Neosuchian
| Neosuchia Temporal range: Early Jurassic - Recent, 196.5–0 Ma |
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| Goniopholis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Metasuchia |
| Clade: | Neosuchia |
| Suborders & Families | |
Neosuchia is a clade within Mesoeucrocodylia that includes all modern extant crocodilians and their closest fossil relatives. It is defined as the most inclusive clade containing all crocodylomorphs more closely related to Crocodylus niloticus (the Nile Crocodile) than to Notosuchus terrestris. Neosuchia is very diverse and may be polyphyletic, as the clade has undergone many revisions since it was first named in 1988. Neosuchians first appear in the Early Jurassic with the earliest known goniopholid Calsoyasuchus, which lived during the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian stages.
A tooth notch between the maxilla and premaxilla is a basal characteristic of the Neosuchia, although it is lost in some more derived forms, most notably alligatorids.
Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic relationships of neosuchians from Buscalioni et al., 2011:
Las Hoyas neosuchian
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