"Crocodylus" gariepensis

Extinct species of reptile "Crocodylus" gariepensis Early Miocene, 17.5 Animalia Chordata Reptilia Crocodilia Crocodylidae Osteolaeminae Incertae sedis †"C." gariepensis †"Crocodylus" gariepensis Pickford, 2003 "Crocodylus" gariepensis is an extinct species of crocodile that lived in southern Africa during the Early Miocene Brochu C. A. Storrs G. W. 10.1080/02724634.2012.652324 A giant crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya, the phylogenetic relationships of Neogene African crocodylines, and the antiquity of Crocodylus in Africa Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32 3 587–602 2012 2012JVPal..32..587B 85103427 about 17.5 million years ago (Ma).Senut B. Martin Pickford Pickford M. Ségalen L. C. 2009 Neogene desertification of Africa Comptes Rendus Geoscience 341 8–9 591–602 2009CRGeo.341..591S 10.1016/j.crte.2009.03.008 https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/geoscience/articles/10.1016/j.crte.2009.03.008/ Brigitte Senut Fossils have been found along a bank of the Orange River in Namibia, near its border with South Africa. Classification and phylogeny When the species was named in 2003, Pickford M. A new species of crocodile from Early and Middle Miocene deposits of the Lower Orange River Valley, Namibia, and the origins of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Namibia 2003 19 51–65 http://www.mme.gov.na/files/publications/495_Memoir%2019_2003_Pickford%26Senut_Palaeontology%20of%20the%20Orange%20River%20Valley.pdf 2023-01-11 2021-06-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20230111060729/https://www.mme.gov.na/files/publications/495_Memoir%2019_2003_Pickford%26Senut_Palaeontology%20of%20the%20Orange%20River%20Valley.pdf dead it was hypothesized to be ancestral to the living Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus. During this time the fossil record of C. niloticus was thought to extend back into the Late Miocene, meaning that "C." gariepensis could have been a direct precursor to the species.Delfino M. Segid, A. Yosief, D. Shoshani, J. Rook, L. Libsekal, Y. 2004 Fossil reptiles from the Pleistocene Homo-bearing locality of Buia (Eritrea, Northern Danakil Depression) Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 110 Suppl 51–60 http://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/5764 10.13130/2039-4942/5764 More recent studies propose that C. niloticus first appeared much more recently, making "C." gariepensis an unlikely ancestor of the Nile crocodile. Moreover, the most recent phylogenetic studies of crocodiles place "C." gariepensis in an evolutionary position outside other living species of Crocodylus, far from the position of C. niloticus. Indeed, the species appears to be an osteolaemine more closely related to dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus) and possibly slender-snouted crocodiles (Mecistops), as shown in the cladogram below:Azarra Beatrice Boschian Giovanni Brochu Christopher Delfino Massimo Iurino Dawid Adam Kimambo Jackson Stanley Manzi Giorgio Masao Fidelis T. Menconero Sofia Njau Jackson K Cherin Marco 2021 A new cranium of Crocodylus anthropophagus from Olduvai Gorge, northern Tanzania Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research in Paleontology and Stratigraphy) 127 2 275–295 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352560805 10.13130/2039-4942/15771 font-size:85%;line-height:85% 10em; Paleoafrican Crocodylus 40% red Neotropical Crocodylus 60% black background-color:#ffffee; Indo-Pacific Crocodylus 85% green Crocodylidae Osteolaeminae Rimasuchus lloydi Voay robustus Osteolaemus osborni Osborn’s dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis Dwarf crocodile "Crocodylus" gariepensis Brochuchus parvidens Brochuchus pigotti Euthecodon arambourgi Euthecodon brumpti Crocodylinae Mecistops cataphractus West African slender-snouted crocodile background-color:#ffdddd; Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni red Crocodylus anthropophagus red Crocodylus niloticus Nile crocodile Crocodylus checchiai background-color:#ffffee; Crocodylus moreletii Morelet's crocodile yellow background-color:#ffffee; Crocodylus intermedius Orinoco crocodile yellow background-color:#ffffee; Crocodylus acutus American crocodile yellow background-color:#ffffee; Crocodylus rhombifer Cuban crocodile yellow background-color:#ddffdd; Crocodylus palaeindicus lightgreen lightgreen background-color:#ccffcc; Crocodylus palustris Mugger crocodile green Crocodylus ossifragus green Crocodylus siamensis Siamese crocodile green Crocodylus mindorensis Philippine crocodile green Crocodylus johnstoni Freshwater crocodile green Crocodylus porosus Saltwater crocodile green Crocodylus raninus Borneo crocodile green Crocodylus novaeguineae New Guinea crocodile   green Paleoecology Although much of Namibia is currently arid, "C." gariepensis lived during a time when the local climate was humid and subtropical. It likely inhabited gallery forests surrounding the Orange River. Fossils of giant tortoises and a variety of small burrowing mammals have been found in the same deposits. References 30em C. Q13618369 Category:Crocodylidae Category:Neogene reptiles of Africa Category:Miocene crocodylomorphs Category:Fossil taxa described in 2003 Category:Articles with quotation marks in the title