73-589: Sarcosuchus ( / ˌ s ɑːr k oʊ ˈ s uː k ə s / ; lit. ' flesh crocodile ' ) is an extinct genus of crocodyliform and distant relative of living crocodilians that lived during the Early Cretaceous , from the late Hauterivian to the early Albian , 133 to 112 million years ago of what is now Africa and South America . The genus name comes from the Greek σάρξ ( sarx ) meaning flesh and σοῦχος ( souchus ) meaning crocodile. It
146-436: A basal member of Crocodylinae , more closely related to Crocodylus than to Osteolaemus and the other members of Osteolaeminae , as shown in the cladogram below. Rimasuchus lloydi † Voay robustus † Osteolaemus osborni Osborn's dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis Dwarf crocodile Gharial The gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus ), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile ,
219-477: A monotypic taxon . John Edward Gray reviewed zoological specimens in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London . He also considered the gharial monotypic in 1869. He placed it in the family Gavialidae together with the false gharial ( Tomistoma schlegelii ) because both have long, slender jaws and similar dentition. Gharialis hysudricus proposed by Richard Lydekker in 1886
292-842: A 4.9 m (16 ft) long gharial weighed around 560 kg (1,230 lb), while a 4.8 m (16 ft) long Nile crocodile weighed 680 kg (1,500 lb). The gharial once thrived in all the major river systems of the northern Indian subcontinent, from the Indus River in Pakistan , the Ganges in India, the Brahmaputra River in northeastern India and Bangladesh to the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar . In
365-418: A body length of at least 3 m (9 ft 10 in) and grow up to a length of 6 m (19 ft 8 in). Adult males weigh about 160 kg (350 lb) on average, but can reach a weight of up to 600 kg (1,300 lb). The gharial is among the largest living crocodilians, with the heaviest recorded male weighing 977 kg (2,154 lb). A 6.55 m (21 ft 6 in) long gharial
438-889: A broader prey base than the gharial including snakes , turtles , birds , mammals and dead animals. The gharial is well adapted to hunting fish underwater because of its sharp interlocking teeth and long narrow snout, which meets little resistance in the water. It does not chew its prey, but swallows it whole. Juvenile gharials were observed to jerk their heads back to manoeuvre fish into their gullets, sliding them in head first. Young gharials feed on insects , tadpoles , small fish and frogs . Adults also feed on small crustaceans . Remains of Indian softshell turtle ( Nilssonia gangetica ) were also found in gharial stomachs. Gharials tear apart large fish and pick up and swallow stones as gastroliths , probably to aid digestion or regulate buoyancy. Some gharial stomachs also contained jewellery. Stones weighing about 4.5 kg (10 lb) were found in
511-510: A bulla, which has been compared with the ghara seen in gharials . However, unlike the ghara, which is only found in male gharials, the bulla is present in all Sarcosuchus skulls that have been found so far, suggesting that it was not a sexually dimorphic trait. The purpose of this structure is not known. The osteoderms , also known as dermal scutes , of Sarcosuchus were similar to those goniopholodids like Sunosuchus and Goniopholis ; they formed an uninterrupted surface that started in
584-698: A currently unnamed sauropod while the theropod fauna included the spinosaurid Suchomimus , the carcharodontosaurid Eocarcharia and the abelisaurid Kryptops . Meanwhile, S. hartti was found in the Recôncavo Basin of Brazil , specifically in the Ilhas Formation of the Bahia series. It was a shallow lacustrine environment dating from the late Aptian, similar in age to the habitat of S. imperator , with similar aquatic fauna, including Lepidotus and two species of Mawsonia . The dinosaur fauna
657-462: A hissing sound that can be heard 75 m (246 ft) away. The gharial is the only living crocodilian with such visible sexual dimorphism . Mature male gharials have larger skulls than females, exceeding a basal length of 715 mm (28.1 in) and a width of 287 mm (11.3 in). Female gharials reach sexual maturity at a body length of 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) and grow up to 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in). Males mature at
730-409: A hollow bulbous nasal protuberance at the tip of the snout upon reaching sexual maturity . This protuberance resembles an earthen pot known locally as "ghara". The male's ghara starts growing over the nostrils at an age of 11.5 years and measures about 5 cm × 6 cm × 3.5 cm (2.0 in × 2.4 in × 1.4 in) at an age of 15.5 years. It enables the males to emit
803-801: A left scapula, mandible fragment, dorsal vertebrae, ilium and a proximal portion of a femur was described from the Oum Ed Dhiab Member in Tunisia in 2018. Sereno took thin sections from trunk osteoderms of an estimated subadult individual (~80% of estimated maximum adult size). Approximately 40 lines of arrested growth (LAG) were counted in these thin sections, suggesting that S. imperator took 50 to 60 years to reach adult size. Given that extant wild crocodylians rarely reach these advanced ages, Sereno suggested that S. imperator achieved its large size by extending its period of rapid, juvenile, growth. A similar growth strategy has been suggested for
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#1732783876317876-401: A more advanced level of specialization. Others suggested that it evolved much later than other crocodilians because of its low levels of blood protein divergence. As it shares this trait with the false gharial, it was suggested that they form a sister group . In contrast, it was suggested that the gharial and all the other crocodilians form a sister group as the structure of its tail muscles
949-531: A subadult individual as well as measurements of the skull width further showed that the largest S. imperator was significantly smaller than was estimated by Sereno et al. (2001) based on modern crocodilians. O’Brien et al. (2019) estimated the length of the largest S. imperator specimen at nearly 9 metres (30 ft) and body mass at 3.45 metric tons (3.80 short tons) based on longirostrine crocodylian skull width to total length and body width ratio. The highest upper quartile reconstructed length and body mass for
1022-451: Is a cladogram showing the relationships of the major extant crocodile groups based on molecular studies, excluding separate extinct taxa: Caiman [REDACTED] Melanosuchus [REDACTED] Paleosuchus [REDACTED] Alligator [REDACTED] Crocodylus [REDACTED] Mecistops [REDACTED] Osteolaemus [REDACTED] Gavialis [REDACTED] Tomistoma [REDACTED] Below
1095-411: Is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8 ft 6 in to 14 ft 9 in) long, and males 3 to 6 m (9 ft 10 in to 19 ft 8 in). Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara , hence the name "gharial". The gharial
1168-659: Is a compound of krokè ( ' pebbles ' ), and drilos/dreilos ( ' worm ' ), although drilos is only attested as a colloquial term for ' penis ' . It is ascribed to Herodotus , and supposedly describes the basking habits of the Egyptian crocodile. The form crocodrillus is attested in Medieval Latin . It is not clear whether this is a medieval corruption or derives from alternative Greco-Latin forms (late Greek corcodrillos and corcodrillion are attested). A (further) corrupted form cocodrille
1241-1221: Is a more detailed cladogram of Crocodylidae, based on a 2021 study using paleogenomics that extracted DNA from the extinct Voay . Mecistops cataphractus West African slender-snouted crocodile Euthecodon † Brochuchus † Rimasuchus † Osteolaemus osborni Osborn's dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis Dwarf crocodile Voay † Crocodylus anthropophagus † Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni † Crocodylus palaeindicus † Crocodylus Tirari Desert † Crocodylus johnstoni Freshwater crocodile Crocodylus novaeguineae New Guinea crocodile Crocodylus mindorensis Philippine crocodile Crocodylus porosus Saltwater crocodile Crocodylus siamensis Siamese crocodile Crocodylus palustris Mugger crocodile Crocodylus checchiai † Crocodylus falconensis † Crocodylus suchus West African crocodile Crocodylus niloticus Nile crocodile Crocodylus moreletii Morelet's crocodile Crocodylus rhombifer Cuban crocodile Crocodylus intermedius Orinoco crocodile Crocodylus acutus American crocodile Alternatively, some morphological studies have recovered Mecistops as
1314-564: Is a more detailed cladogram that shows the gharial's proposed placement within Gavialidae , including extinct members: Gharial Gavialis bengawanicus † Gavialis browni † Gryposuchus colombianus † Ikanogavialis † Gryposuchus pachakamue † Piscogavialis † Harpacochampsa † Toyotamaphimeia † Penghusuchus † Gavialosuchus † Tomistoma lusitanicum † False gharial Tomistoma schlegelii The gharial
1387-571: Is found in Old French and was borrowed into Middle English as cocodril(le) . The Modern English form crocodile was adapted directly from the Classical Latin crocodīlus in the 16th century, replacing the earlier form. The use of -y- in the scientific name Crocodylus (and forms derived from it) is a corruption introduced by Laurenti (1768). Crocodylidae was named as a family by Georges Cuvier in 1807. It belongs to
1460-569: Is of a very fragmentary nature and identification does not go beyond indeterminate theropod and iguanodontid remains. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Crocodile Crocodiles ( family Crocodylidae ) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa , Asia , the Americas and Australia . The term “crocodile” is sometimes used more loosely to include all extant members of
1533-423: Is olive-coloured, with adults being darker than young, which have dark brown cross bands and speckles. Its back turns almost black at 20 years of age, but its belly is yellowish-white. It has four transverse rows of two scales on the neck, which continue along the back. Scutes on the head, neck and back form a single continuous plate composed of 21 to 22 transverse series, and four longitudinal series. Scutes on
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#17327838763171606-726: Is their much higher levels of aggression . Crocodile size , morphology , behaviour and ecology differ somewhat among species . However, they have many similarities in these areas as well. All crocodiles are semiaquatic and tend to congregate in freshwater habitats such as rivers , lakes , wetlands and sometimes in brackish water and saltwater . They are carnivorous animals, feeding mostly on vertebrates such as fish , reptiles , birds and mammals , and sometimes on invertebrates such as molluscs and crustaceans , depending on species and age. All crocodiles are tropical species that, unlike alligators, are very sensitive to cold . They separated from other crocodilians during
1679-413: Is unique. Sequencing of a ribosomal segment of mitochondrial DNAs of gharial and false gharial revealed that they share 22 unique nucleotides , a similarity of 94%, supporting the view that they are sister taxa. Analyses of nuclear gene sequences of both species also support the view that they are sister taxa. Molecular genetics and tip dating studies indicates a genetic divergence between
1752-669: Is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth. The gharial probably evolved in the northern Indian subcontinent . Fossil gharial remains were excavated in Pliocene deposits in the Sivalik Hills and the Narmada River valley. It currently inhabits rivers in the plains of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is the most thoroughly aquatic crocodilian, and leaves
1825-536: The Ain el Guettar Formation of Gara Kamboute. In the south of Tunisia , the fossils found were fragments of the skull, teeth, scutes and vertebrae. In 1957, in the region now known as the Elrhaz Formation , several isolated teeth of great size were found by H. Faure. The study of this material by French paleontologist France De Broin helped identify them as coming from a long-snouted crocodile. Later, in 1964,
1898-778: The Ayeyarwady River valley in central Myanmar, which are dated to the Late Pleistocene . During the Quaternary , Gavialis dispersed as far as Java via the Siva– Malayan route, which did not require saltwater crossings. Fossil remains of Gavialis bengawanicus found on Java were dated to the Early Pleistocene. G. bengawanicus fossils found in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima Province support
1971-465: The Eocene epoch, about 55 million years ago. Many species are at the risk of extinction , some being classified as critically endangered . The word crocodile comes from Ancient Greek κροκόδιλος (krokódilos) 'lizard', used in the phrase ho krokódilos tou potamoú , ' the lizard of the ( Nile ) river ' . There are several variant Greek forms of the word attested, including
2044-488: The Hindustani word ' ghara ' for an earthen pot, in reference to the nasal protuberance on the adult male's snout. It is also called 'gavial'. The name 'fish-eating crocodile' is a translation of its Bengali name 'mecho kumhir', with 'mecho' being derived from 'māch' meaning fish and 'kumhir' meaning crocodile. The name 'Indian gharial' has occasionally been used for gharial populations in India. Lacerta gangetica
2117-521: The IUCN Red List since 2007. The oldest known depictions of the gharial are about 4,000 years old and were found in the Indus Valley . Hindus regard it as the vehicle of the river deity Gaṅgā . Local people living near rivers attributed mystical and healing powers to the gharial, and used some of its body parts as ingredients of indigenous medicine . The name 'gharial' is derived from
2190-614: The Ilhas Formation in the Recôncavo Basin of north-eastern Brazil . In 1867, American naturalist Charles Hartt found two isolated teeth and sent them to the American paleontologist O. C. Marsh who erected a new species of Crocodylus for them, C. hartti. This material, along with other remains were assigned in 1907 to the genus Goniopholis as G. hartti . Now residing in the British Museum of Natural History ,
2263-711: The Karnali – Babai River system in Bardia National Park and the Narayani –Rapti river system in Chitwan National Park . In spring 2017, the Babai River was surveyed using an unmanned aerial vehicle , which detected 33 gharials on a stretch of 102 km (63 mi). In India, gharial populations are present in the: Between 1979 and 1993, less than 20 individuals were sighted in
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2336-505: The Nile crocodile , which would have included large terrestrial prey such as the abundant dinosaurs that lived in the same region. However, a 2014 analysis of a biomechanical model of its skull suggested that unlike Deinosuchus , Sarcosuchus may not have been able to perform the "death roll" maneuver used by extant crocodilians to dismember their prey. This suggests that if S. imperator did hunt big game, it probably did not dismember prey in
2409-469: The mugger crocodile ( Crocodylus palustris ) in parts of its range. They use the same nesting grounds, but differ in the selection of basking sites. The gharial basks close to water on shallow, sandy beaches and lays eggs only in sandy soil near water. The mugger crocodile also basks on sandy beaches, but unlike the gharial climbs steep embankments and rocks, and moves farther away from beaches for both basking and nest building. It also preys on fish, but has
2482-559: The order Crocodilia , which includes the alligators and caimans (both members of the family Alligatoridae ), the gharial and false gharial (both members of the family Gavialidae ) as well as other, extinct, taxa. Although crocodiles, alligators, and the gharial are similar in appearance, they belong to separate biological families . The gharial, with its narrow snout , is easier to distinguish, while morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious external differences are visible in
2555-419: The skeleton intact and most of the spine . Sarcosuchus is a distant relative of living crocodilians , with fully grown individuals estimated to have reached up to 9 to 9.5 m (29.5 to 31.2 ft) in total length and 3.45 to 4.3 metric tons (3.80 to 4.74 short tons) in weight. It had somewhat telescoped eyes and a long snout comprising 75% of the length of the skull. There were 35 teeth in each side of
2628-409: The 1930s and is limited to only 2% of its historical range today. Conservation programmes initiated in India and Nepal focused on reintroducing captive-bred gharials since the early 1980s. Loss of habitat because of sand mining and conversion to agriculture, depletion of fish resources and detrimental fishing methods continue to threaten the population. It has been listed as critically endangered on
2701-830: The 1940s, it was numerous in the Barak River in Assam , which held big fish at the time including golden mahseer ( Tor putitora ). A few individuals were also sighted in tributaries of the Barak River in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur up to 1988, but surveys were not carried out. In 1927, a gharial was shot in the Shweli River in Myanmar, a tributary of the Ayeyawady River. This is the only authenticated record in
2774-535: The 23rd or 24th tooth. The snout of adult gharials is 3.5 times longer than the width of the skull's base. Because of this long snout the gharial is especially adapted to catching and eating fish. The nasal bones are rather short and widely spaced from the premaxillae . The jugal bone is raised. It becomes proportionally thicker with age. Two individuals in the weight range of 103–121 kg (227–267 lb) had an average measured bite force of 1,784–2,006 N (401–451 lb f ). Male gharials develop
2847-540: The Brahmaputra River in Assam between 2004 and 2007. In Bangladesh, gharials were recorded in Padma , Jamuna , Mahananda and Brahmaputra rivers between 2000 and 2015. The gharial is the most thoroughly aquatic crocodilian. It leaves the water only for basking on riverbanks. Being cold-blooded, it seeks to cool down during hot times and to warm up when ambient temperature is cool. Gharials bask daily in
2920-688: The French paleontologist Albert-Félix de Lapparent , spanning from 1946 to 1959, in the Sahara . These remains were fragments of the skull , vertebrae , teeth , and scutes . In 1964, an almost complete skull was found in Niger by the French CEA , but it was not until 1997 and 2000 that most of its anatomy became known to science, when an expedition led by the American paleontologist Paul Sereno discovered six new specimens, including one with about half
2993-462: The back are bony, but softer and feebly keeled on the sides. The outer edges of the forearms, legs, and feet have crests jutting out; fingers and toes are partly webbed. Its snout is very long and narrow, widened at the end, and with 27 to 29 upper teeth and 25 or 26 lower teeth on each side. The front teeth are the largest. The first, second, and third lower jaw teeth fit into spaces in the upper jaw. The extremely long mandibular symphysis extends to
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3066-567: The clade, however, were found in coastal settings, zones mixing freshwater and marine waters. Sarcosuchus stands out among pholidosaurids for being considered a generalist predator, different from most known members of the clade which were specialized piscivores. A 2019 study found it to be in a more derived position in Tethysuchia , being phylogenetically closer to Dyrosauridae . Simplified cladogram after Fortier et al. (2011). Pholidosaurus Terminonaris Sarcosuchus During
3139-679: The cold season, foremost in the mornings, and prefer sandy and moist beaches. They change their basking pattern with increasing daily temperatures; they start basking earlier in the mornings, move back into the river when it is hot, and return to the beach later in the afternoon. Groups comprising an adult male, several females and subadults have been observed to bask together. Adult males dominate groups and tolerate immature males. Large groups of young, subadult and adult gharials form in December and January to bask. Adult males and females associate by mid February. The gharial shares riverine habitat with
3212-629: The country attesting the survival of gharials into the 20th century. Whether gharials still live in the Shweli River today is possible but remained unclear in 2012. By 1976, its global range had decreased to only 2% of its historical range, and fewer than 200 gharials were estimated to survive. It is locally extinct in Pakistan, Bhutan and Myanmar. Since the early 1980s, the population has been reinforced with captive-bred gharials that were released into wild habitats in India and Nepal. In 2017,
3285-758: The course of several expeditions on the Sahara from 1946 to 1959 which were led by the French paleontologist Albert-Félix de Lapparent , several fossils of a crocodyliform of large size were unearthed in the region known as the Continental Intercalaire Formation . Some of them were found in Foggara Ben Draou, in Mali and near the town of Aoulef , Algeria (informally named as the Aoulef Crocodile) while others came from
3358-797: The deposits of the Elrhaz Formation , which has been dated as late Aptian or early Albian stages of the Late Cretaceous. It took about a year to prepare the Sarcosuchus remains. A tooth enamel from the Ifezouane Formation (lower Kem Kem beds ) of Morocco was identified as cf. Sarcosuchus . Fossil teeth from the area of Nalut in northwestern Libya , possibly Hauterivian to Barremian in age, might be referable to S. imperator . Indeterminate Sarcosuchus material including dorsal osteoderms in anatomical connection, isolated teeth and fragmentary skeletal remains including
3431-578: The early 20th century, it was considered common in the Indus River and its Punjabi tributaries. By the early 1980s, it was almost extinct in the Indus. During surveys in 2008 and 2009, no gharial was sighted in the river. It was also present in India's Godavari River but was hunted to extinction between the late 1940s and the 1960s. It was considered extinct in the Koshi River since 1970. In
3504-402: The equally titanic crocodylian Deinosuchus , based on similar criteria. Based on the broader snout of fully grown S. imperator when compared with the living gharial and other narrow-snouted crocodiles, along with a lack of interlocking of the smooth and sturdy-crowned teeth when the jaws were closed, Sereno et al. hypothesized that S. imperator had a generalized diet similar to that of
3577-481: The family Crocodilini. Rhamphostoma was proposed by Johann Georg Wagler in 1830 who considered this genus to contain two species, Crocodilus gangeticus and C. tenuirostris . The family name Gavialidae was proposed by Arthur Adams in 1854 with Gavialis as the only genus in this family. Gavialis gangetica was the scientific name used by Albert Günther in 1864 who considered L. gangetica , C. longirostris and C. tenuirostris as synonyms and Gavialis
3650-441: The fragment of the lower jaw, dorsal scute and two teeth compromising the species G. hartti were reexamined and conclusively placed in the genus Sarcosuchus . The next major findings occurred during the expeditions led by the American paleontologist Paul Sereno in 1995 ( Aoufous Formation , Morocco ), 1997 and the follow-up trip in 2000. Partial skeletons, numerous skulls and 20 tons of assorted other fossils were recovered from
3723-531: The gharial and false gharial in the Eocene about 38 million years ago . The genus Gavialis probably originated in the region of India and Pakistan in the Early Miocene . Fossil gharial remains excavated in the Sivalik Hills of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are dated to between the Pliocene and the Early Pleistocene . Fossil gharial remains were also found at two sites in
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#17327838763173796-455: The global population was estimated to comprise at maximum 900 individuals, including about 600 mature adults in six major subpopulations along 1,100 km (680 mi) of river courses and another 50 mature adults in eight minor subpopulations along 1,200 km (750 mi) of river courses. In Nepal, small populations are present and slowly recovering in tributaries of the Ganges, such as
3869-409: The head, with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators and caimans. Another obvious trait is that the upper and lower jaws of the crocodiles are the same width, and the teeth in the lower jaw fall along the edge or outside the upper jaw when the mouth is closed; therefore, all teeth are visible, unlike an alligator, which possesses in
3942-696: The hypothesis of gharial dispersal through riverine systems. It represents the only valid extinct Gavialis species. The below cladogram of the major extant crocodile groups is based on the latest molecular studies and shows the gharial's close relationship to the false gharial, and how the gavialids and crocodiles are more closely related than the alligatoroids : Caiman [REDACTED] Melanosuchus [REDACTED] Paleosuchus [REDACTED] Alligator [REDACTED] Crocodylus [REDACTED] Mecistops [REDACTED] Osteolaemus [REDACTED] Gavialis [REDACTED] Tomistoma [REDACTED] Here
4015-635: The larger superfamily Crocodyloidea , which also includes additional extinct crocodile relatives. These all belong to the order Crocodilia , which also includes alligators and gharials . Crocodylidae is cladistically defined as a crown group composed of the last common ancestor of the Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ), the Dwarf crocodile ( Osteolaemus tetraspis ), and all of its descendants. It contains two subfamilies : Crocodylinae and Osteolaeminae . Crocodylinae contains 13-14 living species, as well as 6 extinct species. Osteolaeminae
4088-525: The later form krokódeilos ( κροκόδειλος ) found cited in many English reference works. In the Koine Greek of Roman times, krokodilos and krokodeilos would have been pronounced identically, and either or both may be the source of the Latinized form crocodīlus used by the ancient Romans. It has been suggested, but it is not certain that the word crocodilos or crocodeilos
4161-412: The literature. The largest known skull of S. imperator (the type specimen) is 1.6 m (5.25 ft) long (1.5 m (4.92 ft) in the midline), and it was estimated that the individual it belonged to had a total body length of 11.65 m (38.2 ft). Its snout-vent length of 5.7 m (18.7 ft) was estimated using linear equations for the saltwater crocodile and in turn this measurement
4234-465: The posterior part of the neck down to the middle of the tail as is seen in Araripesuchus and other basal crocodyliforms; this differs from the pattern seen in living crocodiles, which presents discontinuity between the osteoderms of the neck and body. A common method to estimate the size of crocodiles and crocodile-like reptiles is the use of the length of the skull measured in the midline from
4307-496: The research team of the French CEA discovered an almost complete skull in the region of Gadoufaoua in the Niger. The said skull was shipped to Paris for study and became the holotype of the then new genus and species Sarcosuchus imperator in 1966. In 1977, a new species of Sarcosuchus was recognised, S. hartti , from remains found in the late 19th century in late Hauterivian pebbly conglomerates and green shales belonging to
4380-534: The same fashion as extant crocodilians. The remains of S. imperator were found in a region of the Ténéré Desert named Gadoufaoua, more specifically in the Elrhaz Formation of the Tegama Group, dating from the late Aptian to the early Albian of the Early Cretaceous , approximately 112 million years ago. The stratigraphy of the region and the aquatic fauna that was found therein indicates that it
4453-769: The specimen is 9.5 metres (31 ft) and 4.3 metric tons (4.7 short tons), respectively. Sarcosuchus is commonly classified as part of the clade Pholidosauridae , a group of crocodile-like reptiles ( Crocodyliformes ) related but outside Crocodylia (the clade containing living crocodiles, alligators and gharials). Within this group it is most closely related to the North American genus Terminonaris . Most members of Pholidosauridae had long, slender snouts and they all were aquatic, inhabiting several different environments. Some forms are interpreted as marine, capable of tolerating saltwater while others, like Sarcosuchus , were freshwater forms. The most primitive members of
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#17327838763174526-707: The tip of the snout to the back of the skull table, as in living crocodilians there is a strong correlation between skull length and total body length in subadult and adult individuals irrespective of their sex. This method was used by Sereno et al. (2001) for Sarcosuchus due to the absence of a complete enough skeleton. Two regression equations were used to estimate the size of S. imperator , they were created based on measurements gathered from 17 captive gharial individuals from northern India and from 28 wild saltwater crocodile individuals from northern Australia , both datasets supplemented by available measurements of individuals over 1.5 m (4.92 ft) in length found in
4599-585: The upper jaw small depressions into which the lower teeth fit. Also, when the crocodile's mouth is closed, the large fourth tooth in the lower jaw fits into a constriction in the upper jaw. For hard-to-distinguish specimens, the protruding tooth is the most reliable feature to define the species ' family . Crocodiles have more webbing on the toes of the hind feet and can better tolerate saltwater due to specialized salt glands for filtering out salt, which are present, but non-functioning, in alligators. Another trait that separates crocodiles from other crocodilians
4672-422: The upper jaw, while in the lower jaw there were 31 teeth in each side. The upper jaw was also noticeably longer than the lower one, leaving a gap between them when the jaws were shut that created an overbite. In young individuals the shape of the snout resembled that of the living gharial , but in fully grown individuals it became considerably broader. Sarcosuchus has an expansion at the end of its snout known as
4745-406: The upper reaches of the Brahmaputra River between Kaziranga National Park and Dibru-Saikhowa National Park . This population had declined due to commercial fishing, poaching , encroachment by local people in gharial breeding grounds and siltation of river beds following deforestation . In 1998, it was not considered to be viable. About 30 gharials were observed in small lakes and tributaries of
4818-448: The water only for basking and building nests on moist sandbanks. Adults mate at the end of the cold season. Females congregate in spring to dig nests, in which they lay 20–95 eggs. They guard the nests and the young, which hatch before the onset of the monsoon . The hatchlings stay and forage in shallow water during their first year, but move to sites with deeper water as they grow. The wild gharial population has declined drastically since
4891-410: Was an inland fluvial environment, entirely freshwater in nature with a humid tropical climate. S. imperator shared the waters with the holostean fish Lepidotus and the coelacanth Mawsonia . The dinosaur fauna was represented by the iguanodontian Lurdusaurus , which was the most common dinosaur in the region, and its relative Ouranosaurus ; there were also two sauropods, Nigersaurus and
4964-468: Was based on a fossil skull from the Sivalik Hills that was larger than gharial fossil skulls known at the time. This name is considered to be a junior synonym of Gavialis gangeticus . The evolution of the gharial and its relationship with and divergence from other crocodilians have been a subject of controversy. Some authors assumed that the gharial evolved earlier than the other crocodilians because of its distinct skull shape and dentition, indicating
5037-577: Was claimed to have been killed in the Ghaghara River in Faizabad in August 1920, though no reliable measurements were taken. Male gharials with an alleged length of 7.16 to 9.14 m (23 ft 6 in – 30 ft 0 in) were sighted around the turn of the 20th century in Indian rivers. Overall, the gharial is less massive when compared to other crocodilians of similar length;
5110-576: Was named by Christopher Brochu in 2003 as a subfamily of Crocodylidae separate from Crocodylinae, and contains the two extant genera Osteolaemus and Mecistops , along with several extinct genera. The number of extant species within Osteolaeminae is currently in question. Recent molecular studies using DNA sequencing have shown crocodiles to be more closely related to the gavialids rather than to alligators , contrary to prior theories based on morphological studies alone. Below
5183-586: Was one of the largest pseudosuchians , with the largest specimen of S. imperator reaching approximately 9–9.5 metres (29.5–31.2 ft) long and weighing up to 3.45–4.3 metric tons (3.80–4.74 short tons). It is known from two species; S. imperator from the early Albian Elrhaz Formation of Niger, and S. hartti from the Late Hauterivian of northeastern Brazil. Other material is known from Morocco and Tunisia and possibly Libya and Mali. The first remains were discovered during several expeditions led by
5256-444: Was the scientific name proposed by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. Gmelin followed Carl Linnaeus who proposed Lacerta in 1758 to include other crocodiles and various lizards known at the time. The gharial was placed in the genus Crocodilus by subsequent naturalists: The generic name Gavialis was proposed by Nicolaus Michael Oppel in 1811 for crocodiles with a cylindrical-shaped back. He placed this genus in
5329-628: Was used to estimate its body weight at 8 metric tons (8.8 short tons). This shows that Sarcosuchus was able to reach a maximum body size not only greater than previously estimated but also greater than that of the Miocene Rhamphosuchus , the Late Cretaceous Deinosuchus , and the Miocene Purussaurus according to current estimates at that time. However, extrapolation from the femur of
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