Deinosuchus is a genus of prehistoric crocodile-like creatures from the Cretaceous, 80 to 73 million years ago. It had wide, strong jaws and a skull as long as a man. The rest of its body has never been found. It could have been 12 m long and weighed more than 8.5 tons.
Description[]
It had large, robust teeth that were built for crushing, and its back was covered with thick round bony plates. One study indicates that Deinosuchus may have lived for up to 50 years, growing at a similar rate to that of modern crocodilians, but maintaining this growth over a much longer period of time.
Although Deinosuchus was far larger than any modern crocodile or alligator—measuring up to 12 m. (39 ft.) and weighing up to 8.5 metric tons (9.4 short tons)—its overall appearance was fairly similar to its modern relatives.
History[]
The first remains were discovered in North Carolina in the 1850s, but it was not until 1909 that the genus was named and described.
Additional fragments were discovered in the 1940s and were later made into an influential, but inaccurate, skull reconstruction at the American Museum of Natural History. Knowledge of Deinosuchus is still incomplete, but better skull material has been found in recent years.
Deinosuchus fossils have been found in ten U.S. states, as well as northern Mexico. It lived on both sides of the Western Interior Seaway, and was an ambush apex predator in the coastal regions of eastern North America.
Paleobiology[]
Deinosuchus reached its largest size in its western habitat, but the eastern populations were far more abundant. Opinion remains divided as to whether these two populations represent separate species. Deinosuchus was probably capable of killing and eating large dinosaurs, even carnivorous tyrannosaurs. [1][2][3] It may have also fed upon sea turtles, fish, and other aquatic and terrestrial prey.
Classification[]
Deinosuchus was classified in the family Crocodylidae by Colbert and Bird, based on teeth that looked like those of crocodiles.[4] But, a re-evaluation run in 1999 by Brochu proved that Deinosuchus was actually a primitive member of Alligatoroidea. Thus, Deinosuchus "is not the world's largest crocodile—it is one of the largest alligators." [5] This classification was helped in 2005 by the finding of a well-preserved Deinosuchus braincase from the Blufftown Formation of Alabama, which shows some traits that looked like of those in the American alligator.[6] While it was a prehistoric member of the same clade, Deinosuchus was not a direct ancestor of modern alligators. Its closest relatives may have been Leidyosuchus and Diplocynodon.[7]
Schwimmer (2002) thought all Deinosuchus specimens came from one species. He noted that there were more similarities than differences between the eastern and western populations, and that most of these differences just had to do with the larger size of the western ones. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature's rules of priority, this species would be named D. rugosus.[8] Lucas et al. (2006) thought Deinosuchus had just one species too.[9] But, Brochu (2003) questioned Schwimmer's study, and said that size might be a significant diagnostic feature and that a lot of the traits used by Schwimmer to prove the two were the same are in fact primitive traits shared by other genera as well.[10] Schwimmer (2002) informally called the western populations as D. riograndensis, and researchers, such as Anglen and Lehman (2000) and Westgate et al. (2006) have recently assigned western Deinosuchus remains to this species too.[8][11][12]
Deinosuchus in The Land Before Time[]
Dill the Deinosuchus
Deinosuchus is depicted in The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists through the character of Dil.
References[]
- ↑ Colbert, Edwin H. (1961). Dinosaurs: their discovery and their world. E.P. Dutton. p. 243.
- ↑ Debus, Allen (2002). Dinosaur memories. Authors Choice Press. p. 265. ISBN 0-595-22988-3.
- ↑ Brochu, Christopher A. (2003). "Review of King of the Crocodylians: the paleobiology of Deinosuchus". Palaios 18 (1): 79–82. doi:10.1669/0883-1351(2003)018<0080:BR>2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ Colbert, Edwin H; Bird, Roland T. (1954). "A gigantic crocodile from the Upper Cretaceous beds of Texas" (pdf). American Museum Novitates (American Museum of Natural History) 1688: 1–22. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- ↑ Brochu, Christopher A. (June 14, 1999). "Phylogenetics, Taxonomy, and Historical Biogeography of Alligatoroidea". Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 6: 9–100. doi:10.2307/3889340. JSTOR 3889340.
- ↑ Knight, Terrell K.; Schwimmer, David R. (2005). "Anatomy of the skull and braincase of a new Deinosuchus rugosus specimen from the Blufftown Formation, Russell County, Alabama". Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 37 (2): 12. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2005SE/finalprogram/abstract_83311.htm.
- ↑ Schwimmer, David R. (2002). "A Genealogy of Deinosuchus". King of the Crocodylians: The Paleobiology of Deinosuchus. Indiana University Press. pp. 136–166. ISBN 0-253-34087-X.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Schwimmer, David R. (2002). "How Many Deinosuchus Species Existed?". King of the Crocodylians: The Paleobiology of Deinosuchus. Indiana University Press. pp. 107–135. ISBN 0-253-34087-X.
- ↑ Lucas, Spencer G.; Sullivan, Robert M.; Spielmann, Justin A. (2006). "The giant crocodylian Deinosuchus from the Upper Cretaceous of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico" (pdf). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35: 247.
- ↑ Brochu, Christopher A. (2003). "Review of King of the Crocodylians: The Paleobiology of Deinosuchus". Palaios 18 (1): 79–82. doi:10.1669/0883-1351(2003)018<0080:BR>2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ Westgate, James; Brown, R.; Pittman, Jeffrey; Cope, Dana; Calb, Jon (2006). "First occurrences of Deinosuchus in Mexico". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26 (Supplement to 3): 138A.
- ↑ Anglen, John J.; Lehman, Thomas M. (2000). "Habitat of the giant crocodilian Deinosuchus, Aguja Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Big Bend National Park, Texas". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20 (Supplement to 3): 26A.