Mekosuchinae
| Mekosuchinae | ||||||||||||
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Lower jaw of Mekosuchus inexpectatus |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Miocene to Holocene (isolated) | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mekosuchinae | ||||||||||||
| Willis , Molnar & Scanlon , 1993 | ||||||||||||
| Genera | ||||||||||||
The Mekosuchinae are an extinct taxon of crocodiles in Australia and parts of Oceania . Fossils have been found from the Miocene period . The Mekosuchinae existed sporadically into the Holocene and died out around the same time as humans arrived on the islands of Fiji , New Caledonia and Vanuatu .
Features and special features
Although there is disagreement about the classification of the Mekosuchinae into the family of real crocodiles (Crocodylidae), as some people assume that it is a completely separate family, it is certain that the crocodiles of the Mekosuchinae exhibited at least a broad spectrum of appearance.
One of the earlier species, Trilophosuchus rackhami , the remains of which have been found in Queensland , had a short snout and relatively large eyes; According to theories, it hunted its prey by climbing trees and falling from them at the right moment (hence the nickname “fall crocodile”).
distribution
A fossil of the Mekosuchinae has been excavated in the Miocene deposits on New Zealand . The species Mekosuchus inhabited a number of Pacific islands; it is believed that it moved from island to island in the Coral Sea , for example across the Chesterfield Islands to New Caledonia and from there to other islands and archipelagos. There are suspicions that further remains of Mekosuchus could be found in Tonga and Samoa .
die out
Mekosuchinae became extinct in Australia as a result of the arrival of crocodiles of the genus Crocodylus , which is found, for example, in the estuarine crocodile . Species like Mekosuchus inexpectatus and Mekosuchus kalpokasi survived on Vanuatu and New Caledonia until humans reached the islands; Humans are blamed (directly or indirectly) for the extinction of animals.
Although it is certain that the main extinction of the animals occurred in the Pliocene, it is assumed that sporadic species appeared in some habitats up to around 3000 years ago.
Internal system
The following species belong to this taxon:
- † Mekosuchinae
- Genus: † Kambara
Willis & Molnar , 1993
- † Kambara taraina Buchanan , 2009
- † Kambara molnari Holt , Salisbury & Willis , 2005
- † Kambara murgonensis Willis & Molnar , 1993
- † Kambara implexidens Salisbury & Willis , 1996
- Genus: † Australosuchus Willis & Molnar , 1991 (affiliation disputed)
- † Australosuchus clarkae Willis & Molnar , 1991
- Genus: † Pallimnarchus De Vis , 1886
- † Pallimnarchus pollens De Vis , 1886
- † Pallimnarchus gracilis Willis & Molnar , 1997
- Genre: † Baru Willis , Murray & Megirian , 1990
- † Baru huberi Willis , 1997
- † Baru wickeni Willis , 1997
- † Baru darrowi Willis , Murray & Megirian , 1990
- Genus: † Trilophosuchus Willis , 1993
- † Trilophosuchus rackhami Willis , 1993
- Genre : † Harpacochampsa Megirian , Murray & Willis , 1991 (affiliation disputed)
- † Harpacochampsa camfieldensis Megirian , Murray & Willis , 1991
- Genre: † Volia Molnar , Worthy & Willis , 2002
- † Volia athollandersoni Molnar , Worthy & Willis , 2002
- Genus: † Quinkana Molnar , 1981
- † Quinkana meboldi Willis , 1997
- † Quinkana timara Megirian , 1994
- † Quinkana babarra Willis & Mackness , 1996
- † Quinkana fortirostrum Molnar , 1981
- Genus: † Mekosuchus Balouet & Buffetaut , 1987
- † Mekosuchus whitehunterensis Willis , 1997
- † Mekosuchus sanderi Willis , 2001
- † Mekosuchus inexpectatus Balouet & Buffetaut , 1987
- † Mekosuchus kalpokasi Mead , Steadman , Bedford , Bell & Spriggs , 2002
- Genus: † Kambara
Willis & Molnar , 1993
literature
- Jim I. Mead, David W. Steadman, Stuart H. Bedford, Christopher J. Bell, Matthew Spriggs: New extinct Mekosuchine crocodile from Vanuatu, South Pacific. In: Copeia. Vol. 2002, No. 3, 2002, ISSN 0045-8511 , pp. 632-641, doi : 10.1643 / 0045-8511 (2002) 002 [0632: NEMCFV] 2.0.CO; 2 .
