"Crocodylus" gariepensis

"Crocodylus" gariepensis; Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Crocodilia
Superfamily:	Crocodyloidea
Family:	Crocodylidae
Subfamily:	Osteolaeminae
Genus:	Incertae sedis
Species:	†"C." gariepensis
Binomial name
	†"Crocodylus" gariepensis; Pickford, 2003

"Crocodylus" gariepensis is an extinct species of crocodile that lived in southern Africa during the Early Miocene^[1] about 17.5 million years ago (Ma).^[2] Fossils have been found along a bank of the Orange River in Namibia, near its border with South Africa.^[1]

Classification and Phylogeny

When the species was named in 2003,

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:^[5]

Crocodylidae

Osteolaeminae

	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

	Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni†

	Crocodylus anthropophagus†

Crocodylus niloticus Nile crocodile

	Crocodylus checchiai†

	Crocodylus moreletii Morelet's crocodile

	Crocodylus intermedius Orinoco crocodile

	Crocodylus acutus American crocodile

	Crocodylus rhombifer Cuban crocodile

Crocodylus palaeindicus†

Crocodylus palustris Mugger crocodile

	Crocodylus ossifragus †

	Crocodylus siamensis Siamese crocodile

Crocodylus mindorensis Philippine crocodile

Crocodylus johnstoni Freshwater crocodile

Crocodylus porosus Saltwater crocodile

	Crocodylus raninus Borneo crocodile

	Crocodylus novaeguineae New Guinea crocodile

Paleoafrican Crocodylus

Neotropical Crocodylus

Indo-Pacific Crocodylus

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.^[2]