期刊
NATURE
卷 466, 期 7307, 页码 748-751出版社
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature09061
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资金
- Tanzania Antiquities Unit
- Tanzania Museum of House of Culture
- University of Dar es Salaam
- Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology
- US National Science Foundation (NSF) [EAR-0617561, EAR-0854218]
- National Geographic Society (CRE)
- University of the Witwatersrand
- Michigan State University Office of Research and Graduate Studies
- Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Ohio University Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
- Division Of Earth Sciences
- Directorate For Geosciences [933619] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Fossil crocodyliforms discovered in recent years(1-5) have revealed a level of morphological and ecological diversity not exhibited by extant members of the group. This diversity is particularly notable among taxa of the Cretaceous Period (144-65 million years ago) recovered from former Gondwanan landmasses. Here we report the discovery of a new species of Cretaceous notosuchian crocodyliform from the Rukwa Rift Basin(6) of southwestern Tanzania. This small-bodied form deviates significantly from more typical crocodyliform craniodental morphologies, having a short, broad skull, robust lower jaw, and a dentition with relatively few teeth that nonetheless show marked heterodonty. The presence of morphologically complex, complementary upper and lower molariform teeth suggests a degree of crown-crown contact during jaw adduction that is unmatched among known crocodyliforms, paralleling the level of occlusal complexity seen in mammals and their extinct relatives(7-12). The presence of another small-bodied mammal-like crocodyliform in the Cretaceous of Gondwana indicates that notosuchians probably filled niches and inhabited ecomorphospace that were otherwise occupied by mammals on northern continents.
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