Machimosaurus

Name: Machimosaurus ‭(‬machimoi lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ma-chi-mo-sore-us.
Named By: vonMeyer‭ ‬-‭ ‬1837.
Synonyms: Machimosaurus ferox,‭ ‬Machimosaurus interruptus,‭ ‬Steneosaurus bouchardi,‭ ‬Steneosaurus hulkei.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Neosuchia,‭ ‬Thalattosuchia,‭ ‬Teleosauridae,‭ ‬Machimosaurini.
Species: M.‭ ‬hugii‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬buffetauti,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬mosae,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬nowackianus,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬rex.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Largest skulls up to‭ ‬1.55‭ ‬meters long.‭ ‬maximum body lengths typically estimated at around‭ ‬7‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: England.‭ ‬Ethiopia.‭ ‬France.‭ ‬Germany.‭ ‬Portugal.‭ ‬Spain.‭ ‬Switzerland.‭ ‬Sudan.‭ ‬Tunisia.
Time period: Kimmeridgian/Tithonian of the Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Numerous individuals.




       ‭ ‬There are a great number of known thalattosuchian‭ (‬a.k.a.‭ ‬sea crocodiles‭) ‬genera known to us,‭ ‬and amongst these it is the species of the Machimosaurus genus that are amongst the largest known to us.‭ ‬The largest skulls of Machimosaurus have been confirmed to be over one and a half meters in length,‭ ‬which in turn has led to size estimates of at least seven metres long for the whole animal‭ (‬though other estimates suggest eight or even nine meters long‭)‬.
       Machimosaurus seem to have been more generalist hunters,‭ ‬perhaps with a specialsation for tougher or even armoured prey.‭ ‬This idea comes from analysis of Machimosaurus teeth which are strongly developed with rounded tips.‭ ‬These would have been ideal for crunching through the shells of turtles and ammonites,‭ ‬or even scavenging carrion of larger marine creatures.‭ ‬The wide geographic distribution of known Machimosaurus fossils across Europe and Africa is a clear indication that Machimosaurus was a very successful genus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Revision of the Late Jurassic teleosaurid genus Machimosaurus‭ (‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Thalattosuchia‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Royal Society Open Science‭ ‬1:140222.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Young,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Hua,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Steel,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Foffa,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Brusatte,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Thuring,‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Mateus,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬I.‭ ‬Ruiz-Omenaca,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Havlik,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Lepage,‭ ‬and M.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Andrade‭ ‬-‭ ‬2014.
-‭ ‬The largest thalattosuchian‭ (‬Crocodylomorpha‭) ‬supports teleosaurid survival across the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cretaceous Research.‭ ‬-‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Fanti,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Miyashita,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Cantelli,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Mnasri,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Dridi,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Contessi‭ & ‬A.‭ ‬Cau‭ ‬-‭ ‬2016.



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