Machimosauridae is an extinct family of teleosauroid thalattosuchian crocodyliforms.[1] The family was first identified in 2016,[2] when fossils of teleosauroid thalattosuchians, including an indeterminate close relative of Lemmysuchus and Machimosaurus, were described from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Morocco.[2] The family was largely expanded in 2020 when the systematics of Teleosauroidea were re-reviewed.[1] Members of this family generally were larger than the teleosaurids.[1]
| Machimosauridae Temporal range: Early Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Macrospondylus bollensis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Crocodyliformes |
| Suborder: | †Thalattosuchia |
| Superfamily: | †Teleosauroidea |
| Family: | †Machimosauridae Jouve et al., 2016 |
| Subgroups | |
| |
Classification
Machimosauridae is a diverse group of teleosauroids, phylogenetically defined as "the largest clade within Teleosauroidea containing Machimosaurus hugii, but not Plagiophthalmosuchus gracilirostris and Teleosaurus cadomensis."[1] The members of the Machimosauridae share several unique characters among teleosauroids, which are:[1]
- dorsally oriented external nares
- the premaxillary anterior and anterolateral margins are not sub-vertical and do not extend ventrally
- the premaxilla-maxilla suture is sub-rectangular and slightly interdigitating (most noticeably near the midline)
- no anterolateral expansion of the supratemporal fenestrae
- the postorbital is excluded from the orbit posteroventral margin
- a mostly horizontal pterygoid with a distinct posterolateral angle
- the cultriform process of the basisphenoid is exposed and bifurcates the pterygoids
The phylogenetic relationships of the Machimosauridae were analyzed in a comprehensive analysis of teleosauroid relationships. The results of the analysis are shown below:[1]
| Machimosauridae |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Evolution
Machimosaurids grew in body size and diversified feeding strategies throughout their evolutionary history. Primitive machimosaurids, such as Macrospondylus and Charitomenosuchus, were longirostrine (long-snouted) generalists with body lengths less than 5 m (16 ft) long.[1][3] Machimosaurines originated in the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic and simultaneously underwent a decrease in snout length but an increase in body size with Neosteneosaurus reaching up to 6.6 m (22 ft) long.[1][3] Machimosaurins were the largest teleosauroids, with body lengths up to 7.1 m (23 ft) (Machimosaurus rex), and were durophagous hunters, meaning they fed on hard prey.[1][3]
References
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