A new crocodile of the gavial ecomorph morphology from the Miocene of Northern Australia

Harpacochampsa camfieldensis gen.et sp.nov.from the mid-Miocene Camfield Beds of northern Australia is the first slender-snouted extinct crocodile known from the Australian continent.It is founded on the anterior portion of the snout, posterolateral portion of the cranium and an anterior dentary fragment.Uarpacochampsa camfieldensis is distinctive in having highly size-differentiated premax¬ illary teeth and isodont maxillary teeth.The largest rostral teeth are found on the premaxillae, as in GaviaUs gangeticus.The relative size and internal morphology of the supratcmporal fenestra, and jugal morphology at the level of the infratem¬ poral fenestra, also resemble those of the gavial.The arrangement of the cranial bones differs from that in GaviaUs, corresponding most closely with extant Crocodylus species.Some features present on Harpacochampsa camfieldensis have previously been considered diagnostic of gavialids, but are here interpreted to be convergcntly evolved as part of a functional adaptation.Harpacochampsa camfieldensis is shown to be a crocodylid, but its affinities within the group cannot be determined because of incomplete preservation

Biology · Crocodile · Geography · Zoology · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Ichthyology and Marine Biology · Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology · Geology · Paleontology