Metriorhynchidae
| Metriorhynchidae |
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| Dakosaurus maximus skull, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Suborder: | †Thalattosuchia |
| Superfamily: | †Metriorhynchoidea |
| Family: | †Metriorhynchidae Fitzinger, 1843 |
| Subfamilies | |
| Synonyms | |
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Metriorhynchidae is an extinct family of metriorhynchoid crocodyliforms from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous period (Bajocian - Valanginian stages) of Europe, North America and South America. Metriorhynchids are fully aquatic crocodyliforms. Their forelimbs were small and paddle-like, and unlike living crocodilians, they lost their osteoderms ("armour scutes"). Their body shape maximised hydrodynamy (swimming efficiency), as did having a shark-like tail fin.[3]
Metriorhynchids were the only group of archosaurs (aside from seabirds) to become fully adapted to the marine realm, becoming pelagic in lifestyle.[4]
The name Metriorhynchidae was coined by the Austrian zoologist Leopold Fitzinger in 1843.[5] It contains two subfamilies, the Metriorhynchinae and the Geosaurinae.[6][7]
Geographical distribution
The family has a wide geographic distribution, with material found in Argentina, Chile, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Russia and Switzerland.[4][7]
Classification
Phylogenetic analyses published during the 2000s cast doubt on the idea that many traditional metriorhynchid genera formed natural groups (i.e., include all descendants of a common ancestor). The traditional species of Geosaurus,[8][9][10] Dakosaurus[8] and Cricosaurus[8] were found to represent unnatural groups, and the species traditionally classified in these genera were reshuffled in a study published in November 2009 by Mark T. Young and Marco Brandalise de Andrade.[6] The monophyly of Metriorhynchus [8][9][11] and Teleidosaurus[8][10] is also unsupported, and the species of these genera are pending reclassification.[6]
The classification presented by Young and Andrade in 2009 was approved in later studies of the Metriorhynchidae.[7][12][13] Metriorhynchidae is a node-based taxon defined in 2009 as the least inclusive clade consisting of Metriorhynchus geoffroyii and Geosaurus giganteus.[6] The cladogram below follows the topology from a 2011 analysis by Andrea Cau and Federico Fanti with clade names from Young et al. 2011 and reduced to genera only.[7][12]
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List of genera
The type genus of the family Metriorhynchidae is Metriorhynchus from the Middle to Late Jurassic.[4] Other genera included within this family are Cricosaurus, Geosaurus, and Dakosaurus. Though once considered a metriorhynchid, Teleidosaurus has since been found to be slightly more distantly related to these animals within the superfamily Metriorhynchoidea.
Within this family, the genus Neustosaurus is considered nomen dubium ("doubtful name").[14]
The genus Capelliniosuchus was once thought to be a metriorhynchid similar to Dakosaurus.[15] However, Sirotti demonstrated that it is a junior synonym of Mosasaurus.[16]
| Genus | Status | Author | Age | Location | Description | Synonyms | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambayrac, 1913 | late Oxfordian |
France. |
Sometimes considered to be a nomen dubium. | ||||
| Valid | Wagner, 1858 | middle Oxfordian to upper Valanginian |
Argentina, Chile, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Mexico, Russia and Switzerland. |
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| Valid | von Quenstedt, 1856 | lower Oxfordian to lower Berriasian |
Argentina, England, France, Germany, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland and possibly Russia. |
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| Valid | Cuvier, 1824 | upper Kimmeridgian to upper Valanginian |
France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. |
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| Valid | Young et al., 2010 | lower Kimmeridgian |
England and France. |
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| Valid | Parrilla-Bel et al., 2013 |
Spain. |
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| Valid | von Meyer, 1830 | lower Callovian to upper Kimmeridgian. |
England, France, Germany and Switzerland. |
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| Valid | Cau & Fanti, 2011 | late Bajocian to earliest Bathonian |
Italy. |
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| nomen dubium | — potential senior synonym of Cricosaurus | ||||||
| Valid | Owen, 1884 | late Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian |
England and possibly Spain. |
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| Valid | Rusconi, 1948 | lower Callovian to lower Tithonian |
Argentina and Chile. |
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| Valid | von Meyer, 1831 | lower Tithonian |
Germany. |
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| Valid | Lydekker, 1890 | lower Callovian to lower Oxfordian |
England and France. |
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| Valid | Andrade et al., 2010 | upper Kimmeridgian |
England. |
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| Valid | Young et al., 2013 |
England. |
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Andrews CW. 1913. A descriptive catalogue of the marine reptiles of the Oxford Clay, Part Two. London: British Museum (Natural History), 206 pp.
- ↑ Fraas E. 1902. Die Meer-Krocodilier (Thalattosuchia) des oberen Jura unter specieller Berücksichtigung von Dacosaurus und Geosaurus. Paleontographica 49: 1-72.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Steel R. 1973. Crocodylia. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie, Teil 16. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag,116 pp.
- ↑ Fitzinger LJFJ. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Wien: Braumüller et Seidel, 106 pp.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Young MT. 2007. The evolution and interrelationships of Metriorhynchidae (Crocodyliformes, Thalattosuchia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 (3): 170A.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Wilkinson LE, Young MT, Benton MJ. 2008. A new metriorhynchid crocodilian (Mesoeucrocodylia: Thalattosuchia) from the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) of Wiltshire, UK. Palaeontology 51 (6): 1307-1333.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Mueller-Töwe IJ. 2005. Phylogenetic relationships of the Thalattosuchia. Zitteliana A45: 211–213.
- ↑ Gasparini Z, Pol D, Spalletti LA. 2006. An unusual marine crocodyliform from the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary of Patagonia. Science 311: 70-73.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Buffetaut, E. 1982. Radiation évolutive, paléoécologie et biogéographie des Crocodiliens mésosuchienes. Mémoires Societé Geologique de France 142: 1–88.
- ↑ Simonelli V. 1896. Intoro agli avanzi di coccodrilliano scoperti a San Valentino (provincial di Reggio Emilia) nel 1886. Atli della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, series Qunita Rendiconti 5 (2): 11-18.
- ↑ Sirotti A. 1989. Mosasaurus hoffmanni Mantell, 1828 (Reptilia) nelle <<argille scagliose>> di S. Valentino (Reggio E.). Atti della società dei naturalisti e matematici di Modena 120: 135-146.
- ↑ Koken E. 1883. Die reptilian der norddeutschen unteren Kreide. Zeitschrift deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft 35: 735-827.
- ↑ Quenstedt FA. 1856. Sonst und Jetzt: Populäre Vortäge über Geologie. Tübingen: Laupp, 131.
- ↑ Cuvier G. 1824. Sur les ossements fossiles de crocodiles, 5. In: Dufour & D'Occagne, eds. Recherches sur les ossements fossiles, 2nd édition. Paris: 143-160
- ↑ Young, Mark T., Brusatte, Stephen L., Ruta, M., Andrade, Marco B. 2009. "The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia): an integrated approach using geometrics morphometrics, analysis of disparity and biomechanics". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 801-859.
- ↑ Meyer H Von. 1830. Achte Versammlung der Naturforscher und Aerzte zu Heidelberg im September 1829. Isis von Oken, 1830: 517-519.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
