Toyotamaphimeia

Toyotamaphimeia
Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene, 0.8–0.3 Ma[1][2]
↓
 Possible Pliocene record[2]
Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis skeleton
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Gavialidae
Subfamily: Gavialinae
Genus: †Toyotamaphimeia
Aoki, 1983
Type species
†Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis
Kobatake et al., 1965
Species
  • †Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis (Kobatake et al., 1965)
  • †Toyotamaphimeia taiwanicus (Shikama, 1972)[1]
Synonyms
  • Tomistoma machikanensis
  • Tomistoma taiwanicus

Toyotamaphimeia (named after Toyotama-hime) is a genus of extinct gavialid crocodylian which lived in Japan and Taiwan during the Middle Pleistocene. A specimen recovered in 1964 at Osaka University during the construction of a new science building has been dated to around 430–380 thousand years old based on the stratum in which it was found.[3] Toyotamaphimeia was a fairly large crocodylian measuring approximately 6.3–7.3 metres (21–24 ft) long. Two species are named, T. machikanensis from Japan and T. taiwanicus from Taiwan, both originally described as members of the genus Tomistoma.

  1. ^ a b Cho, Y.-Y.; Tsai, C.-H. (2023). "Crocodylian princess in Taiwan: Revising the taxonomic status of Tomistoma taiwanicus from the Pleistocene of Taiwan and its paleobiogeographic implications". Journal of Paleontology. 97 (4): 927–940. doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.36.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Iijima2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Valuable Specimen which Osaka University Possesses". Archived from the original on 2005-03-06.