In Depth
Cricosaurus is a genus of thalattosuchian (sea crocodile) known to have lived in the seas around Europe and the Eastern coasts of the Americas. Cricosaurus seems to have been among the smaller thalattosuchians, and one with narrower more gracile jaws. This would denote a specialisation in hunting smaller prey animals such as fish and squid. Analysis of Cricosaurus skulls has confirmed the presence of salt glands, organs that specialise in removing the excess salts from sea water that has been consumed, either by drinking or eating.
Pelvis studies on some specimens of Cricosaurus have to the suggestion that Cricosaurus was viviparous, meaning that they gave birth to live young instead of laying eggs on land. This would make sense since evolutionary adaptations for swimming would have made returning to the land very difficult. Vivapory has also been confirmed in many other types of marine reptiles.
Further Reading
- Zur Kenntniss der Saurier aus den lithographischen Schiefern. Abhandlungen der Mathemat. - Physikalischen Classe der K�niglich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 8: 415-528. - A. Wagner - 1858. - Die Reptilien der norddeutschen unteren Kreide. Zeitschrift der Deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft 35:735-827. - Koken - 1883. - Die Meerkrokodile (Thalattosuchia n. g.) eine neue Sauriergruppe der Juraformation. - Jahreshefte des Vereins f�r vaterl�ndische Naturkunde, W�rttemberg 57: 409-418. - E. Fraas - 1901. - un nuevo cocodrilo marino (Thalattosuchia, Metriorhynchidae) de la Formaci�n Vaca Muerta (Jurasico, Tithoniano) de la Provincia de Neuqu�n (Rep�blica Argentina). - Congreso Geol�gico Chileno 1: c1-c21. - Z. B. Gasparini & D. Dellap� - 1976. - Geosaurus vignaudi n. sp. (Crocodyliformes: Thalattosuchia), first evidence of metriorhynchid crocodilians in the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of central-east Mexico (State of Puebla). - Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 39(10):1467-1483 - E. Frey, M.-C. Buchy, W. Stinnesbeck & J.G. Lopez-Oliva - 2002. - A new thalattosuchian crocodyliform from the Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) of northeastern Mexico. - Comptes Rendus Palevol 5:785-794. -M.-C. Buchy, P. Vignaud, E. Frey, W. Stinnesbeck & A. H. G. Gonzalez - 2006. - What is Geosaurus? Redescription of Geosaurus giganteus (Thalattosuchia: Metriorhynchidae) from the Upper Jurassic of Bayern, Germany. - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 157: 551-585. - M. T. Young & M. B. de Andrade - 2009. - A new Patagonian species of Cricosaurus (Crocodyliformes, Thalattosuchia): first evidence of Cricosaurus in Middle-Upper Tithonian lithographic limestone from Gondwana. - Palaeontology 56(3):663-678. - Y. Herrera, Z. Gasparini & M. S. Fern�ndez - 2013. - A new species of the metriorhynchid crocodylomorph Cricosaurus from the Upper Jurassic of southern Germany. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 64(2): 343-356. - S. Sachs, M. T. Young, P. Abel & H. Mallison - 2019. – Cricosaurus (Thalattosuchia, Metriorhynchidae) survival across the J/K boundary in the High Andes (Mendoza Province, Argentina). – Cretaceous Research – Yanina Herrera, Marta S.Fern�ndez & Ver�nica V.Vennari – 2020.
