Caiman wannlangstoni
Caiman wannlangstoni | |
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Size compared to a human. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
Clade: | Archosauriformes |
Order: | Crocodilia |
Family: | Alligatoridae |
Subfamily: | Caimaninae |
Clade: | Jacarea |
Genus: | Caiman |
Species: | †C. wannlangstoni
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Binomial name | |
†Caiman wannlangstoni Salas-Gismondi et al., 2015
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Caiman wannlangstoni is an extinct species of
Etymology
The species name wannlangstoni is named in honor of American paleontologist Wann Langston Jr. for his contributions to the study of South American fossil crocodilians.[3]
Discovery and taxonomy
Caiman wannlangstoni was described in 2015 by Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi et al on the basis a well preserved partial skull (MUSM 2377) that had been collected from the late Middle Miocene strata of the Pebas Formation in “Locality IQ26” in Iquitos, Peru.[3] A second specimen was referred to the species from Iquitos, though it only included several associated skull and mandible elements. A specimen consisting of a right premaxilla and maxilla that was previously referred to Caiman lutescens[4] from the Late Miocene Urumaco Formation in Venezuela was also referred to the species by Salas-Gismondi et al., extending the species’ range into more of Proto-Amazonia.[5][3] A partial skull from the La Venta Formation of Colombia may be from C. lanngstoni, but it lacks some diagnostic features of the species.[5][3]
Description
Caiman wannlangstoni was a small-medium-sized Caiman species, with estimates placing it from 210.5 – 226.7 cm long. The most distinctive feature of C. wannlangstoni is its high and robust rostrum, which has very large nasal openings and strong sinuous rostral margins. The species also has robust, large, and globular posterior teeth, built for "crushing" mollusks and hard shelled prey. The skull is roughly triangular in dorsal view with large, oval orbits. The posterior margin of skull table is semicircular and overhangs the occipital plate, resembling the skull tables in C. latirostris and Melanosuchus niger. Kuttanacaiman iquitosensis has a very similar skull anatomy to C. wannlangstoni, but C. wannlangstoni differs in the anatomy of its orbitals and mandibles. The overall skull anatomy of C. wannlangstoni is very similar to that of C. brevirostris from Brazil, but the latter has a shorter and parallel-sided rostrum than C. wannlangstoni,[6] among other distinguishing traits.[3][5]
Classification
The
Globidonta |
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Paleoenvironment
C. wannlangstoni lived through a major climatic and ecological shift in South America during the Middle to Late Miocene. The oldest fossils of the species come from the Pebas Formation, which was deposited during the Middle Miocene about 13 million years ago (Ma) over a vast area of Amazonia called the Pebas mega-wetland. The Pebas mega-wetland developed at the start of the
References
- PMID 34567843.
- ^ Caiman wannlangstoni at Fossilworks.org
- ^ PMID 25716785.
- ^ Aguilera, O. A. (2004). Tesoros paleontológicos de Venezuela: Urumaco, patrimonio natural de la humanidad. Caracas: Editorial Arte.
- ^ a b c Scheyer, T. M., & Delfino, M. (2016). The late Miocene caimanine fauna (Crocodylia: alligatoroidea) of the Urumaco Formation, Venezuela. Palaeontologia Electronica, 19(3), 1-57.
- S2CID 86506092.
- PMID 16530809.
- PMID 23695701.