Trematochampsidae
Encyclopedia
Trematochampsidae is an extinct family of mesoeucrocodylia
n crocodylomorph
. Fossil
s are present from Madagascar
, Morocco
, Niger
, Argentina
, and Brazil
(in the case of Caririsuchus
, where some specimens have been found in the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation
). Possible trematochampsids have been found from Spain
and France
, but classification past the family level is indeterminant. The trematochampsids first appeared during the Barremian
stage of the Early Cretaceous
and went extinct during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous
.
has been questioned. Relations between taxa within the family are also poorly understood. Many crocodylomorphs such as Mahajangasuchus
, Bergisuchus
, Iberosuchus
, and Itasuchus
had originally been assigned to Trematochapsidae but have since been assigned to the family Sebecidae
or put into their own families. Neogene
sebecosuchia
ns of Europe have been reclassified as trematochampsids but have recently been supported as true sebecosuchians as was originally proposed.
Mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia is the name of the clade that includes Eusuchia and the paraphyletic group Mesosuchia. The group appeared during the Early Jurassic, and continues to the present day....
n crocodylomorph
Crocodylomorpha
The Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the crocodilians and their extinct relatives.During Mesozoic and early Tertiary times the Crocodylomorpha were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. These were...
. Fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s are present from Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(in the case of Caririsuchus
Caririsuchus
Caririsuchus is an extinct genus of trematochampsid crocodylomorph. Fossils have been found from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation in northeastern Brazil, dating back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous. It was about 1.5m in length....
, where some specimens have been found in the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation
Santana Formation
The Santana Formation is a geologic Lagerstätte in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin where the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará come together. The geological formation, named after the village of Santana do Cariri, lies at the base of the Araripe Plateau...
). Possible trematochampsids have been found from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but classification past the family level is indeterminant. The trematochampsids first appeared during the Barremian
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale between 130.0 ± 1.5 Ma and 125.0 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous epoch...
stage of the Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...
and went extinct during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
.
Description
Trematochampsids are deep-snouted and have a ziphodont tooth structure. The dentition differs from most other crocodilians in that the teeth are recurved, serrated, and lateromedially compressed. This may be an adaptation to a terrestrial or at least semiterrestrial lifestyle as such teeth would be better suited for cutting and tearing into prey as opposed to capturing them and holding them underwater. Despite this, most trematochampsids are presumed to have been aquatic.Taxonomy
There has been much controversy surrounding the family's phylogeny, and the group's monophylyMonophyly
In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
has been questioned. Relations between taxa within the family are also poorly understood. Many crocodylomorphs such as Mahajangasuchus
Mahajangasuchus
Mahajangasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliform which had blunt, conical teeth. The type species, M. insignis, lived during the Late Cretaceous; its fossils have been found in the Maevarano Formation in northern Madagascar.Sereno et al....
, Bergisuchus
Bergisuchus
Bergisuchus is an extinct genus of sebecosuchian mesoeucrocodylian. Fossils have been found from the Eocene Messel Pit in Germany. Bergisuchus was originally classified as a sebecosuchian, supposedly the first to be found outside of South America, and later assigned to Trematochampsidae in 1988....
, Iberosuchus
Iberosuchus
Iberosuchus is an extinct genus of sebecid mesoeucrocodylian from the Eocene of western Europe. It was described in 1975 by Antunes from remains from Portugal as a sebecosuchian crocodilian. The type species is I. macrodon...
, and Itasuchus
Itasuchus
Itasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. Fossils of the type species I. jesuinoi, first described in 1955 by Llewellyn Ivor Price, have been found from the Marília Formation in Uberaba, Brazil....
had originally been assigned to Trematochapsidae but have since been assigned to the family Sebecidae
Sebecidae
Sebecidae is an extinct family of prehistoric crocodylomorphs. They lived mostly in Argentina.This group included many medium and large - sized genera, from Sebecus to a giant indeterminate unnamed species from the Miocene.-Phylogeny:...
or put into their own families. Neogene
Neogene
The Neogene is a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago...
sebecosuchia
Sebecosuchia
Sebecosuchia is an extinct group of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms that includes the families Sebecidae and Baurusuchidae. The group first appeared in the Late Cretaceous with the baurusuchids and went extinct in the Miocene with the last sebecids. Fossils have been found primarily from South...
ns of Europe have been reclassified as trematochampsids but have recently been supported as true sebecosuchians as was originally proposed.