Asiatosuchus

Asiatosuchus
Temporal range: Paleocene - Eocene,
61.6–41.2 Ma[1]
A. nanlingensis specimens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: Crocodilia
Superfamily: Crocodyloidea
Genus: †Asiatosuchus
Mook, 1940
Type species
†Asiatosuchus grangeri
Mook, 1940
Species
  • †A. grangeri Mook, 1940 (type)
  • †"A." germanicus Berg, 1966
  • †"A." depressifrons (Blainville, 1855)
  • †"A." nanlingensis Young, 1964
  • †"A." oenotriensis Narváez et al., 2024
  • †A. volgensis Efimov & Yarkov, 1993

Asiatosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyloid crocodilians that lived in Eurasia during the Paleogene. Many Paleogene crocodilians from Europe and Asia have been attributed to Asiatosuchus since the genus was named in 1940. These species have a generalized crocodilian morphology typified by flat, triangular skulls. The feature that traditionally united these species under the genus Asiatosuchus is a broad connection or symphysis between the two halves of the lower jaw. Recent studies of the evolutionary relationships of early crocodilians along with closer examinations of the morphology of fossil specimens suggest that only the first named species of Asiatosuchus, A. grangeri from the Eocene of Mongolia, belongs in the genus. Most species are now regarded as nomina dubia or "dubious names", meaning that their type specimens lack the unique anatomical features necessary to justify their classification as distinct species. Other species such as "A." germanicus and "A." depressifrons are still considered valid species, but they do not form an evolutionary grouping with A. grangeri that would warrant them being placed together in the genus Asiatosuchus.[2]

  1. ^ Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9: e12094. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
  2. ^ Delfino, M.; Smith, T. (2009). "A reassessment of the morphology and taxonomic status of 'Crocodylus'depressifronsBlainville, 1855 (Crocodylia, Crocodyloidea) based on the Early Eocene remains from Belgium". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 156: 140–167. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00478.x.