A new species of prehistoric crocodile that dates back 231
million years ago (Carnian stage of the Triassic period) has been
identified by a team of paleontologists led by Dr Lindsay Zanno of North
Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural
Sciences.
This newly discovered crocodilian ancestor may have filled one of North
America’s top predator roles before dinosaurs arrived on the continent. Carnufex carolinensis,
or the “Carolina Butcher,” was a 9-foot long, land-dwelling
crocodylomorph that walked on its hind legs and likely preyed upon
smaller inhabitants of North Carolina ecosystems such as armored
reptiles and early mammal relatives.
Triassic predatory guild evolution reflects a period of ecological flux spurred by the catastrophic end-Permian mass extinction and terminating with the global ecological dominance of dinosaurs in the early Jurassic. In responding to this dynamic ecospace, terrestrial predator diversity attained new levels, prompting unique trophic webs with a seeming overabundance of carnivorous taxa and the evolution of entirely new predatory clades. Key among these was Crocodylomorpha, the largest living reptiles and only one of two archosaurian lineages that survive to the present day. In contrast to their existing role as top, semi-aquatic predators, the earliest crocodylomorphs were generally small-bodied, terrestrial faunivores, occupying subsidiary (meso) predator roles. Here we describe Carnufex carolinensis a new, unexpectedly large-bodied taxon with a slender and ornamented skull from the Carnian Pekin Formation (~231 Ma), representing one of the oldest and earliest diverging crocodylomorphs described to date. Carnufex bridges a problematic gap in the early evolution of pseudosuchians by spanning key transitions in bauplan evolution and body mass near the origin of Crocodylomorpha. With a skull length of >50 cm, the new taxon documents a rare instance of crocodylomorphs ascending to top-tier predator roles in the equatorial regions of Pangea prior to the dominance of dinosaurs.
Reference:
“Early crocodylomorph increases top tier predator diversity during rise of dinosaurs”
DOI: 10.1038/srep09276
Authors: Lindsay Zanno, Susan Drymala, NC State University and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences; Vincent Schneider, NC Museum of Natural Sciences; Sterling Nesbitt, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Triassic predatory guild evolution reflects a period of ecological flux spurred by the catastrophic end-Permian mass extinction and terminating with the global ecological dominance of dinosaurs in the early Jurassic. In responding to this dynamic ecospace, terrestrial predator diversity attained new levels, prompting unique trophic webs with a seeming overabundance of carnivorous taxa and the evolution of entirely new predatory clades. Key among these was Crocodylomorpha, the largest living reptiles and only one of two archosaurian lineages that survive to the present day. In contrast to their existing role as top, semi-aquatic predators, the earliest crocodylomorphs were generally small-bodied, terrestrial faunivores, occupying subsidiary (meso) predator roles. Here we describe Carnufex carolinensis a new, unexpectedly large-bodied taxon with a slender and ornamented skull from the Carnian Pekin Formation (~231 Ma), representing one of the oldest and earliest diverging crocodylomorphs described to date. Carnufex bridges a problematic gap in the early evolution of pseudosuchians by spanning key transitions in bauplan evolution and body mass near the origin of Crocodylomorpha. With a skull length of >50 cm, the new taxon documents a rare instance of crocodylomorphs ascending to top-tier predator roles in the equatorial regions of Pangea prior to the dominance of dinosaurs.
Reference:
“Early crocodylomorph increases top tier predator diversity during rise of dinosaurs”
DOI: 10.1038/srep09276
Authors: Lindsay Zanno, Susan Drymala, NC State University and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences; Vincent Schneider, NC Museum of Natural Sciences; Sterling Nesbitt, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
