File:Simosuchus clarki, a herbivorous notosuchian (Crocodylomorpha) at the Field Museum (8270849869).jpg
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Summary
| Description |
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simosuchus" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Simosuchus</a> in known from the Late Cretaceous [likely Maastrichtian (~70-65 mya)] deposits of the Maevarano Formation in Mahajanga Province, Madagascar (although recent findings suggest the genus may have also been present in India). It represents one of the last members of a strange group of crocodylomorphs (croc-like archosaurs that lie outside of the modern crocdylian crown group) called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notosuchia" rel="noreferrer nofollow">notosuchians</a>, which, unlike modern crocs and many other fossil crocodylomorphs, were not simply large amphibious predators, but were comprised a wide array of diverse ecomorphotypes. Notable representatives include: the duck-like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatosuchus" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Anatosuchus</a>, the armadillo-like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillosuchus" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Armadillosuchus</a>, the hypercarnivous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baurusuchus" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Baurusuchus</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pissarrachampsa" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Pissarrachampsa</a>, the markedly heterodont and potentially herbivorous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimaerasuchus" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Chimaerasuchus</a>, and the immensely bizarre <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yacarerani" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Yacarerani</a>, which possessed rabbit-like anterior dentition. The radiation of notosuchians is in many ways reminiscent of the ecomorphological diversification seen in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapsida" rel="noreferrer nofollow"> therapsids </a> in the Permian and Triassic, in which a supposedly primitive 'reptilian' grade of taxa evolve a suite of complex mammal-like skull shapes and dental morphologies, challenging our traditional notions of what these 'primitive' lineages were capable of, evolutionarily. One could argue that mammal-like tetrapods were probably inevitable. For a beautiful CT scan of Simosuchus, see Digimorph: <a href="http://www.digimorph.org/specimens/Simosuchus_clarki/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.digimorph.org/specimens/Simosuchus_clarki/</a> |
| Date | |
| Source | Simosuchus clarki, a herbivorous notosuchian (Crocodylomorpha) at the Field Museum |
| Author | Dallas Krentzel |
| Camera location |  | View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap |  |
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Licensing
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by Dallas Krentzel at https://flickr.com/photos/31867959@N04/8270849869. It was reviewed on 13 May 2021 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |
File history
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| Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| current | 14:18, 13 May 2021 | | 3,872 × 2,592 (1.92 MB) | Sentinel user | Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons |
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