Ontogenetic variability of the intertympanic sinus distinguishes lineages within Crocodylia

Abstract

Modern crocodylians are the living representatives of the order Crocodylia, dating back to the Late Cretaceous period, and constitute one of the two extant archosaurian lineages, along with their closest relatives, Aves. Nowadays, the diversity of the crown group is represented by semi-aquatic ambush predators dwelling under intertropical climates, comprising nine genera and 23-28 species determined

Central African dwarf crocodiles found in syntopy are comparably divergent to South American dwarf caimans

“…The explanation for such a relationship assumes the convergent morphological evolution of Voay and Osteolaemus . However, the debate on the phylogenetic position of the genus Voay continues [52,53]. Yet, there is no clear hypothesis on the timing of the divergence between the genera Osteolaemus and Voay .…”

The neuroanatomy and pneumaticity of Hamadasuchus (Crocodylomorpha, Peirosauridae) from the Cretaceous of Morocco and its paleoecological significance for altirostral forms

“…To keep the description free of constant repetitions of references, we summarize the data on extinct and extant crocodylomorph taxa used for comparison in Table 1 . In an effort to standardize descriptive studies in paleoneuroanatomy, we follow the anatomical nomenclature published by Colbert ( 1946a , 1946b ), Kley et al ( 2010 ), Sertich and O'Connor ( 2014 ), Dufeau and Witmer ( 2015 ), Brusatte et al ( 2016 ), Bona et al ( 2017 ), Pierce et al ( 2017 ), Herrera et al ( 2018 ), Serrano‐Martínez, Knoll, Narváez, & Ortega, ( 2019 ), Serrano‐Martínez, Knoll, Narváez, Lautenschlager, & Ortega, ( 2019 ), Serrano‐Martínez et al, ( 2021 ), Leardi et al ( 2020 ), Lessner and Holliday ( 2020 ), Fonseca et al ( 2020 ), Dumont Jr et al ( 2020 ), Erb and Turner ( 2021 ), Kuzmin et al ( 2021 ), Ruebenstahl et al ( 2022 ), Schwab et al ( 2021 ), Wilberg et al ( 2021 ), Melstrom et al ( 2022 ), Pochat‐Cottilloux et al ( 2022 ), Puértolas‐Pascual et al ( 2022 , 2023 ), Ristevski ( 2022 ), Burke and Mannion ( 2023 ) and Perrichon et al ( 2023 ) concerning the endocranial structures (and references therein). Table 2 compiles several important measurements following Pierce et al ( 2017 , figure 2).…”

“…In the last decade, numerous studies using computed tomography (CT) data have been published (see Barrios et al, 2022 for a complete review) on eusuchians (Blanco et al, 2015; Bona et al, 2013; Burke & Mannion, 2023; Erb & Turner, 2021; Holliday & Gardner, 2012; Puértolas‐Pascual et al, 2022, 2023; Serrano‐Martínez et al, 2021; Serrano‐Martínez, Knoll, Narváez, Lautenschlager, & Ortega, 2019; Serrano‐Martínez, Knoll, Narváez, & Ortega, 2019), thalattosuchians (Brusatte et al, 2016; Fernández et al, 2011; Herrera et al, 2018; Pierce et al, 2017; Schwab et al, 2021; Wilberg et al, 2021), early crocodylomorphs (Leardi et al, 2020; Melstrom et al, 2022; Ruebenstahl et al, 2022) and some notosuchians (Dumont Jr et al, 2020; Fonseca et al, 2020; Kley et al, 2010; Pochat‐Cottilloux et al, 2021; Sereno & Larsson, 2009). Those studies are based on extant crocodylian databases for comparison (Bona et al, 2017; Witmer et al, 2008), as well as detailed studies focusing on certain parts of the braincase (Dufeau, 2011; Dufeau & Witmer, 2015; George & Holliday, 2013; Hu et al, 2021; Jirak & Janacek, 2017; Klembara, 2005; Kuzmin et al, 2021; Lessner et al, 2022; Lessner & Holliday, 2020; Montefeltro et al, 2016; Perrichon et al, 2023; Porter et al, 2016; Schwab et al, 2021). The neuroanatomy of Peirosauridae has been investigated in a few members of the group such as Rukwasuchus yajabalijekundu (Sertich & O'Connor, 2014) and Hamadasuchus rebouli sensu Larsson & Sues, 2007 (ROM 52620) by Dufeau (2011) and George and Holliday (2013).…”

Neuroanatomy and pneumaticity of the extinct Malagasy “horned” crocodile Voay robustus and its implications for crocodylid phylogeny and palaeoecology

“…New evidence could come from endocranial characters, whose potential usefulness in taxonomy and phylogeny is now demonstrated (Kuzmin et al, 2021; Martin et al, 2022; Perrichon, Hautier et al, 2023). With the popularization of computed tomography techniques, large databases of internal morphological data can now be established to compare species statistically on a larger scale, in order to answer phylogenetic or ecological questions.…”

“…A complete description of endocranial structures is provided, and 3D geometric morphometric quantification of the sinuses was done to assess their morphological differentiation in Crocodylidae. Second, we test a new phylogenetic analysis of extant crocodylids, including V. robustus , using endocranial characters proposed in Kuzmin et al (2021), and Perrichon, Hautier et al (2023), as well as numerous newly defined characters, and further include them in a larger dataset of cranial features (Brochu et al, 2022). Additionally, we discuss potential palaeoecological implications of the differentiation of endocranial structures between V. robustus and C. niloticus , and bring along new radiocarbon measurements and compiled data from the literature, which together refine the modalities and timing of the temporal overlap of these two species in Madagascar during the Holocene.…”