Crocodylomorpha — LLMpedia

Crocodylomorpha
Name	Crocodylomorpha
Fossil range	Late Triassic–Recent
Taxon	clade
Subdivision ranks	Notable groups
Subdivision	†Sphenosuchia; †Protosuchia; Mesoeucrocodylia; Neosuchia; Crocodylia

Contents

Crocodylomorpha is a clade of archosauriform reptiles that includes modern crocodiles and their extinct relatives, arising in the Triassic and persisting through the Jurassic and Cretaceous into the Cenozoic. Members of this group appear in faunas studied by paleontologists working at institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History, Natural History Museum, London, Smithsonian Institution, and Royal Ontario Museum. Their fossil record intersects research by scientists associated with the Linnean Society of London, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Geological Society of America, and surveys in regions like the Solnhofen limestone, Hell Creek Formation, and Ischigualasto Formation.

Taxonomy and Classification

Taxonomic frameworks for the clade have been revised by systematists influenced by methods from Charles Darwin, Williston, and modern cladists at universities including University of Chicago, University of Cambridge, and Harvard University. Major higher taxa recognized in contemporary classifications include Sphenosuchia, Protosuchia, Mesoeucrocodylia, Neosuchia, and Crocodylia, with taxonomic debates debated in journals such as Nature, Science, and Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Molecular phylogenetics using datasets compared across labs at Max Planck Society, Smithsonian Institution, and University of California, Berkeley have tested divergence hypotheses originally informed by fossils from the Karoo Basin, Chañares Formation, and Gondwana deposits. Cladograms published by researchers at American Museum of Natural History, University of Bristol, and Field Museum of Natural History show relationships that impact classifications used by conservation bodies like IUCN.

The evolutionary history of the clade spans major geologic events such as the Permian–Triassic extinction event, Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, and the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, with fossil evidence recovered from continents studied by teams linked to Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, and Australian Museum. Early forms are documented from assemblages in the Ischigualasto Formation, Chañares Formation, and Karoo Supergroup, while Jurassic and Cretaceous diversification is recorded in sites like the Solnhofen limestones, Lusitanian Basin, and Wessex Formation. Paleontologists at institutions such as University of Chicago, University of Toronto, and Universidad Nacional de La Plata have described transitional taxa recovered during expeditions funded by organizations including the National Science Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council, and National Geographic Society. Fossils studied by teams in the Hell Creek Formation, La Brea Tar Pits, and Mesozoic Park contexts inform debates published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B and PLOS ONE.

Studies of skull and postcranial morphology by anatomists at Oxford University, Stanford University, and the University of Pennsylvania reveal adaptations in jaw mechanics compared with other archosaurs like Allosaurus, Velociraptor, and Archaeopteryx. Limb and vertebral morphologies compared with specimens from the Royal Ontario Museum, Field Museum, and American Museum of Natural History indicate a range from cursorial sphenosuchians to semi-aquatic neosuchians and modern forms retained in collections at the Natural History Museum, London. Research on osteoderms, musculature, and sensory systems published in venues such as Nature Communications, Journal of Anatomy, and Proceedings of the Royal Society B uses comparative datasets involving taxa described by teams associated with University of Cambridge, University of Bristol, and University of Tokyo.

Ecological roles inferred from stable isotope analyses done at facilities like the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, and University of California, Davis suggest trophic diversity comparable to contemporaneous theropod and sauropod assemblages documented by researchers at Smithsonian Institution and Field Museum of Natural History. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions integrating data from the Hell Creek Formation, Burgess Shale (neither a crocodylomorph site), and Kem Kem Beds involve collaborations among scientists at Yale University, University of Chicago, and University of Buenos Aires. Studies published in Ecology Letters and Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology model niche partitioning relative to mammals described from sites such as the La Brea Tar Pits.

Life history inferences, including growth, reproductive biology, and parental care, are informed by bone histology studies conducted by teams at University of Helsinki, University of Alberta, and University of Chicago and are compared to breeding behaviors documented for extant species housed by Zoological Society of London and San Diego Zoo. Research on nesting sites from localities like the Laramie Formation and Nemegt Formation integrates stratigraphic work by geologists at US Geological Survey and British Geological Survey. Behavioral hypotheses appear in syntheses produced by editors at Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press.

The clade encompasses diverse forms from small terrestrial genera described by teams at National Museum of Natural History (France), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, and Instituto Catalán de Paleontología to giant marine and semi-aquatic taxa investigated by researchers affiliated with University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of São Paulo. Notable taxa have been the subject of monographs and exhibitions at American Museum of Natural History, Natural History Museum, London, Field Museum of Natural History, and Royal Tyrrell Museum, and are featured in literature disseminated by PLOS ONE, Nature, and Science Advances. Ongoing discoveries from expeditions funded by bodies such as the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society continue to refine diversity estimates used by curators at Smithsonian Institution and Australian Museum.

Category:Archosaurs