Real crocodiles

Real crocodiles
	Nile crocodile in the cult site of Kachikally , West Africa
Systematics
Row :	Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
without rank:	Amniotes (Amniota)
without rank:	Sauropsida
without rank:	Archosauria
Order :	Crocodiles (crocodylia)
Family :	Real crocodiles
Scientific name
	Crocodylidae
	Cuvier , 1807

Distribution area of the real crocodiles

The real crocodiles (Crocodylidae) are a family of crocodiles (Crocodylia). Depending on which species are recognized, the family has 15 to 19 species; This makes it the most species-rich crocodile family, ahead of the alligators (Alligatoridae) and the gavials (Gavialidae). Its representatives live in the tropical regions of Africa , Asia , Oceania and America .

features

The real crocodiles differ from the alligators and especially from the gharial , the only recent representative of the gharial, in the features of the skull. With them (as with the alligators) the nasal bones collide with the premaxillaries . The muzzle is usually wide and not specialized for special fishing methods. The lower teeth all grip into pits in the upper jaw , unlike the alligators, however, the fourth tooth engages in a gap and is visible from the outside even when the mouth is closed. The belly scales have special sensory pits.

Internal system

The following species belong to this taxon :

Real crocodiles (Crocodylidae)
- Subfamily: Crocodylinae
  - Genus: Crocodylus
    - Saltwater crocodile or estuarine crocodile ( Crocodylus porosus )
    - Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus )
    - Cuban or diamond crocodile ( Crocodylus rhombifer )
    - American crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus )
    - Crocodylus halli
    - Orinoco crocodile ( Crocodylus intermedius )
    - Marsh crocodile ( Crocodylus palustris )
    - Siamese crocodile ( Crocodylus siamensis )
    - Philippines crocodile ( Crocodylus mindorensis )
    - Bumpy crocodile ( Crocodylus moreletii )
    - New Guinea crocodile ( Crocodylus novaeguineae )
    - Australia crocodile ( crocodylus johnsoni )
    - West African crocodile ( Crocodylus suchus )
  - Genus: Mecistops (two species)
    - West African armored crocodile ( Mecistops cataphractus )
    - Central African armored crocodile ( Mecistops leptorhynchus )

Currently, based on genetic analyzes, doubts have arisen as to whether the Sunda Gavial ( Tomistoma schlegelii ) and the fossil members of the Tomistominae are not more closely related to the Gavial . The Tomistominae would therefore be members of the Gavialidae and within this family the sister group of the Gavialinae , to which the Gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus ) belongs.

The following fossil species belong to the Crocodylidae:

Subfamily: † Mekosuchinae (genera and species are listed there)
Subfamily: Crocodylinae
- Genus: † (not yet named)
  - † "Crocodylus" megarhinus (does not belong to the genus Crocodylus )
- Genus: † Rimasuchus
  - † Rimasuchus lloydi
- Genus: † Voay
  - † Voay robustus
- Genus: † Brochuchus
  - † Brochuchus pigotti
- Genus: † (not yet named)
  - † "Crocodylus" gariepensis (does not belong to the genus Crocodylus )
- Genus: † Euthecodon
  - † Euthecodon arambourgii
  - † Euthecodon brumpti
  - † Euthecodon nitriae
- Genus: Crocodylus
  - † Crocodylus anthropophagus
  - † Crocodylus checchiai
  - † Crocodylus falconensis
  - † Crocodylus palaeindicus
  - † Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni

The exact position of the Mekosuchinae is also controversial . According to Brochu (1997) they belong to the Crocodylidae and according to Brochu (2000) they were then part of the Crocodylinae as clade without rank. According to Molnar, Worthy & Willis (2002) they are completely outside the Crocodylidae and thus belong to the higher-level taxon Crocodyloidea . There is only agreement that they are more closely related to the crocodiles (Crocodylidae) than to the alligators and caimans (Alligatoridae).

literature

Charles A. Ross (Ed.): Crocodiles and Alligators - Evolution, Biology and Distribution. Orbis Verlag, Niedernhausen 2002, ISBN 3-572-01319-4 .

Individual evidence

↑ Christopher M. Murray, Peter Russo, Alexander Zorrilla, and Caleb D. McMahan. 2019. Divergent Morphology among Populations of the New Guinea Crocodile, Crocodylus novaeguineae (Schmidt, 1928): Diagnosis of An Independent Lineage and Description of A New Species. Copeia. 107 (3); 517-523. DOI: 10.1643 / CG-19-240
↑ Matthew H. Shirley, Amanda N. Carr, Jennifer H. Nestler, Kent A. Vliet, Christopher A. Brochu: Systematic revision of the living African Slender-snouted Crocodiles (Mecistops Gray, 1844). In: Zootaxa . 4504, 2018, p. 151, doi: 10.11646 / zootaxa.4504.2.1 .
↑ Mitchell J. Eaton, Andrew Martin, John Thorbjarnarson, George Amato: Species-level diversification of African dwarf crocodiles (Genus Osteolaemus): A geographic and phylogenetic perspective. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 50, Issue 3, March 2009, pp. 496-506, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2008.11.009
↑ RE Willis, LR McAliley, ED Neeley, LD Densmore: Evidence for placing the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) into the family Gavialidae: Inferences from nuclear gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43 (3), June 2007. pp. 787-794. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2007.02.005
↑ CA Brochu: A review of “Leidyosuchus” (Crocodyliformes, Eusuchia) from the Cretaceous through Eocene of North America . In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 17, No. 4, 1997, pp. 679-697. JSTOR 4523857 . doi : 10.1080 / 02724634.1997.10011017 .
↑ Christopher A. Brochu: Phylogenetic Relationships and Divergence Timing of Crocodylus Based on Morphology and the Fossil Record . In: Copeia . No. 3 , 2000, pp. 657-673 (English).
^ RE Molnar, T. Worthy and PMA Willis: An extinct Pleistocene endemic mekosuchine crocodylian from Fiji . In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . tape 22 , no. 3 , 2002, p. 612-628 , doi : 10.1671 / 0272-4634 (2002) 022 [0612: AEPEMC] 2.0.CO; 2 .

Web links

Commons : Real Crocodiles - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Crocodylidae in The Reptile Database

[1] Christopher M. Murray, Peter Russo, Alexander Zorrilla, and Caleb D. McMahan. 2019. Divergent Morphology among Populations of the New Guinea Crocodile, Crocodylus novaeguineae (Schmidt, 1928): Diagnosis of An Independent Lineage and Description of A New Species. Copeia. 107 (3); 517-523. DOI: 10.1643 / CG-19-240

[2] Matthew H. Shirley, Amanda N. Carr, Jennifer H. Nestler, Kent A. Vliet, Christopher A. Brochu: Systematic revision of the living African Slender-snouted Crocodiles (Mecistops Gray, 1844). In: Zootaxa . 4504, 2018, p. 151, doi: 10.11646 / zootaxa.4504.2.1 .

[3] Mitchell J. Eaton, Andrew Martin, John Thorbjarnarson, George Amato: Species-level diversification of African dwarf crocodiles (Genus Osteolaemus): A geographic and phylogenetic perspective. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 50, Issue 3, March 2009, pp. 496-506, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2008.11.009

[4] RE Willis, LR McAliley, ED Neeley, LD Densmore: Evidence for placing the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) into the family Gavialidae: Inferences from nuclear gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43 (3), June 2007. pp. 787-794. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2007.02.005

[CB97-5] CA Brochu: A review of “Leidyosuchus” (Crocodyliformes, Eusuchia) from the Cretaceous through Eocene of North America . In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 17, No. 4, 1997, pp. 679-697. JSTOR 4523857 . doi : 10.1080 / 02724634.1997.10011017 .

[Phylogenetics-6] Christopher A. Brochu: Phylogenetic Relationships and Divergence Timing of Crocodylus Based on Morphology and the Fossil Record . In: Copeia . No. 3 , 2000, pp. 657-673 (English).

[7] RE Molnar, T. Worthy and PMA Willis: An extinct Pleistocene endemic mekosuchine crocodylian from Fiji . In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . tape 22 , no. 3 , 2002, p. 612-628 , doi : 10.1671 / 0272-4634 (2002) 022 [0612: AEPEMC] 2.0.CO; 2 .