In Depth Named in 2015 alongside Kuttanacaiman and Caiman wannlangstoni, Gnatusuchus was a small genus of caiman crocodile that lived in what is now Peru during the Miocene. The part of Peru that Gnatusuchus is known from would have been an expanse of freshwater swamp at this time, and in this swamp there seems to … Read more
In Depth Toyotamaphimeia was originally described as a prehistoric species of the Tomistoma genus, better known as the false gharial. Today the false gharial is known to attain lengths of up to five meters in the wild, with isolated skulls suggesting a theoretical limit of somewhere between five and a half and six meters long. … Read more
In Depth Culebrasuchus is a genus of caiman crocodile that lived in Central America during the early Miocene. The presence of Culebrasuchus in Panama has also led to speculation that North and South America may have been joined much earlier than previous thought, albeit only temporally, though other kinds of caiman are known from slightly … Read more
In Depth Penghusuchus is a genus of tomistomine crocodile that lived in what is now Taiwan during the late Miocene. Penghusuchus is noted as having a similarity to the modern day false gharial as well as Toyotamaphimeia which lived in Japan during the Pleistocene. With a skull length up to 85 centimetres long, Penghusuchus would … Read more
In Depth Kuttanacaiman was so named because the teeth of this crocodile seem to be best adapted for crunching through the shells of fresh water bivalve molluscs. These seem to have been a popular food source as two other caimans named Gnatusuchus and Caiman wannlangstoni are known from the exact same habitat and they also … Read more
In Depth Tsoabichi is a genus of caiman crocodile that lived in North America during the early Eocene. At the time of its description, Tsoabichi is the only caiman crocodile known to have lived north of Mexico. Further Reading - A new alligatorid from the lower Eocene Green River Formation of Wyoming and the origin … Read more
In Depth Albertosuchus is a genus of crocodile that lived in Canada during the late Cretaceous, and which is noted for being similar to Arenysuchus, which is known from similarly aged fossil bearing deposits in Spain. Albertosuchus should not be confused with Albertosaurus, a tyrannosaurid dinosaur of the late Cretaceous, though it is not impossible … Read more
In Depth Further Reading Further reading - A Miocene hyperdiverse crocodylian community reveals peculiar trophic dynamics in proto-Amazonian mega-wetlands. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 282:20142490. - R. Salas-Gismondi, J. J. Flynn, P. Baby, J. V. Tejada-Lara, F. P. Wesselingh & P.-O. Antoine - 2015.
In Depth Further Reading - Crocodylian diversity peak and extinction in the late Cenozoic of the northern Neotropics. - Nature Communications 4(1907):1-9. - T. M. Scheyer, O. A. Aguilera, M. Delfino, D. C. Fortier, A. A. Carlini, R. S�nchez, J. D. Carrillo-Brice�o, L. Quiroz & M. R. S�nchez-Villagra - 2013.