Brachyuranochampsa Explained

Brachyuranochampsa is an extinct genus of crocodilian.

The only robust occurrence of Brachyuranochampsa is B. eversolei from the Middle Eocene of Wyoming.^[1] Another species, B. zangerli from the lower Bridger Formation at Grizzly Buttes, has been synonymized with another primitive crocodilian, "Crocodylus" affinis, also known from the Bridger Formation.^{[2] [3]}

Phylogenetic studies have consistently recovered Brachyuranochampsa as more basal than the crown group Crocodylidae, which consists of all extant (living) crocodiles.^{[2] [4]}

The below cladogram from a 2018 study combining morphological data and molecular DNA evidence shows the placement of Brachyuranochampsa within Crocodylia.^[5]

External links

• Brachyuranochampsa in the Paleobiology Database

Notes and References

1. Zangerl, R. (1944). Brachyuranochampsa eversolei, gen. et sp. nov., a new crocodilian from the Washakie beds of Wyoming. Annals of Carnegie Museum, 30:77-84
2. Brochu . C. A. . 1997 . Morphology, fossils, divergence timing, and the phylogenetic relationships of Gavialis . . 46 . 3 . 479-522 . 10.1093/sysbio/46.3.479 . free.
3. Brochu . C. A. . 2000 . Phylogenetic relationships and divergence timing of Crocodylus based on morphology and the fossil record . . 2000 . 3 . 657–673 . 10.1643/0045-8511(2000)000[0657:pradto]2.0.co;2.
4. Brochu . C. A. . Storrs . G. W. . 10.1080/02724634.2012.652324 . A giant crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya, the phylogenetic relationships of Neogene African crocodylines, and the antiquity of Crocodylus in Africa . . 32 . 3 . 587 . 2012 .
5. Michael S. Y. Lee . Adam M. Yates . 27 June 2018 . Tip-dating and homoplasy: reconciling the shallow molecular divergences of modern gharials with their long fossil . . 285 . 1881 . 10.1098/rspb.2018.1071 . 30051855 . 6030529 . free.