Gavialosuchus


Gavialosuchus is an extinct tomistomine from the early Miocene of Europe.

Taxonomy

The type species, G. eggenburgensis, is known from the early Miocene of Austria.
Myrick Jr. proposed synonymizing Gavialosuchus americanus with Thecachampsa antiqua. Piras et al. advocated transferring both G. americanus and G. carolinensis to Thecachampsa as distinct species of the latter genus, however. Jouve et al. retained G. americanus in Gavialosuchus and found it to be the sister group of G. eggenburgensis. However, Jouve et al. didn't test Thecachampsa antiqua in their phylogenetic analysis. Shan et al. found that G. americanus and G. eggenburgensis are not sister taxa. However, they didn't include T. antiqua and G. carolinensis in their analysis. Christopher A. Brochu and Glenn W. Storrs tested all four species, along with other crocodyloids, and found relatively strong support for Piras et al. suggestion. Weems agreed with Piras et al. and Brochu & Storrs at americanus and carolinensis are part of Thecachampsa.

Ecology

Unlike its modern fresh water relatives, Gavialosuchus was an estuarine and coastal water crocodilian, living in shallow marine waters.