The Year In Crocs

Each year, thanks to the hard work of a lot of great paleontologists, we get to add some new members to our favorite clade. In 2011, a total of  9 11 crurotarsans were named (and by this I mean they were named in a peer-reviewed paper with a publication date in 2011). Check out the list below:

• Theriosuchus grandinaris - a Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous neosuchian from Thailand - in Lauprasert, K., C. Laojumpon, W. Saenphala, G. Cuny, K. Thirakhupt, and V. Suteethorn. 2011. "Atoposaurid crocodyliforms from the Khorat Group of Thailand: first record of Theirosuchus from Southeast Asia." Paläontologische Zeitschrift 85(1): 37-47. DOI: 10.1007/s12542-010-0071-z

• Decuriasuchus quartacolonia - a Triassic rauisuchian from Brazil - in Franca, M. A. G. and J. Ferigolo. 2011. 'Associated skeletons of a new middle Triassic "Rauisuchian" from Brazil' Naturwissenschaften 98 (5): 389-395 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-011-0782-3 

• Neptunidraco ammoniticus - a Jurassic metriorhynchid from Italy - in Cau, A. & F. Fanti. (2011) "The oldest known metriorhynchid crocodylian from the Middle Jurassic of North-eastern Italy, Neptunidraco ammoniticus gen. et sp. nov." Gondwana Research 19(2): 550-565. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2010.07.007

Andrea Cau, study co-author, posing with the counter top and a reconstruction of Neptunidraco (from Nat Geo)

• Campinasuchus dinizi - a Cretaceous baurusuchid from Brazil - in Carvalho, I. D. S., V. D. P. A. Teixeira, M. L. D. F. Ferraz, L. C. B. Ribeiro, A. G. Martinelli, F. M. Neto, J. J. W. Seritch, G. C. Cunha, I. C. Cunha, and P. F. Ferraz. 2011. "Campinasuchus dinizi gen. et sp. nov., a new Late Cretaceous baurusuchid (Crocodyliformes) from the Bauru Basin, Brazil" Zootaxa 2871: 19-42 Open access online.

Life reconstruction (by Rodolfo Nogueira) of Campinasuchus dinizi from Carvalho et al 2011

• Arenysuchus gascabadiolorum - a Cretaceous crocodyloid from Spain - in Puertolas, E., J. I. Canudo, P. Cruzado-Caballero. 2011. "A New Crocodylian from the Late Maastrichtian of Spain: Implications for the Initial Radiation of Crocodyloids." PLoS ONE 6(6) doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020011

• Pissarrachampsa sera -a Cretaceous baurusuchid fro Brazil - in Montefeltro, F. C., H. C. E. Larsson, and M. C. Langer. 2011. "A New Baurusuchid (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil and the Phylogeny of Baurusuchidae." PLoS ONE 6(7). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021916

From Figure 3 of Montefeltro et al 2011

• Archerontisuchus guajiraensis -a Paleocene dyrosaurid from Colombia - in Hastings, A. K., J. I. Bloch, and C. A. Jaramillo. 2011. "A new longirostrine dyrosaurid (Crocodylomorpha, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Paleocene of north-eastern Colombia: biogeographic and behavioural implications for New-World Dyrosauridae." Palaeontology, 54: 1095–1116. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01092.x

• Caipirasuchus paulistanus - a Cretaceous sphagesaurid from Brazil - in Fabiano V. Ioria and Ismar S. Carvalhoa. 2011. "Caipirasuchus paulistanus, a new sphagesaurid (Crocodylomorpha, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Adamantina Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Turonian–Santonian), Bauru Basin, Brazil" Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31(6): 1255-1264 DOI:10.1080/02724634.2011.602777  

Reconstruction of Caipirasuchus by D. Silva in Fabiano et al.

[Edit] I have been informed that there are three additional new crocs for this year. I overlooked them because they are named in a massive volume published by the Palaeontological Association, number 14 in their Field Guide to Fossils series. The contents of English Wealden Fossils are not available in any digital format, so reading about the new crocs requires purchasing the book. Fortunately, some brief comments are available over at Tetrapod Zoology.

• Goniopholis willetti - an Early Cretaceous goniopholidid from England
• Anteophthalmosuchus hooleyi - an Early Cretaceous goniopholidid from England
• Leiokarinosuchus brookensis - an Early Cretaceous neosuchian from England

in Salisbury, S. W. & Naish, D. 2011. "Crocodilians." In Batten, D. J. (ed.) English Wealden Fossils. The Palaeontological Association (London), pp. 305-369