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Size and Palaeoecology of giant Miocene South American Crocodiles

(Archosauria: Crocodylia).

Poster · October 2007

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15359.10408

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 SIZE AND PALAEOECOLOGY OF GIANT MIOCENE SOUTH AMERICAN CROCODILES (ARCHOSAURIA: CROCODYLIA)
Jorge W. Moreno-Bernal1
1Undergraduate student, Biology Department, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. jwmorenob@unal.edu.co

ABSTRACT
Estimates of total length and body mass are made for the Miocene crocodiles Purussaurus and Gryposuchus. Most specimens are between 7 – 8 meters in length, and 1,7 – 2,7 metric tons. Maximum size estimates are for specimens around 10 meters
in length and 5 metric tons. Femurs in Purussaurus are proportionally bigger than those of Gryposuchus, which is perhaps related to more aquatic habits in the latter. Thermal inertia caused by big size should have affected thermoregulation patterns in
these organisms.
Keywords: Alligatoroidea, Body size, Crocodylia, Gavialoidea, Gryposuchus, Purussaurus, Thermoregulation.

Gigantism has evolved repeatedly in different crocodyliform lineages. This trend can be seen in the pholidosaur
Sarcosuchus imperator1, the Cretaceous basal alligatoroid Deinosuchus2, and the Miocene caiman Mourasuchus
amazonensis3. This work is intended to provide body length and mass estimates for the Tropical South American
Miocene crocodiles Purussaurus (Alligatoroidea) and Gryposuchus (Gavialoidea).
Most Purussaurus specimens were estimated at lengths between 7-8 meters, with body masses between 1.7-
2.7 metric tones. A P. brasiliensis specimen was estimated in a maximum of 10 meters and 5 tones.
Gryposuchus length was between 7 and 10 meters, without accurate body mass estimates, due to the lack of
proper studies in longirostral forms such as Gavialis and Tomistoma. Purussaurus and Gryposuchus are
longer and heavier than the biggest extant Crocodylia (with reach maximum sizes of 6 meters and 1 ton), and
close to giant Cretaceous forms such as Deinosuchus or Sarcosuchus.

For specimens represented by femora, TL and BM were predicted from femoral length (FL) using regressions
for A. mississippiensis7. Among femoral dimensions, FL was used because it provided the best TL and BM
estimates for very large extinct Crocodyliformes7. Comparisons between skull-based and femur-based
estimates suggests that while in Purussaurus femur size, relative to body size, is as expected in crocodilians,
Gryposuchus has reduced femora, suggestive of more aquatic habits. Robustness of Purussaurus limbs can
be related to the foraging of big terrestrial prey on the shores of water bodies.

Figure 1. (A) Purussaurus specimens. From left to right P. neivensis DHL-45 (juvenile); P. neivensis UCPM 39704; P. neivensis UCPM
39657(estimated); P. brasiliensis UFAC 1403. (B) Gryposuchus specimens Escala = 1 metro

Size estimates were done from skull and femoral measurements, using regressions published for extant crocodile
species. Among 15 sources of regression models published for 9 species of extant crocodilians, TL estimates for
Alligator mississippiensis and Crocodylus porosus were chosen to estimate Purussaurus spp. total length4,5. These
models were used because of their robustness, big sample size and high correlation indexes. TL of Gryposuchus spp.
specimens was estimated using a less robust model based on Gavialis gangeticus1. Estimated total lengths were
used, in turn, to estimate body weights following the regressions published for A. mississippiensis and C. porosus5,6.
Dorsal Skull Length (DSL) data for Purussaurus and Gryposuchus specimens (Fig. 1) were measured or taken from
several references. For other specimens DSL was estimated from measured or published measurements (Table 1).
For some specimens dorsal skull length was estimated by comparison of published skull and mandible
measurements. The discussion of the results for these specimens necessarily assumes that skull and mandible
proportions are exactly the same, which could not necessarily be the case.

Especie Espécimen DSL (mm.) TL (cm.) BM (Kg.)

UFAC 1403 1340 949 4008
Purussaurus brasiliensis UFAC 1118 1194 847 2799 Figure 2. The giant caiman Purussaurus neivensis with two of its potential prey: the astrapothere Xenastrapotherium
DGM 527-R 1453 1028 5158
kraglievichi and the turtle Podocnemis pritchardi.
UCMP 39704 801 572 807
Gigantism in crocodilians and other reptiles implies higher and more stable body temperatures, with a risk of
UCMP 45719 739 528 628
Purussaurus neivensis overheating, and reduced basking habits 8,9,10(Colbert, 1946; Grigg, et al, 1998; Seebacher, et al, 1999). A head-
UCMP 39657 1030 732 1767
body temperature gradient has been observed in some extant reptiles, which strongly suggests that
MGJRG-DHL-45 520 373 209
AMU-CURS 1260 1033 780 2156
physiological mechanisms are involved on avoiding brain overheating11. Huge nares seen in giant fossil
Purussaurus mirandai Crocodiliformes such as Sarcosuchus, Mourasuchus amazonensis and Purussaurus could have been related
UNEFM-CIAAP 1369 1098 735 1783
Gryposuchus colombianus IGM 184696 960 717* 1672**
with a heat exchange mechanism.
Gryposuchus sp AMU-CURS 58 1424 1060* 5451** The author wishes to thank María Páramo (Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Mauricio Pardo (Museo
Geológico José Royo y Gómez, Bogotá), Orangel Aguilera (Universidad Nacional Experimental Francisco de
Table 1. Skull-based size estimates for Purussaurus and Gryposuchus specimens. (*) Based on G. gangeticus18 (**) Based on A. Miranda, Coro, Venezuela) and Rodolfo Sánchez (Departamento de Paleontología, Alcaldía de Urumaco,
mississippiensis.
Venezuela) for access to collections in their care. The assistance granted by Carlos Jaramillo (Smithsonian
Especie Espécimen FL (mm.) TL (cm.) BM (Kg.) Tropical Research Institute) made possible to visit Venezuelan collections. Edwin Cadena (Florida Museum of
Purussaurus neivensis IGM 184696 502 741 1511 Natural History, University of Florida) provided unvaluable help on size regression references. The autor is
Purussaurus mirandai UNEFM-CIAAP 1369 498 736 1471 particularly grateful to Olga Victoria Castaño Mora and the reptile research group (Instituto de Ciencias naturales,
Gryposuchus sp AMU-CURS 58 457 677 1105 Universidad Nacional de Colombia). Maria Cristina Ardila (Estación de Biología Tropical Roberto, Universidad
Nacional de Colombia) provided useful information and references. This work was supported by the Center for
Table 2. Femur-based estimates for Purussaurus and Gryposuchus specimens. Tropical Paleoecology and Archaeology of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

REFERENCES

(1) SERENO, P. C., H. C. E. LARSSON, et al. 2001 The Giant Crocodiliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa. Science 294: 1516-1519 (2) SCHWIMMER, D. (2002). King of the Crocodilians: The Paleobiology of Deinosuchus. Indiana University Press. 220 p. (3) PRICE, L. I., 1964 Sobre o Cranio de um grande crocodilideo extinto do alto rio
Jurua, Estado do Acre. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 36:59-66 (4) WOODWARD, A. R. & H. J. WHITE., 1995 Maximum size of the Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) Journal of herpetology, 29(4):507-513. (5) WEBB, G. J. & MESSEL, H., 1978 Morphometric analysis of Crocodylus porosus from the North Coast of Arnhem Land, Northern
Australia Australian Journal of Zoology, 26:1-27 (6) CHABRECK, R. H. & JOANEN, T., 1979 Growth rates of American Alligators in Louisiana Herpetologica, 35(1):51-57 (7) FARLOW, J. O., G. R. HURLBURT, et al. 2005. Femoral Dimensions and Body size of Alligator Mississippiensis: Estimating the size of extinct Mesoeucrocodylians. Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology 25(No. 2): 354-369. (8) COLBERT, E., H., COWLES, R. B., & C. M. BOGERT, 1946 Temperature tolerances in the American alligator and their bearing on the habits, evolution and extinction of dinosaurs. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 86, 329–373. (9) GRIGG, G. C., SEEBACHER, F. BEARD, L & D. MORRIS,
1998 Thermal relations of large crocodiles, Crocodylus porosus, free ranging in a naturalistic situation. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 265(1407): 1793-1799 (10) SEEBACHER, F., GRIGG, G. & F. BEARD, 1999 Crocodiles as Dinosaurs: Behavioral Thermoregulation in Very Large Ectotherms leads to High and Stable Body
Temperatures. The Journal of Experimental Biology 202, 77–86 (1999) (11) TATTERSALL, G. J., CADENA, V., SKINNER, M. C., 2006 Respiratory cooling and thermoregulatory coupling in reptiles. Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology 154 (2006) 302–318.

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