Crocodylomorpha

Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. Extinct crocodylomorphs were considerably more ecologically diverse than modern crocodilians. The earliest and most primitive crocodylomorphs are represented by "sphenosuchians", a paraphyletic assemblage containing small-bodied, slender forms with elongated limbs that walked upright, which represents the ancestral morphology of Crocodylomorpha. These forms persisted until the end of the Jurassic. During the Jurassic, crocodylomorphs morphologically diversified into numerous niches, with the subgroups Neosuchia and the extinct Thalattosuchia adapting to aquatic life, while some terrestrial groups adopted herbivorous and omnivorous lifestyles. Terrestrial crocodylomorphs would continue to co-exist alongside aquatic forms until becoming extinct during the Miocene.

Crocodylomorpha

LiterallyMiguel · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
crocodilianPBDB
Sits inside
LoricataPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Pseudosuchia
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Diapsida

Time the record covers

At least 227 million years on record.

The record covers at least 227.3 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 237 Mya to 0 Mya.

Middle Triassic — about 0 of 5616 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 68 of 5616 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 141 of 5616 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 236 of 5616 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 453 of 5616 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 623 of 5616 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 1486 of 5616 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 337 of 5616 occurrencesEocene — about 663 of 5616 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 154 of 5616 occurrencesMiocene — about 842 of 5616 occurrencesPliocene — about 157 of 5616 occurrencesPleistocene — about 381 of 5616 occurrences242–234 Mya — about 6 occurrences234–226 Mya — about 16 occurrences226–218 Mya — about 14 occurrences218–210 Mya — about 16 occurrences210–201 Mya — about 16 occurrences201–193 Mya — about 56 occurrences193–185 Mya — about 17 occurrences185–177 Mya — about 59 occurrences177–169 Mya — about 21 occurrences169–161 Mya — about 225 occurrences161–153 Mya — about 90 occurrences153–145 Mya — about 306 occurrences145–137 Mya — about 171 occurrences137–129 Mya — about 67 occurrences129–121 Mya — about 186 occurrences121–113 Mya — about 114 occurrences113–105 Mya — about 92 occurrences105–97 Mya — about 151 occurrences97–89 Mya — about 119 occurrences89–81 Mya — about 198 occurrences81–73 Mya — about 352 occurrences73–64 Mya — about 801 occurrences64–56 Mya — about 233 occurrences56–48 Mya — about 325 occurrences48–40 Mya — about 208 occurrences40–32 Mya — about 164 occurrences32–24 Mya — about 114 occurrences24–16 Mya — about 255 occurrences16–8.1 Mya — about 472 occurrences8.1–0 Mya — about 752 occurrences227.3 Mya11.7 ka242 Mya0 Mya

5,616 occurrences of Crocodylomorpha on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

5,616 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

948 formations

Hell Creek — 47.80°N, 106.10°WHell Creek — 47.68°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.10°N, 103.30°WHell Creek — 45.98°N, 103.75°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.94°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.18°N, 103.84°WHell Creek — 46.14°N, 103.80°WHell Creek — 46.46°N, 104.02°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.94°N, 103.95°WHell Creek — 45.53°N, 101.63°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.13°WHell Creek — 47.62°N, 107.32°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.98°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 107.10°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.40°WHell Creek — 47.58°N, 106.30°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.25°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 47.53°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.07°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.23°WHell Creek — 46.90°N, 101.50°WHell Creek — 46.09°N, 100.63°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 47.32°N, 107.15°WHell Creek — 47.95°N, 105.63°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 104.01°WHell Creek — 45.83°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 46.24°N, 107.38°WHell Creek — 47.64°N, 106.57°WHell Creek — 45.66°N, 105.08°WHell Creek — 45.89°N, 104.55°WHell Creek — 45.50°N, 103.10°WHell Creek — 45.64°N, 103.49°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 104.92°WHell Creek — 45.00°N, 103.19°WHell Creek — 46.00°N, 103.19°WWillwood — 43.95°N, 107.57°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 109.00°WWillwood — 44.83°N, 109.09°WWillwood — 44.63°N, 108.89°WWillwood — 44.44°N, 108.63°WWillwood — 44.50°N, 108.67°WWillwood — 44.56°N, 108.70°WWillwood — 44.59°N, 108.62°WWillwood — 44.53°N, 108.43°WWillwood — 44.37°N, 108.67°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.54°WWillwood — 44.60°N, 108.32°WWillwood — 44.59°N, 108.41°WWillwood — 44.53°N, 108.32°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.72°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.54°WWillwood — 44.52°N, 108.57°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.90°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.83°WWillwood — 44.64°N, 108.76°WWillwood — 44.41°N, 108.79°WWillwood — 44.33°N, 108.77°WWillwood — 43.92°N, 108.66°WWillwood — 44.10°N, 108.03°WWillwood — 44.28°N, 108.58°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 108.20°WSolimões — 8.78°S, 68.90°WSolimões — 10.13°S, 67.81°WSolimões — 9.08°S, 68.67°WSolimões — 8.16°S, 70.55°WSolimões — 9.05°S, 68.77°WSolimões — 7.84°S, 69.15°WSolimões — 8.24°S, 70.42°WSolimões — 9.03°S, 69.47°WSolimões — 9.43°S, 70.51°WSolimões — 9.09°S, 69.86°WSolimões — 9.12°S, 70.13°WSolimões — 9.22°S, 69.91°WSolimões — 9.15°S, 70.23°WSolimões — 9.33°S, 70.37°WSolimões — 9.37°S, 69.94°WSolimões — 8.79°S, 67.47°WSolimões — 9.19°S, 68.70°WSolimões — 9.27°S, 68.71°WSolimões — 9.40°S, 68.74°WSolimões — 10.15°S, 69.30°WSolimões — 10.21°S, 69.38°WSolimões — 10.30°S, 69.48°WSolimões — 10.98°S, 69.71°WSolimões — 10.95°S, 69.66°WSolimões — 10.94°S, 69.52°WSolimões — 10.94°S, 69.43°WSolimões — 10.94°S, 69.35°WSolimões — 7.61°S, 73.39°WSolimões — 8.18°S, 72.78°WSolimões — 8.98°S, 72.75°WSolimões — 9.13°S, 72.70°WSolimões — 9.20°S, 72.72°WSolimões — 9.39°S, 72.72°WSolimões — 8.24°S, 73.26°WSolimões — 8.29°S, 73.25°WSolimões — 8.37°S, 72.81°WSolimões — 8.83°S, 72.78°WSolimões — 8.86°S, 72.77°WSolimões — 8.99°S, 72.76°WSolimões — 9.28°S, 72.69°WSolimões — 11.00°S, 68.77°WSolimões — 6.50°S, 69.67°WMorrison — 39.15°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 40.42°N, 109.21°WMorrison — 41.91°N, 105.96°WMorrison — 38.54°N, 105.22°WMorrison — 41.88°N, 106.11°WMorrison — 39.68°N, 105.19°WMorrison — 41.99°N, 106.08°WMorrison — 41.97°N, 106.29°WMorrison — 41.88°N, 105.89°WMorrison — 44.18°N, 103.34°WMorrison — 44.46°N, 104.73°WMorrison — 38.81°N, 108.32°WMorrison — 38.32°N, 108.83°WMorrison — 40.44°N, 109.30°WMorrison — 39.17°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 38.85°N, 108.48°WMorrison — 39.24°N, 109.00°WMorrison — 36.92°N, 102.98°WMorrison — 42.16°N, 105.91°WMorrison — 42.04°N, 106.39°WMorrison — 40.50°N, 109.17°WMorrison — 44.02°N, 104.24°WMorrison — 37.31°N, 103.52°WMorrison — 38.58°N, 108.40°WMorrison — 42.02°N, 106.05°WMorrison — 38.45°N, 107.40°WMorrison — 39.32°N, 110.69°WMorrison — 41.92°N, 106.36°WMorrison — 40.46°N, 108.39°WMorrison — 43.62°N, 108.18°WMorrison — 42.53°N, 106.76°WMorrison — 38.34°N, 109.10°WMorrison — 42.73°N, 108.58°WMorrison — 35.53°N, 106.90°WMorrison — 39.01°N, 111.02°WMorrison — 40.30°N, 108.57°WMorrison — 40.27°N, 108.68°WKoobi Fora — 3.90°N, 36.24°EKoobi Fora — 3.98°N, 36.32°EKoobi Fora — 4.31°N, 36.27°EKoobi Fora — 4.24°N, 36.26°EKoobi Fora — 4.29°N, 36.23°EKoobi Fora — 3.77°N, 36.44°EKoobi Fora — 3.78°N, 36.33°EKoobi Fora — 3.59°N, 36.24°EKoobi Fora — 3.87°N, 36.37°EKoobi Fora — 3.94°N, 36.25°EKoobi Fora — 4.18°N, 36.42°EKoobi Fora — 4.08°N, 36.35°EKoobi Fora — 4.07°N, 36.37°EUrumaco — 11.22°N, 70.24°WUrumaco — 11.24°N, 70.31°WUrumaco — 11.27°N, 70.22°WUrumaco — 11.38°N, 69.93°WUrumaco — 11.17°S, 70.30°WUrumaco — 11.20°N, 70.36°WDenver — 39.70°N, 104.70°WDenver — 38.91°N, 104.53°WDenver — 39.50°N, 104.70°WDenver — 39.30°N, 104.30°WLance — 43.35°N, 104.48°WLance — 43.30°N, 104.37°WLance — 44.77°N, 100.70°WLance — 43.12°N, 104.64°WLance — 41.57°N, 108.67°WLance — 41.57°N, 108.65°WLance — 43.18°N, 104.53°WLance — 43.15°N, 104.57°WLance — 43.13°N, 104.49°WLance — 43.80°N, 104.62°WLance — 45.75°N, 101.20°WLance — 45.04°N, 108.80°WLance — 43.00°N, 104.50°WLance — 43.27°N, 104.62°WLance — 43.27°N, 104.65°WLance — 43.43°N, 105.05°WLance — 45.67°N, 101.48°WLance — 45.39°N, 103.70°WLance — 41.91°N, 104.20°WLance — 43.49°N, 104.46°WCloverly — 44.51°N, 107.90°WCloverly — 43.73°N, 108.33°WCloverly — 45.34°N, 108.81°WCloverly — 44.69°N, 108.24°WCloverly — 44.98°N, 108.32°WCloverly — 45.45°N, 108.10°WCloverly — 45.44°N, 108.14°WCloverly — 45.26°N, 108.41°WCloverly — 44.04°N, 107.51°WCloverly — 44.65°N, 107.88°WCloverly — 44.50°N, 107.82°WCloverly — 44.47°N, 109.05°WCloverly — 44.44°N, 109.06°WCloverly — 45.19°N, 108.80°WCloverly — 45.80°N, 109.80°WCloverly — 45.49°N, 108.73°WCloverly — 45.10°N, 106.90°WAdamantina — 21.10°S, 49.28°WAdamantina — 21.94°S, 51.37°WAdamantina — 19.46°S, 49.25°WAdamantina — 25.73°S, 48.58°WAdamantina — 22.05°S, 51.55°WAdamantina — 21.44°S, 50.17°WAdamantina — 20.57°S, 50.47°WAdamantina — 20.34°S, 50.55°WAdamantina — 21.59°S, 51.19°WAdamantina — 21.22°S, 48.57°WAdamantina — 17.70°S, 40.77°WAdamantina — 19.34°S, 49.92°WAdamantina — 22.31°S, 50.03°WAdamantina — 19.51°S, 50.11°WAdamantina — 21.57°S, 51.35°WAdamantina — 21.30°S, 48.48°WAdamantina — 22.34°S, 49.95°WAdamantina — 21.17°S, 48.50°WAdamantina — 21.14°S, 48.97°WAdamantina — 22.12°S, 51.37°WAdamantina — 20.35°S, 49.28°WAdamantina — 21.64°S, 50.06°WAdamantina — 20.28°S, 50.25°WAdamantina — 21.33°S, 48.58°WAdamantina — 19.44°S, 49.26°WAdamantina — 18.34°S, 50.48°WAdamantina — 20.92°S, 50.45°WAdamantina — 22.00°S, 49.00°WPebas — 3.99°S, 73.17°WPebas — 4.01°S, 73.37°WPebas — 4.30°S, 73.46°WPebas — 7.36°S, 74.96°WPebas — 4.01°S, 73.03°WPebas — 2.81°S, 73.55°WPebas — 3.74°S, 73.25°WDinosaur Park — 50.81°N, 111.32°WDinosaur Park — 50.73°N, 111.53°WDinosaur Park — 50.81°N, 111.63°WDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.48°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.40°WDinosaur Park — 49.07°N, 110.45°WDinosaur Park — 49.96°N, 110.34°WDinosaur Park — 50.56°N, 111.46°WDinosaur Park — 50.68°N, 108.09°WDinosaur Park — 50.51°N, 110.39°WMaevarano — 15.91°S, 46.58°EMaevarano — 15.72°S, 46.32°EMaevarano — 15.98°S, 46.05°EMaevarano — 16.12°S, 45.74°EMaevarano — 16.13°S, 45.63°EFerris — 41.94°N, 106.88°WFerris — 41.80°N, 107.00°WFerris — 41.96°N, 106.89°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.51°WOldman — 49.10°N, 110.94°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.84°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.68°WOldman — 49.16°N, 110.72°WOldman — 50.83°N, 111.32°WOldman — 50.48°N, 111.38°WOldman — 49.36°N, 110.58°WOldman — 49.96°N, 110.26°WFort Union — 44.91°N, 108.93°WFort Union — 44.68°N, 108.34°WFort Union — 44.68°N, 108.35°WFort Union — 44.67°N, 108.45°WFort Union — 43.85°N, 108.35°WFort Union — 44.30°N, 109.00°WFort Union — 46.05°N, 104.48°WFort Union — 46.90°N, 101.50°WFort Union — 47.60°N, 107.00°WOxford Clay — 52.54°N, 0.25°WOxford Clay — 52.60°N, 0.21°WOxford Clay — 51.83°N, 0.70°WOxford Clay — 51.75°N, 1.18°WOxford Clay — 53.54°N, 0.23°WOxford Clay — 51.37°N, 2.14°WOxford Clay — 50.61°N, 2.45°WBridger — 42.37°N, 108.91°WBridger — 42.42°N, 109.35°WBridger — 41.13°N, 110.13°WBridger — 41.70°N, 109.00°WBridger — 41.80°N, 110.70°WBridger — 41.20°N, 110.50°WBridger — 41.27°N, 110.34°WBridger — 41.27°N, 109.93°WBridger — 41.04°N, 110.23°WIsalo IIIb — 16.49°S, 47.08°EIsalo IIIb — 16.42°S, 47.13°EIsalo IIIb — 16.55°S, 46.98°EEl Castellar — 40.67°N, 0.67°WEl Castellar — 40.66°N, 0.87°WEl Castellar — 40.58°N, 0.69°WEl Castellar — 40.62°N, 0.84°WEl Castellar — 40.46°N, 0.74°WEl Castellar — 40.44°N, 0.73°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.74°N, 1.31°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.75°N, 1.18°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.25°N, 2.16°WKimmeridge Clay — 52.40°N, 0.28°EKimmeridge Clay — 50.61°N, 2.13°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.59°N, 2.47°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.56°N, 1.78°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.35°N, 1.99°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.41°N, 2.00°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.76°N, 1.20°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.63°N, 2.34°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.36°N, 1.65°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.61°N, 2.16°WPozo — 7.33°S, 74.95°WPozo — 7.33°S, 74.95°WPozo — 6.57°S, 76.27°WCedar Mountain — 38.83°N, 109.57°WCedar Mountain — 39.05°N, 111.04°WCedar Mountain — 38.72°N, 109.69°WCedar Mountain — 38.69°N, 111.26°WCedar Mountain — 38.91°N, 110.10°WCedar Mountain — 38.73°N, 109.59°WCedar Mountain — 38.83°N, 109.47°WCedar Mountain — 38.83°N, 109.27°WCedar Mountain — 38.88°N, 111.27°WCedar Mountain — 39.00°N, 111.00°WCedar Mountain — 38.64°N, 111.37°WCedar Mountain — 38.66°N, 111.24°WAguja — 29.32°N, 103.52°WAguja — 29.20°N, 103.55°WAguja — 29.10°N, 103.17°WAguja — 29.29°N, 103.55°WAguja — 29.16°N, 103.16°W

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The named rock units Crocodylomorpha has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 924 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 1,029 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Crocodylomorpha and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Crocodylomorpha and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

2,948 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 1,454 sites for Crocodylomorpha, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

2,171 references

Each of the 5,616 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 2,159 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Crocodylomorpha

Credit
LiterallyMiguel
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itLoricata through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Hay 1930)