Gavialis bengawanicus explained

Gavialis bengawanicus is an extinct species of crocodilian that is related to the modern Indian gharial.[1] Fossils have been found in Thailand and Indonesia. The type locality is at Trinil.[2]

The presence of this species in Thailand may provide an explanation for the distribution of fossil gharials that appears disjunct, covering Pakistan and Java but not the connecting areas. The fossils suggest that gharials may have dispersed from Indo-Pakistan to Indonesia through Thailand without having to resort to marine routes.[3]

Below is a cladogram that shows the proposed phylogeny within Gavialidae, including extinct members, and how Gavialis bengawanicus is most closely related to the living gharial:[4]

Notes and References

  1. Delfino. M.. De Vos. J. . amp . 2010. A revision of the Dubois crocodylians, Gavialis bengawanicus and Crocodylus ossifragus, from the Pleistocene Homo erectus beds of Java. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30. 2. 427–441 . 10.1080/02724631003617910. 86396515.
  2. Web site: Gavialis bengawanicus . Paleo-Database.
  3. Martin. J. E.. Buffetaut. E.. Naksri. W.. Lauprasert. K.. Claude. J. . amp . 2012. Gavialis from the Pleistocene of Thailand and its relevance for drainage connections from India to Java. PLOS ONE. 7. 9. e44541. 10.1371/journal.pone.0044541. 23028557 . 3445548. free.
  4. 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.

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