Microsuchus

Microsuchus is an extinct genus of mesoeucrocodylians, belonging to Notosuchia.[1] Fossils have been found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation, dating to the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.[2]

Microsuchus
Temporal range: Santonian
~85.8–84.9 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Suborder: †Notosuchia
Genus: †Microsuchus
De Saez, 1928
Type species
†Microsuchus schilleri
De Saez, 1928

Classification

Originally classified as a goniopholidid on the basis of the platycoelus vertebral centra,[3] Microsuchus was recently redescribed and recovered as either a neosuchian or notosuchian. Diagnostic features include the presence of a bulge lateral to the prezygapophyses of the second sacral vertebra, elongated posterior zeugopodia, and proximal caudal centra with a triangular cross section.[4] A 2017 cladistic analysis of Razanandrongobe further clarified the phylogenetic position of Microsuchus by recovering it as a primitive notosuchian.[5]

References
  1. Mook, C. C. (1934). "The evolution and classification of the crocodilia". The Journal of Geology. 42 (3): 295–304. Bibcode:1934JG.....42..295M. doi:10.1086/624165.
  2. Markwick, P. J. (1998). "Crocodilian diversity in space and time: The role of climate in paleoecology and its implication for understanding K/T extinctions". Paleobiology. 24 (4): 470–497. doi:10.1017/S009483730002011X. JSTOR 2401182.
  3. Saez, M. D. d. (1928). "Un nuevo goniofolido Argentino". Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina, Buenos Aires. 105: 287–290.
  4. Leardi, Juan Martín; Fiorelli, Lucas E.; Gasparini, Zulma (2015). "Redescription and reevaluation of the taxonomical status of Microsuchus schilleri (Crocodyliformes: Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Neuquén, Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 52: 153. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.09.007.
  5. Dal Sasso C, Pasini G, Fleury G, Maganuco S. (2017) Razanandrongobe sakalavae, a gigantic mesoeucrocodylian from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar, is the oldest known notosuchian. PeerJ 5:e3481 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3481


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