Crocodylus
Temporal range: Late Oligocene - recent, 25–0 Ma
Mugger crocodile (C. palustris)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Crocodylidae
Subfamily: Crocodylinae
Genus: Crocodylus
Laurenti, 1768
Type species
Crocodylus niloticus
Laurenti, 1768
Species

See text

Worldwide distribution of Crocodylus
Synonyms[1]
    • Bombifrons Gray, 1862
    • Crocodillus Scopoli, 1777
    • Crocodilus Gmelin, 1789
    • Crocodilus Laurenti, 1768
    • Crocodylus Gronovius, 1763
    • Mecistops Gray, 1844
    • Molina Romer, 1956
    • Molinia Gray, 1862
    • Motinia Gray, 1844
    • Oopholis Gray, 1844
    • Oxycrocodylus Hoser, 2012
    • Palinia Gray, 1844
    • Philas Gray, 1874
    • Temsacus Gray, 1862

Crocodylus is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae.

Taxonomy

The generic name, Crocodylus, was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768.[2] Crocodylus contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species. There are additional extinct species attributed to the genus Crocodylus that studies have shown no longer belong, although they have not yet been reassigned to new genera.[3]

Extant species

The 13–14 living species are:

Image Scientific name Taxon authority Common name Distribution
Crocodylus acutus (Cuvier, 1807) American crocodile Southern Florida and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of north Mexico to North America as far south as Peru and Venezuela, Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Grand Cayman.
Crocodylus halli [4] Murray, Russo, Zorrilla & McMahan, 2019 Hall's crocodile southern New Guinea
Crocodylus intermedius (Graves, 1819) Orinoco crocodile Colombia and Venezuela
Crocodylus johnstoni Krefft, 1873 Freshwater crocodile Northern regions of Australia
Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935 Philippine crocodile Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park within the Luzon rainforest, San Mariano, Isabela, Dalupiri island in the Babuyan Islands, Abra (province) in Luzon and the Ligawasan Marsh, Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, Pulangi River in Bukidnon, and possibly in the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Mindanao
Crocodylus moreletii (A.H.A. Duméril & Bibron, 1851) Morelet's crocodile or Mexican crocodile Mexico, Belize and Guatemala
Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti, 1768 Nile crocodile or African crocodile, (the subspecies found in Madagascar, C. n. madagascariensis, is sometimes called the black crocodile) Israel and Syria (historically), Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Angola, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Sudan, South Sudan, Botswana, and Cameroon
Crocodylus novaeguineae Schmidt, 1928 New Guinea crocodile northern New Guinea
Crocodylus palustris (Lesson, 1831) Mugger crocodile, marsh crocodile, or Indian crocodile southern Iran, southern Pakistan, southern Nepal, India, Sri Lanka
Crocodylus porosus Schneider, 1801 Saltwater crocodile or estuarine crocodile Eastern India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and Northern Australia
Crocodylus rhombifer (Cuvier, 1807) Cuban crocodile Cuba
Crocodylus siamensis Schneider, 1801 Siamese crocodile Indonesia (Borneo and possibly Java), Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Crocodylus suchus Geoffroy, 1807 West African crocodile or desert crocodile Mauritania, Benin, Liberia, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gabon, Togo, Ivory Coast and Republic of Congo
Crocodylus raninus (Considered to be a synonym of Crocodylus porosus; its status remains unclear).[5] S. Müller & Schlegel, 1844 Borneo crocodile Borneo

Fossils

Crocodylus also includes five extinct species:[3]

Evolution

Crocodylus likely originated in Africa and radiated outwards towards Southeast Asia and the Americas,[6] although an Australia/Asia origin has also been considered.[7] Phylogenetic evidence supports Crocodylus diverging from its closest recent relative, the extinct Voay of Madagascar, around 25 million years ago, near the Oligocene/Miocene boundary.[6]

Phylogeny

A 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data established the inter-relationships within Crocodylidae.[8] In 2021, Hekkala et al. were able to use paleogenomics, extracting DNA from the extinct Voay, to better establish the relationships within Crocodylidae, including the subfamilies Crocodylinae and Osteolaeminae.[6]

The below cladogram shows the results of the latest study:

Crocodylidae
Osteolaeminae

Brochuchus†

Rimasuchus†

Osteolaemus osborni Osborn’s dwarf crocodile

Osteolaemus tetraspis Dwarf crocodile

Crocodylinae

Voay†

Crocodylus
Asia+Australia

Crocodylus johnstoni Freshwater crocodile

Crocodylus novaeguineae New Guinea crocodile

Crocodylus mindorensis Philippine crocodile

Crocodylus porosus Saltwater crocodile

Crocodylus siamensis Siamese crocodile

Crocodylus palustris Mugger crocodile

Africa+New World

Crocodylus suchus West African crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus Nile crocodile

New World

Crocodylus moreletii Morelet's crocodile

Crocodylus rhombifer Cuban crocodile

Crocodylus intermedius Orinoco crocodile

Crocodylus acutus American crocodile

(crown group)

References

  1. ^ Crocodylus . Retrieved through: Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera on 17 April 2022.
  2. ^ Laurenti, J.N. (1768). "XV. Crocodylus". Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum [Medical Treatise, Exhibiting an Emended Synopsis of Reptiles, with Experiments Concerning Venoms and Antidotes for Austrian Reptiles]. Vienna: Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern. pp. 53–55.
  3. ^ a b Brochu, C.A.; Storrs, G.W. (2012). "A giant crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya, the phylogenetic relationships of Neogene African crocodylines, and the antiquity of Crocodylus in Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (3): 587. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32..587B. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.652324. S2CID 85103427.
  4. ^ Murray, Christopher M.; Russo, Peter; Zorrilla, Alexander; McMahan, Caleb D. (2019). "Divergent Morphology among Populations of the New Guinea Crocodile, Crocodylus novaeguineae (Schmidt, 1928) Diagnosis of An Independent Lineage and Description of A New Species". Copeia. 107 (3): 517–523. doi:10.1643/CG-19-240.
  5. ^ Species Crocodylus porosus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  6. ^ a b c Hekkala, E.; Gatesy, J.; Narechania, A.; Meredith, R.; Russello, M.; Aardema, M. L.; Jensen, E.; Montanari, S.; Brochu, C.; Norell, M.; Amato, G. (2021-04-27). "Paleogenomics illuminates the evolutionary history of the extinct Holocene "horned" crocodile of Madagascar, Voay robustus ". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 505. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02017-0. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 8079395. PMID 33907305.
  7. ^ Oaks, J.R. (2011). "A time-calibrated species tree of Crocodylia reveals a recent radiation of the true crocodiles". Evolution. 65 (11): 3285–3297. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01373.x. PMID 22023592. S2CID 7254442.
  8. ^ Lee, Michael S. Y.; Yates, Adam M. (27 June 2018). "Tip-dating and homoplasy: reconciling the shallow molecular divergences of modern gharials with their long fossil". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285 (1881). doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.1071. PMC 6030529. PMID 30051855.
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