Eothoracosaurus
| Eothoracosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Superfamily: | Gavialoidea |
| Genus: | †Eothoracosaurus Brochu, 2004 |
| Type species | |
| Eothoracosuchus mississippiensis Brochu, 2004 | |
Eothoracosaurus is an extinct genus of gavialoid crocodilian. It was one of the earliest and most basal gavialoids known. Fossils are present from the Ripley Formation in Mississippi, and date back to the early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Some fragmentary material from the Coon Creek Formation of western Tennessee dating back to the late Campanian (slightly older than the specimens from Mississippi) has been referred to Eothoracosaurus as well. The Coon Creek Formation seems to have been deposited in a marine setting, with oceanic fauna such as the sharks Otodus and Squalicorax, the sea turtle Toxochelys, and mosasaurs including Plioplatecarpus and Globidens present from these strata.[1] This suggests that Eothoracosaurus may also have led a marine lifestyle. Certain aspects of the cranial morphology of known specimens, such as a long anterior frontal process and widely spaced supratemporal fenestrae, distinguish it from the closely related Thoracosaurus neocesariensis from the late Maastrichtian and early Paleocene of New Jersey.[2]
References
- ↑ Gibson, M. A (2008). "Review of vertebrate diversity in the Coon Creek Formation lagerstätte (Late Cretaceous) of western Tennessee". Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. 40 (3): 8.
- ↑ Brochu, C. A. (2004). "A new Late Cretaceous gavialoid crocodylian from eastern North America and the phylogenetic relationships of thoracosaurs". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 24 (3): 610–633. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2004)024[0610:ANLCGC]2.0.CO;2.