Allodaposuchus

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Allodaposuchus
Temporal range:
Ma
A. precedens skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Crocodyliformes
Clade: Eusuchia
Clade: †Allodaposuchidae
Genus: †Allodaposuchus
Nopcsa, 1928
Type species
†Allodaposuchus precedens
Nopcsa, 1928
Species
  • †A. precedens Nopcsa, 1928
  • †A. subjuniperus? Puértolas et al., 2013 (also Agaresuchus)
  • †A. palustris Blanco et al., 2014
  • †A. hulki Blanco et al., 2015
  • †A. iberoarmoricanus Blanco, 2021
  • †A. fontisensis? (Narváez et al., 2016; originally Agaresuchus)
  • †A. megadontos? (Narváez et al. 2015; originally Lohuecosuchus)
  • †A. mechinorum? (Narváez et al. 2015; originally Lohuecosuchus)
Synonyms

Allodaposuchus is an

crocodylomorph, it is sometimes placed as one of the earliest true crocodylians. Allodaposuchus is one of the most common Late Cretaceous crocodylomorphs from Europe, with fossils known from Romania, Spain, and France
.

Description

Restoration of A. precedens

Like many other Cretaceous crocodylomorphs, Allodaposuchus has a relatively small body size compared to living crocodylians. The largest known specimen of Allodaposuchus belongs to an individual that was probably around 3 metres (9.8 ft) long.

skull table (the region of the skull behind the eye sockets) and A. subjuniperus has a mesorostrine or "middle-snouted" skull with a snout that is longer than the skull table.[1][2] The main feature that distinguishes Allodaposuchus species from other related crocodylomorphs is the orientation of a groove at the back of the skull called the cranioquadrate passage; unlike the cranioquadrate passages of other crocodylomorphs, which are only visible at the back of the skull, the cranioquadrate passage of Allodaposuchus is visible when the skull is viewed from the side.[3]

At least one species of Allodaposuchus, A. hulki, may have adaptations that would have allowed it to live on land for extended periods of time. A. hulki has large

charophyte algae, likely formed in ephemeral ponds in a large floodplain far from permanent bodies of water like lakes or rivers. A. hulki may therefore have spent much of its time out of water, travelling between these ponds for food.[4]

History of study

While there are several

described
species of Allodaposuchus, the precise membership of the group is currently disputed.

Allodaposuchus precedens

The

Hațeg Basin that dates back to the late Maastrichtian stage – the very end of the Late Cretaceous. Several partial skulls from Spain and France were attributed to A. precedens in 2001.[6] Some of these skulls came from Campanian-age deposits slightly older than those in Romania, meaning that the species must have persisted for about 5 million years.[1]

A 2013 study proposed that the French and Spanish fossils assigned to A. precedens in 2001 might actually represent a new unnamed species of Allodaposuchus currently identified as Allodaposuchus sp.[1] A study published in 2005 had suggested that these fossils belong to several different genera of crocodylomorphs and that the original Romanian material is too fragmentary to assign to its own genus, making Allodaposuchus a nomen dubium or "dubious name".[7] However, the 2013 study reaffirmed the Romanian material's distinctiveness from other European Cretaceous crocodylomorphs and therefore reaffirmed the validity of Allodaposuchus as a genus.[1]

Allodaposuchus (Agaresuchus) subjuniperus ?

In 2013, a second species of Allodaposuchus, A. subjuniperus, was named on the basis of a skull from the late-Maastrichtian Conquès Formation, part of the Tremp Group, in the province of Huesca, Spain. The skull was found underneath a juniper tree whose roots had grown between the bones, hence the species name subjuniperus or "under juniper" in Latin.[1] However, in 2016, A. subjuniperus was moved to a new genus, Agaresuchus along with the type species of that genus, A. fontisensis, on the grounds that the Spanish species were sufficiently distinct from A. precedens.[8] In 2021, a phylogenetic analysis by Blanco disputed this result, suggesting that both A. fontisensis and A. subjuniperus belong within the genus Allodaposuchus proper, alongside the two species of Lohuecosuchus: L. megadontos and L. mechinorum.[9]

Allodaposuchus palustris

In 2014, A. palustris was described from a partial skull and other skeletal fragments found in Maastrichtian age sediments of the

postcranial
(non-skull) anatomy of Allodaposuchus.

Allodaposuchus hulki

A fourth species of Allodaposuchus, A. hulki, was named in 2015 and also came from the Tremp Formation, although this time in a locality called Casa Fabà. The species is named after the Hulk from Marvel Comics, in reference to features on the bones that suggest it had strong muscles.[4]

Allodaposuchus iberoarmoricanus

A. palustris was described by Blanco in 2021 based on fossils discovered in

species name is in reference to the Ibero-Armorican island of the Cretaceous European Archipelago.[9]

Allodaposuchus (Agaresuchus) fontisensis ?

In 2016, the new genus and species

described. It was named from the Lo Hueco fossil site in Fuentes, Cuenca, Spain; fontis is the Latin name of Fuentes.[8] A. subjuniperus was then also placed into the new genus Agaresuchus.[8] However, Blanco's 2021 study has called this into question, and instead proposed that they should both be considered members of Allodaposuchus, with Agaresuchus as a junior synonym.[9]

Allodaposuchus (Lohuecosuchus) megadontos and Allodaposuchus (Lohuecosuchus) mechinorum ?

The genus Lohuecosuchus was named in 2015 and contained two species, L. megadontos and L. mechinorum, from Spain and southern France.[11] However, Blanco's 2021 study has called this into question, and instead proposed that they should both be considered members of Allodaposuchus, with Lohuecosuchus as a junior synonym.[9]

Classification

jaw fragments and teeth of A. palustris
Skeletal diagram showing known remains of A. palustris

Allodaposuchus belongs to the

postcranial information recovered Allodaposuchidae within Crocodylia.[14]

The internal

phylogeny of Allodaposuchidae can be shown in the cladogram below from the 2021 Blanco study:[14]

Allodaposuchidae

Arenysuchus gascabadiolorum

Allodaposuchus precedens

Allodaposuchus iberoarmoricanus

Allodaposuchus subjuniperus

Allodaposuchus palustris

Allodaposuchus hulki

Agaresuchus fontisensis

Lohuecosuchus mechinorum

Lohuecosuchus megadontos

In the 2021 study, Blanco recovered Allodaposuchus as

junior synonyms of Allodaposuchus.[14]

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 85004774
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  2. doi:10.1080/02724631003758318
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  3. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[111:ACSOAP]2.0.CO;2
    .
  4. ^
    PMID 26339549
    .
  5. ^ Nopcsa, F (1928). "Paleontological notes on Reptilia. 7. Classification of the Crocodilia". Geologica Hungarica, Series Palaeontologica. 1: 75–84.
  6. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2001)021[0074:AROTCA]2.0.CO;2
    .
  7. ^ Martin, J.E.; Buffetaut, E. (2005). "An overview of the Late Cretaceous crocodilian assemblage from Cruzy, southern France". Kaupia. 14: 33–40.
  8. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.04.018
    .
  9. ^
    PMID 34106925
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  10. PMC 4281157
    .
  11. ^
    PMID 26535893
    .
  12. PMID 30051855
    .
  13. PMID 34567843
    .
  14. ^
    PMID 34106925
    .
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