Crocodyloidea Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - Recent, 83.5–0 Ma |
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Crocodylus niloticus (Nile crocodile) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Crocodilia |
Clade: | Brevirostres |
Superfamily: |
Crocodyloidea Fitzinger, 1826 |
Subgroups | |
The Crocodyloidea superfamily of crocodilians evolved in the Late Cretaceous period. Cladistically, it is defined as Crocodylus niloticus (the Nile crocodile) and all crocodylians more closely related to C. niloticus than to either Alligator mississippiensis (the American alligator) or Gavialis gangeticus (the gharial).
Cladogram after Brochu C. A., Njau J., Blumenschine R. J., Densmore L. D. (2010).