Chimaerasuchidae
| Chimaerasuchidae Temporal range: Cretaceous |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Node: | †Ziphosuchia |
| Family: |
†Chimaerasuchidae Carvalho et al., 2004 |
| Genera | |
Chimaerasuchidae ("Chimera crocodiles") is a family of mesoeucrocodylians. It was erected as a clade in 2004 by Carvalho et al and included Chimaerasuchus from the Early Cretaceous of China and Simosuchus from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. The validity of the clade has been questioned in later studies that found the two genera to be more distantly related.
In the phylogenetic analysis of Carvalho et al, the family contained Chimaerasuchus and Simosuchus, two genera of small (~1 metre long), possibly herbivorous crocodyliforms from the Cretaceous. Both had short-snouted heads with multicusped teeth. Carvalho et al placed Chimaerasuchidae within a new clade of mesoeucrocodylians called Gondwanasuchia. It was the sister taxon of Notosuchimorpha, another newly erected clade that contained notosuchias, sebecosuchians, and peirosaurids. Below is a modified cladogram from Carvalho et al (2004):
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