Paratomistoma
Extinct genus of reptiles / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paratomistoma (meaning "next to or near Tomistoma") is an extinct monospecific genus of gavialoid crocodylian. It is based on the holotype specimen CGM 42188, a partial posterior skull and lower jaw discovered at Wadi Hitan, Egypt, in Middle Eocene-age rocks of the Gehannam Formation. The skull is unfused but considered morphologically mature. Paratomistoma was named in 2000 by Christopher Brochu and Philip Gingerich; the type species is P. courti in honor of Nicholas Court, who found CGM 42188. They performed a phylogenetic analysis and found Paratomistoma to be a derived member of Tomistominae, related to the false gharial. It may have been a marine or coastal crocodilian.[2]
Paratomistoma | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
Clade: | Archosauriformes |
Order: | Crocodilia |
Superfamily: | Gavialoidea |
Genus: | †Paratomistoma Brochu & Gingerich, 2000 |
Type species | |
†Paratomistoma courti Brochu & Gingerich, 2000 |
Below is a cladogram based morphological studies comparing skeletal features that shows Paratomistoma as a member of Tomistominae:[3]
Crocodylidae |
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Based on morphological studies of extinct taxa, the tomistomines were long thought to be classified as crocodiles and not closely related to gavialoids.[4] However, recent molecular studies using DNA sequencing have consistently indicated that the false gharial (Tomistoma) (and by inference other related extinct forms in Tomistominae) actually belong to Gavialoidea (and Gavialidae).[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Below is a cladogram from a 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data that shows Paratomistoma as an early-diverging gavialoid, more basal than the last common ancestor to both the gharial and the false gharial:[10]
Gavialoidea |
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(total group) |