Paralligatoridae
Extinct family of reptiles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paralligatoridae is an extinct family of neosuchian crocodyliforms that existed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It includes the genera Paralligator, Brillanceausuchus, Kansajsuchus, Shamosuchus, Doratodon, Scolomastax, Sabresuchus, Rugosuchus, and Batrachomimus.[2]
| Paralligatoridae Temporal range: Late Jurassic - Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
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| Skulls of Paralligator | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Clade: | Neosuchia |
| Family: | †Paralligatoridae Konzhukova, 1954 |
| Genera | |
|
†Batrachomimus | |
Evolution
Phylogenetic analyses of crocodyliforms find Paralligatoridae to nest within Neosuchia, a large clade (evolutionary grouping) that also includes modern crocodylians. In crocodyliform phylogeny, paralligatorids are usually found near the base of Neosuchia, outside the clade Eusuchia, which includes crocodylians and their closest relatives. Below is a cladogram from Montefeltro et al. (2013) showing the phylogenetic relationships of Paralligatoridae:[2]
