Content deleted Content added
Cosette changed to Cossette which is the correct spelling of the surname as cited in the paper. |
"Using our regression of TL on skull length (Table 3), this gives an estimated TL of 10,640 mm for TMM 43632-1." (from Farlow et al., 2005) |
||
Line 20:
'''''Deinosuchus''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|d|aɪ|n|ə|ˈ|sj|uː|k|ə|s}}) is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of [[Alligatoroidea|alligatoroid]] [[crocodilian]], related to modern [[alligator|alligators]] and [[Caiman|caimans]], that lived 82 to 73 million years ago (Ma), during the late [[Cretaceous]] [[Geologic time scale#Terminology|period]]. The name translates as "terrible crocodile" and is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''deinos'' (δεινός), "terrible", and ''soukhos'' (σοῦχος), "crocodile". The first remains were discovered in [[North Carolina]] (United States) in the 1850s; the [[genus]] was named and described in 1909. Additional fragments were discovered in the 1940s and were later incorporated into an influential, though inaccurate, skull reconstruction at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]. Knowledge of ''Deinosuchus'' remains incomplete, but better [[Skull|cranial]] material found in recent years has expanded scientific understanding of this massive predator.
Although ''Deinosuchus'' was far larger than any modern crocodile or alligator, with the largest adults measuring {{convert|10.
''Deinosuchus'' fossils have been described from 10 [[U.S. state]]s, including Texas, Montana, and many along the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. Fossils have also been found in northern Mexico. It lived on both sides of the [[Western Interior Seaway]], and was an opportunistic [[apex predator]] in the coastal regions of eastern North America. ''Deinosuchus'' reached its largest size in its western habitat, but the eastern populations were far more abundant. Opinion remains divided as to whether these two populations represent separate [[species]]. ''Deinosuchus'' was probably capable of killing and eating large [[dinosaur]]s. It may have also fed upon [[sea turtle]]s, fish, and other aquatic and terrestrial prey.
Line 46:
|title=How the 'terror crocodile' grew so big|author1=Erickson, Gregory M. |author2=Brochu, Christopher A. |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=398|date=March 1999|pages=205–206|doi=10.1038/18343|issue=6724|bibcode=1999Natur.398..205E |s2cid=4402210 }}</ref> This was later corroborated when it was noted that most known specimens of ''D. rugosus'' usually had skulls of about {{Convert|1|m|sigfig=2|sp=us|ft}} with estimated total lengths of {{Convert|8|m|sp=us}} and weights of {{convert|2.3|MT|ST}}. A reasonably well-preserved skull specimen discovered in [[Texas]] indicated the animal's head measured about {{Convert|1.31|m|sp=us|ft}}, and its body length was estimated at {{Convert|9.8|m|sp=us}}. However, the largest fragmentary remains of ''D. riograndensis'' were 1.5 times the size of those of the average ''D. rugosus'' and it was determined that the largest individuals of this species may have been up to {{Convert|12|m|sp=us}} in length and perhaps weighed as much as {{convert|8.5|MT|ST}}.<ref name="schwimmer-size"/>
A particularly large mandibular fragment from a ''D. riograndensis'' specimen was estimated to have come from an individual with a skull length of {{convert|147.5|cm|ft|sp=us}}. This length was used in conjunction with a regression equation relating skull length to total length in the [[American alligator]] to estimate a total length of {{convert|10.
==Paleobiology==
| |||