyPliocene
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo =Crocodilia
familia =Gavialidae
genus = "Gavialosuchus"
genus_authority = Toula and Kail, 1885
subdivision_ranks=Species
subdivision=
*"G. eggenburgensis" Toula and Kail, 1885 (type)
*?"G. americanus" (Sellards, 1915 [originally "Tomistoma americanus"] )
*?"G. carolinensis" Erickson and Sawyer, 1996"Gavialosuchus" is an
extinct genus of gavialid from the lateOligocene andMiocene of easternNorth America and early Miocene ofEurope . Three species have been named: thetype species "G. eggenburgensis" from the early Miocene ofAustria ; "G. americanus", from the lateMiocene to earlyPliocene ofFlorida ; and "G. carolinensis", from the lateOligocene ofSouth Carolina . Another species, as yet unnamed, may be present in the Miocene of Georgia. "Gavialosuchus" was an estuarine crocodilian, living in shallow marine waters. It was long-snouted and large: "G. carolinensis" was at least 5.37 meters long (17.3 ft).cite book |last=Erickson |first=Bruce R. |authorlink=Bruce Erickson (paleontologist) |coauthors=and Sawyer, Glen T. |year=1996 |title=The estuarine crocodile "Gavialosuchus carolinensis" n. sp. (Crocodylia: Eusuchia) from the late Oligocene of South Carolina, North America |series=The Science Museum of Minnesota St. Paul, Minnesota Monograph 3, Paleontology |publisher=The Science Museum of Minnesota |location=St. Paul |pages=1-47]As is the case with many fossil
taxa , what exactly constitutes "Gavialosuchus" is not a settled question. Myrick Jr. (2001) proposed synonymizing "G. americanus" with "Thecachampsa antiquus".cite journal |last=Myrick |first=A.C., Jr. |year=2001 |title="Thecachampsa antiqua" (Leidy, 1852) (Crocodylidae: Thoracosaurinae) from the fossil marine deposits at Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina, USA |journal=Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology |volume=90 |pages=219-225] Piras "et al" (2007) advocated transferring both "G. americanus" and "G. carolinensis" to "Thecachampsa" as distinct species of the latter genus.cite journal |last=Piras |first=P. |couathors=Delfino, M.; Del Favero, L.; and Kotsakis, T. |year=2007 |title=Phylogenetic position of the crocodylian "Megadontosuchus arduini" and tomistomine palaeobiogeography |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=315–328 |url=http://www.app.pan.pl/download.php?src=archive/published/app52/app52-315.pdf&token=3303f4bf3be6a584a2851e091178e33b |format=pdf] Jouve "et al". (2008) retained "G. americanus" in "Gavialosuchus" and found it to be thesister group of "G. eggenburgensis" ("G. carolinensis" was not discussed).cite journal |last=Jouve |first=Stéphane |coauthors=Bardet, Nathalie; Jalil, Nour-Eddine; Suberbiola, Xabier Pereda; Bouya; Baâda; and Amaghzaz, Mbarek |year=2008 |title=The oldest African crocodylian: phylogeny, paleobiogeography, and differential survivorship of marine reptiles through the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=409-421 ]References
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