Massaliasuchus

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Massaliasuchus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 83.5  Ma
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Crocodilus affuvelensis Matheron.jpg
Illustration of the fossilized remains from the Fuvelian Lignites of France, 1869
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Crocodyliformes
Clade: Eusuchia
Clade: Allodaposuchidae
Genus: Massaliasuchus
Martin & Buffetaut, 2008
Species:
M. affuvelensis
Binomial name
Massaliasuchus affuvelensis
(Matheron, 1869)
Synonyms

Massaliasuchus is an extinct monospecific genus of allodaposuchid eusuchian crocodyliform that is known from fossils found in SantonianCampanian-age Upper Cretaceous rocks of southeastern France. [1]

Systematics

Massaliasuchus was first described in 1869 by Philippe Matheron as Crocodilus affuvelensis, based on remains including skull bones. [2] The new genus name was given to it in 2008 by Jeremy Martin and Eric Buffetaut. Massaliasuchus was considered to be related to early alligatoroids. Its name means "Marseille crocodile". [1]

Recent cladistic analysis places Massaliasuchus as a member of Allodaposuchidae, a clade of basal eusuchians from the Late Cretaceous of southern Europe. [3] The genus can be distinguished from Musturzabalsuchus in having 15 alveoli in the dentary. [4] However, Massaliasuchus is usually omitted from phylogenetic analyses since it is only represented by poorly-preserved material. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 Martin, Jeremy E.; Buffetaut, Eric (2008). "Crocodilus affuvelensis Matheron, 1869 from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: a reassessment". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 152 (3): 567–580. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2007.00358.x .
  2. P. Matheron. (1869). Notice sur les reptiles fossiles des dépôts fluvio-lacustres crétacés du bassin à lignite de Fuveau [Notice on the fossil reptiles from the Cretaceous fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the lignitic Fuveau Basin]. Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres, et Arts de Marseille 1868–1869:345-379
  3. Smith, Thierry; Narváez, Iván; Brochu, Christopher A.; Escaso, Fernando; Pérez-García, Adán; Ortega, Francisco (2015). "New crocodyliforms from Southwestern Europe and definition of a diverse clade of European Late Cretaceous basal eusuchians". PLOS ONE. 10 (11): e0140679. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1040679N. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140679 . PMC   4633049 . PMID   26535893.
  4. Narváez, I.; Brochu, C.A.; Escaso, F.; Pérez-García, A.; Ortega, F. (2016). "New Spanish Late Cretaceous eusuchian reveals the synchronic and sympatric presence of two allodaposuchids". Cretaceous Research. 65: 112–125. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2016.04.018 .
  5. Blanco, A. (2021). "Importance of the postcranial skeleton in eusuchian phylogeny: Reassessing the systematics of allodaposuchid crocodylians". PLOS ONE. 16 (6): e0251900. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1651900B. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251900 . PMC   8189472 . PMID   34106925.