Trematochampsidae is an extinct family of mesoeucrocodylian crocodyliforms. Fossils 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[1]). 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 became extinct during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.
| Trematochampsidae Temporal range: Early to Late Cretaceous
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
| Clade: | Metasuchia |
| Family: | †Trematochampsidae Buffetaut, 1974 |
| Genera | |
|
†Amargasuchus? | |
Description
editTrematochampsids are deep-snouted and have a ziphodont tooth structure.[2] 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.[3]
Taxonomy
editThere has been much controversy surrounding the family's phylogeny, and the group's monophyly has been questioned.[4] Relations between taxa within the family are also poorly understood. Many crocodylomorphs such as Mahajangasuchus, Bergisuchus and Iberosuchus had originally been assigned to Trematochapsidae but have since been assigned to the family Sebecidae or put into their own families. Neogene sebecosuchians of Europe have been reclassified as trematochampsids but have recently been supported as true sebecosuchians as was originally proposed.[5][6][7][8]
Itasuchus had originally been assigned to Trematochapsidae. The phylogenetic analysis of Carvalho et al. (2004) found a sister relations between Malawisuchus and Itasuchus. They named this node family Itasuchidae, and found it to be a member of Peirosauroidea. However, their analysis didn't include any neosuchians or (other than Itasuchus) trematochampsids.[9] All more recent phylogenetic analyses found a close relations between Trematochapsidae and Peirosauridae,[7][8] and the two clades might be synonymous.[10][11] Recent studies suggest that Itasuchus is a trematochampsid (and not closely related to the more derived notosuchian Malawisuchus).[10][11][12] In 2012, the new trematochampsid Barreirosuchus was described from the Bauru Basin as Itasuchus and it shares with it, and with Caririsuchus camposi from the Araripe Basin, several synapomorphies that are absent in other trematochampsids and peirosaurids.[12] The cladistic analysis of Rukwasuchus found Trematochampsa a member of Peirosauridae.[13]
More recently, Trematochampsa taqueti was declared a nomen dubium by Meunier and Larsson (2018), who found that the materials assigned to it were from several different taxa. They also recommended that the taxon Trematochampsidae be abandoned.[14]
References
edit- ^ Kellner, A.W.A. and Campos, D. A. (1999). Vertebrate Paleontology in Brazil - a review. Episodes, vol. 22, p. 238-251.
- ^ Buckley, G. A., and Brochu, C. A. (1999). An enigmatic new crocodile from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar. In Unwin, D. (ed.), Cretaceous Fossil Vertebrates: Special Papers in Palaeontology No. 60, The Palaeontological Association (London), p. 149-175.
- ^ Rogers, Raymond R.; Krause, David W.; Curry Rogers, Kristina; Rasoamiaramanana, Armand H.; & Rahantarisoa, Lydia. (2007). Paleoenvironment and Paleoecology of Majungasaurus crenatissimus (Theropoda: Abelisauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(sp8): 21-31.
- ^ Gasparini, Z., Chiappe, L. M. and Fernandez, M (1991).A New Senonian Peirosaurid (Crocodylomorpha) from Argentina and a Synopsis of the South American Cretaceous crocodilians. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 11(3): 316-333.
- ^ Buckley, G. A., and Brochu, C. A. (1999). An enigmatic new crocodile from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar. In Unwin, D. (ed.), Cretaceous Fossil Vertebrates: Special Papers in Palaeontology No. 60, The Palaeontological Association (London), p. 149-175.
- ^ Turner, A. H. and Calvo, J. O. (2005). A new sebecosuchian crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(1): 87–98.
- ^ a b Turner, Alan H.; Sertich, Joseph J. W. (2010). "Phylogenetic history of Simosuchus clarki (Crocodyliformes: Notosuchia) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (6, Memoir 10): 177–236. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.532348. S2CID 86737170.
- ^ a b Diego Pol; Juan M. Leardi; Agustina Lecuona; Marcelo Krause (2012). "Postcranial anatomy of Sebecus icaeorhinus (Crocodyliformes, Sebecidae) from the Eocene of Patagonia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (2): 328–354. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.646833. S2CID 86565764.
- ^ Carvalho, I.S.; Ribeiro, L.C.B.; Avilla, L.S. (2004). "Uberabasuchus terrificus sp. nov., a new Crocodylomorpha from the Bauru Basin (Upper Cretaceous), Brazil" (PDF). Gondwana Research. 7 (4): 975–1002. Bibcode:2004GondR...7..975C. doi:10.1016/S1342-937X(05)71079-0. ISSN 1342-937X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06.
- ^ a b Agustín G. Martinelli, Joseph J.W. Sertich, Alberto C. Garrido and Ángel M. Praderio (2012). "A new peirosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina: Implications for specimens referred to Peirosaurus torminni Price (Crocodyliformes: Peirosauridae)". Cretaceous Research. 37: 191–200. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.03.017.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Bronzati, M.; Montefeltro, F. C.; Langer, M. C. (2012). "A species-level supertree of Crocodyliformes". Historical Biology. 24 (6): 598–606. doi:10.1080/08912963.2012.662680. S2CID 53412111.
- ^ a b Fabiano Vidoi Iori & Karina Lucia Garcia (2012). "Barreirosuchus franciscoi, um novo Crocodylomorpha Trematochampsidae da Bacia Bauru, Brasil". Revista Brasileira de Geociências. 42 (2): 397–410. doi:10.5327/z0375-75362012000200013.
- ^ a b c d e Sertich, J. J. W.; O’Connor, P. M. (2014). "A new crocodyliform from the middle Cretaceous Galula Formation, southwestern Tanzania". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (3): 576. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.819808.
- ^ Meunier, Louise M V; Larsson, Hans C E (2018). "Trematochampsa taqueti as a nomen dubium and the crocodyliform diversity of the Upper Cretaceous In Beceten Formation of Niger". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (3): 659–680. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx061.