Purussaurus brasiliensis
|
Purussaurus Temporal range: Early-Late Miocene (Colhuehuapian-Montehermosan) 20.4–5.3 Ma |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Skull restoration of P. brasiliensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Alligatoridae |
| Subfamily: | Caimaninae |
| Genus: |
†Purussaurus Rodrigues, 1892 |
| Species | |
|
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Purussaurus is an extinct genus of giant caiman that lived in South America during the Miocene epoch, from the Colhuehuapian to the Montehermosan in the SALMA classification. It is known from skull material found in the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon, Colombian Villavieja Formation, Panamanian Culebra Formation and the Urumaco and Socorro Formations of northern Venezuela.
The estimated skull length for one large individual of the type species P. brasiliensis is 1,400 millimetres (55 in).Paleontologists estimate that P. brasiliensis reached around 10.3 metres (34 ft) in length, weighing about 5.16 metric tons (5.69 short tons). Another estimate gives a larger size of 12.5 metres (41 ft) in length and 8.4 metric tons (9.3 short tons) in weight, with a mean daily food intake of 40.6 kilograms (90 lb). Bite force has been estimated to be around 69,000 N (around 7 metric tons-force). The large size and estimated strength of this animal appears to have allowed it to include a wide range of prey in its diet, making it an apex predator in its ecosystem. As an adult, it would have preyed upon large to very large vertebrates with no real competition from sympatric, smaller, carnivores. Researchers have proposed that the large size of Purussaurus, though offering many advantages, may also have led to its vulnerability. The constantly changing environment on a large geological scale may have reduced its long-term survival, favoring smaller species more resilient to ecological shifts.
Purussaurus is one of the largest known crocodyliformes ever to have existed. Three other extinct crocodyliformes, Sarcosuchus, Deinosuchus, and Rhamphosuchus had similar body sizes. Sarcosuchus and Deinosuchus had similar proportions, but both were geologically much older, dating from the Early and Late Cretaceous, respectively. Rhamphosuchus lived around the same time as Purussaurus, but was slightly smaller, had a more gharial-like snout and lived in India. During the summer of 2005, a Franco-Peruvian expedition (the Fitzcarrald expedition) found new fossils of Purussaurus in the Peruvian Amazon (600 km from Lima).
...
Wikipedia