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One for the (marine) crocodile specialist...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon posted a topic in Questions & Answers
Hi everyone, Recently, while researching the morphology of machimosaurid crocodile teeth, I bumped into the below specimen, identified as Machimosaurus hugii (presumably based on its size). And although I can't confirm the specific name, I'm confident the referral to Machimosaurus is correct. When taking a closer look at the tooth's striations, however, I noticed not all of them actually run the whole apicobasal length of the tooth as I expected. And although some striations have undoubtedly been terminated and/or interrupted by wear, I was more genetically wondering if striations not running the full apicobasal length of the tooth is a know characteristic of crocodile teeth. For I'm only familiar with teeth that are either entirely smooth, or that have fine striations on one or both sides of the tooth, where only those striations that run into one of the tooth's carinae may be truncated before reaching the full apicobasal length of the tooth. That having been said, though, I can imagine crocodilian dental ornamentation being more varied, with different patterns of organisation in their striations, as Madzia (2016, A reappraisal of Polyptychodon (Plesiosauria) from the Cretaceous of England), in an annotation with his figure 8 illustrating pliosaurid tooth crown morphologies following Tarlo (1960) (reproduced below), observes that the teeth with the most striae, previously referred to Simolestes nowackianus, are now considered Machimosaurus nowackianus. And with the great variation of expression in striations on pliosaurian teeth, I don't think it would be such a leap to assume the same for this species of teleosaur... So, my question is: are striations on crocodilian teeth as variable as they are amongst pliosaurs? Can individual striae end prior to stretching the full apicobasal length of the tooth, and, if so, in which clades or under what conditions? Do crocodilian teeth exhibit patterns of striations of interchanging lengths (e.g., short-long-short)? Thanks for your help!- 14 replies
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Is it possible that large crocodylians such as Deinosuchus and Purussaurus could have had levels of intelligence similar to that of say, elephants? Could larger body sizes equal higher intelligence? Crocodylians are already very intelligent, so I think it may be possible that as their body sizes increase, so do their levels of intelligence. This may seem impossible at first, but this has happened with other archosaurs as well. Tyrannosaurus is possibly the best example of this. Its relatives likely had intelligence comparable to that of bears and wolves, but as it got larger, its intelligence became more comparable to that of primates and corvids. I suppose to prove this we'd have to scan the brain case of a deinosuchus or purussaurus. This has to be the most elaborite shower thought I've ever come up with.
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Locals work on 52-million-year-old crocodile fossil (Green Rvier Formation, Wyomimg)
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
Locals work on 52-million-year-old crocodile fossil Kemmerer Gazette, Kemperer, Wyoming Yours, Paul H.-
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The Pleistocene-Holocene distribution of Unique Crocodilians (Crocodilia) Worldwide
Joseph Fossil posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
The Crocodilians (Crocodilia) are a resilient group of reptiles, with the order originating around the Late Cretaceous 95 million years ago and still very prevalent globally in many aquatic ecosystems. But it was not too long ago that this group was even more diverse. Though way more diverse between the Paleocene-Pilocene eras between 64-2 Million years ago, the Crocodylomorpha (mainly Crocodillians) were still fairly diverse during the Pleistocene-Early Holocene eras - more diverse than they are today. This lack of diversity today is mainly due to the climate change that occurred between the Pleistocene and Holocene and (Unfortunately) overexploitation by Humans. Human induced Climate change since the Industrial Revolution and direct overexploitation by people still plagues many crocodilians today. It is only because of global Conservation efforts that some of the most endangered crocodilians today have a fighting chance at survival. I've decided to make a quick list of the unique crocodilians of the Pleistocene-Early(to part late) Holocene which can hopefully demonstrate the diversity of these magnificent animals during this time. Let me know if I forgot any examples. Australia - Quinkana fortirostrum (Pliocene-Pleistocene) Possible Unnamed Quinkana sp. (Possibly Q.fortirostrum) (Queensland Museum Specimen QM F57032) (Note: Quinkana could have grown to between 10-20 feet in length) Paludirex vincenti (Pliocene-Pleistocene 5.3-0.012 years ago) (Note: Plaudirex species could grow up to 4 meters (13 feet) in length) Paludirex gracilis (Pliocene-Pleistocene 5.3-0.012 years ago) (Note: Plaudirex species could grow up to 4 meters (13 feet) in length) Gunggamarandu manunala (Pliocene-Pleistocene 5-2 Million years ago) (Note: Gunggamarandu manunala could have grown up to 7 meters (23 feet) in length) Japan - Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis (Pleistocene 0.8-0.1 years ago) (Note: Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis could have grown up to 7.7 meters (25 feet) in length) Taiwan - Unnamed Toyotamaphimeia sp. (Pleistocene 0.8-0.1 years ago) China - Hanyusuchus sinensis (Early-Late Holocene (up to the 1400s A.D. around 600 years ago)) (Note: Hanyusuchus sinensis could grow up to 6 meters (19 feet) in length) Africa - Euthecodon brumpti (Pilocene-Early Pleistocene 3.5-0.781 Thousand years ago) (Note: Euthecodon brumpti could grow up to 10 meters (33 feet) in length) Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni (Pliocene to Pleistocene 5.3-1.8 Million years ago) (Note: Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni could grow up to 7.6 meters (25 feet) in length) Crocodylus anthropophagus (Pleistocene 1.845-1.839 Million years ago) (Note: Crocodylus anthropophagus could grow up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) in length) Madagascar - Voay robustus (Late Pleistocene-Holocene 0.1-0.01 years ago) (Note: Voay robust could grow up to 5 meters (16.4 feet) in length) Thailand - Gavialis bengawanicus (Early-Middle Pleistocene) Indonesia - Gavialis bengawanicus (Early-Middle Pleistocene) New Caleodonia - Mekosuchus inexpectatus (Holocene 0.012-0.004 years ago) (Note: Mekosuchus species could grow up to 2 meters (6 feet) in length) Fiji - Volia athollandersoni (Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene) (Note: Volia athollandersoni could grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) in length) Vanuatu - Mekosuchus kalpokasi (Holocene 0.012-0.003 years ago) (Note: Mekosuchus species could grow up to 2 meters (6 feet) in length) New Guinea - Murua gharial (Ikanogavialis papuensis) (Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene) What do you guys think?-
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Hello, I have a question about the identification of crocodiles. The first series of photographs, the top row are teeth belonging to Sphiraendus, and the bottom row are crocodiles, they have a cutting edge! (White tooth is a modern Nile crocodile from the zoo) Then the suspicious jaw... This is followed by a series of photographs where the top row belongs to Eutrichiurides sp, but the bottom row is a question. The degree of preservation and enamel is completely different. We continue further. Fragment of bone and part of the skull. The bone definitely belongs to the Eocene era (certainly not the Pleistocene or Miocene). Part of the skull perhaps a large fish? And finally, an armored shield, it is heavily rounded and the relief from one of the halves has disappeared. To be honest, I think it's more likely from Acipenseridae than from the shield of a crocodile, but suddenly someone recognizes it. Location, Russia, Ural, Derney stream. Age Eocene, Barton-Priabonian.
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Crocodile fossils found in Portsmouth seawalls (United Kingdom)
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
Crocodile fossils found in Portsmouth seawalls by University of Portsmouth, PhyOrg, Decmeber 15, 2021 A paper about Durlston Bay Westhead, R.K. and Mather, A.E., 1996. An updated lithostratigraphy for the Purbeck Limestone Group in the Dorset type-area. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 107(2), pp.117-128. Yours, Paul H.- 1 reply
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Hi! I have a handfull of croc teeth from kem kem , and I would like to learn more about identifying these croc teeth. I know that it can be hard to id these teeth but I was wondering if someone got some papers where most of the discoveries of moroccan crocs are illustrated? , I´ve been trying to find some but with no luck, I just found some papers that only describes Elosuchus.
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Pleistocene "Swamp King" (Croc) from South East Queensland
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
Crikey! Massive prehistoric croc emerges from South East Queensland University of Queensland, Science Daily, December 21, 2021 The open access paper is: Ristevski, J., Yates, A.M., Price, G.J., Molnar, R.E., Weisbecker, V. and Salisbury, S.W., 2020. Australia’s prehistoric ‘swamp king’: revision of the Plio-Pleistocene crocodylian genus Pallimnarchus de Vis, 1886. PeerJ, 8, p.e10466 Yours, Paul H.-
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Is it generally impossible to distinguish different croc species, even from just half a dozen from a certain location, by most individual bones, like humerus’/arm/leg bones, and individual verts? I know experts can definitely do so if they have the bone in-hand, and proper tools, but in THIS situation, through just pics, there’s not much that can be done unless there’s something that stands out, like unusually large size or something, is there?
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Possible Crocodile Tooth from Ramanessin Brrok, N.J.
Jeffrey P posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Cretaceous
Possible Crocodile Tooth Upper Cretaceous Wenonah Formation Mattawan Group Ramanessin Brook Holmdel, New Jersey- 3 comments
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Croc Scute from thr Aquia Formation, Maryland
Jeffrey P posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Tertiary
Crocodile scute Paleocene Aquia Formation Douglas Point Charles Co., MD.-
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I spent the day hunting the badlands of the Hell Creek formation in northwest South Dakota. It was beautiful outside. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing and the insects were mild. The group started the day working the amber microsite- a spot where a phenomenal amount of amber is produced from lignite rich exposures mixed in with a deposit of smaller fossils. I spent several hours picking up amber bits along with a variety of other fossils. Here are some photos from the first few hours of the day Views of some of the collecting area A shot of the gravel where many of the fossils lie. Some pics of the amber- a small fraction of what I picked up. Several Brachychampsa alligator teeth. Left: A small Edmontosaurus tooth Right: A small digit, potentially turtle or crocodile Left: Small vertebra- amphibian? squamate? Right: Crocodilian osteoderm Left: One of my best Brachychampsa teeth to date Right: Awesome crocodilian tooth I left the amber microsite around noon to go prospecting with some other people, here is a view from atop a butte we found some fossils on. I found this awesome turtle claw after finding some shell pieces eroding from near the top of the butte. Since I found it among many pieces of softshell turtle shell I would assume it's a trionychid. As we moved away from the butte, we explored a dried creek bed which created a small valley with some exposures on the side. We found a few fossils including a champsosaur vertebra another cool claw. It belongs to another species of turtle, although I'm not sure what variety. I returned to the microsite to wrap up the day and was not disappointed by my finds. I found this Paronychodon tooth below the main amber site . My last big find of the day was this cool section of crocodile jaw. I found a ton of great fossils today and I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrow will be just as productive!
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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-crocodiles-would-have-ordered-salad-180972518/ https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/some-prehistoric-crocs-were-vegetarians
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Upper Cretaceous Crocodile Scute from Big Brook, New Jersey
Jeffrey P posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Cretaceous
Crocodile scute fragment Upper Cretaceous Wenonah Formation Mattawan Group Big Brook Colts Neck, New Jersey-
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From the album: Dinosaurs and Reptiles
Teeth and Bones from Hell Creek formation, South Dakota, USA, Maastricthian, Cretaceous. Scalebar 1 cm. A. - Thescelosaurus neglectus tooth. B. - Denversaurus schlessmani tooth. C. - Nanotyrannus lancensis tooth. D. - Richardoestesia sp. tooth. E. - Dromaeosaur tail vertebra. F. - Edmontosaurus annectens shed tooth. G. - Triceratops sp. shed tooth. H. - Crocodile scute. I. - Borealosuchus sternbergi tooth. J. - Brachychampsa montana tooth. K. - Myledaphus pustulosus ray tooth.-
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Crocodile Tooth from Aquia Formation, Potomac River, MD.
Jeffrey P posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Tertiary
Crocodile Tooth Paleocene Aquia Formation Douglas Point Potomac River, MD.-
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For your vintage library... Fossil Crocodilians from Colombia (1965)
Wrangellian posted a topic in Member-to-Member Fossil Trades
I ordered a different book from ebay and they sent me the wrong one. At least it's still fossil-related, but it's outside my area of interest. I don't know if this is worth anything to anyone, but if you want it, I'll trade it for a fossil. I'm more into inverts but it can be just about any fossil, it doesn't have to be very valuable! (I didn't pay a lot for the book...) Alternatively I could offer it for the cost of shipping. (I'll relist it in the sales section if necessary)