An intermediate crocodylian linking two extant gharials from the Bronze Age of China and its human-induced extinction.

ABSTRACT: A solid phylogenetic framework is the basis of biological studies, yet higher level relationships are still unresolved in some major vertebrate lineages. One such group is Crocodylia, where the branching pattern of three major families (Alligatoridae, Crocodylidae and Gavialidae) has been disputed over decades due to the uncertain relationship of two slender-snouted lineages, gavialines and tomistomines. Here, we report a bizarre crocodylian from the Bronze Age of China, which shows a mosaic of gavialine and tomistomine features across the skeleton, rendering support to their sister taxon relationship as molecular works have consistently postulated. Gavialine characters of the new Chinese crocodylian include a novel configuration of the pterygoid bulla, a vocal structure known in mature ma

SUBMITTER: Iijima M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8905159 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature