Kaprosuchus
Kaprosuchus | |
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Holotype skull, scale bar equals 10 cm | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauria |
Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
Family: | †Mahajangasuchidae |
Genus: | †Kaprosuchus Sereno and Larsson, 2009[1] |
Type species | |
†Kaprosuchus saharicus Sereno and Larsson, 2009
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Kaprosuchus is an extinct
Description
Kaprosuchus is known from a nearly complete skull 507 mm in length in which the lower jaw measured 603 mm long. It possesses three sets of tusk-like
The snout of Kaprosuchus shows generalized proportions and the
In Kaprosuchus, the
The surfaces of the
Classification
Kaprosuchus is a member of the
; and the hornlike dorsal projection of the external rim of the squamosal (although this is much more developed in Kaprosuchus than Mahajangasuchus).At the time of Kaprosuchus' description, Sereno and Larrson considered mahajangasuchids to be a family of
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Paleobiology
Kaprosuchus was once thought to have been a primarily if not exclusively terrestrial predator. Evidence for this behavior includes the positioning of the orbits laterally and somewhat anteriorly, which suggests an overlap in vision. This is unlike many other neosuchians, including extant
However, Kaprosuchus is now thought to have been semiaquatic, as the relative Mahajangasuchus has been suggested to be a primarily aquatic predator, and that the specimens of both genera show cranial adaptations usually found in "definitively semiaquatic" crocodylomorphs, "such as elongate platyrostral or tube-like snouts, orbits located dorsally on the skull, and/or dorsally-facing external nares."[6][7][8]
References
- ^ ISSN 1313-2970.
- ^ "3 new ancient crocodile species fossils found". Yahoo News. Associated Press. November 19, 2009. Archived from the original on November 21, 2009.
- ^ National Geographic. November 2009. p. 140-141
- PMID 34659786.
- S2CID 85634099.
- ^ PMID 30679529.
- .
- .
External links
- Kaprosuchus in the Paleobiology Database