Brochuchus
Temporal range: Early Miocene,
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Crocodylidae
Subfamily: Osteolaeminae
Genus: †Brochuchus
Conrad et al., 2013[2]
Type species
†Brochuchus pigotti
(Tchernov & Van Couvering, 1978 [originally Crocodylus pigotti])[3]
Other species
  • †B. parvidens Cossette et al., 2020[4]

Brochuchus is an extinct genus of crocodile known from the Early Miocene Hiwegi Formation of Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria, Kenya; it was originally named as a species of Crocodylus.[3] It contains two species, B. parvidens and B. pigotti. Brochuchus belongs to the family Crocodylidae, which includes all living crocodiles. The closest living relative of Brochuchus is Osteolaemus, the dwarf crocodile. Compared to Osteolaemus, which has a small body and blunt snout, Brochuchus has a more generalized crocodylid anatomy. Brochuchus is characterized by a flat and relatively narrow skull, and although it is larger than Osteolaemus it is smaller than most other crocodylids. It has two prominent bumps on the surface of its snout.[2]

The genus was named in honor of Christopher A. Brochu, for his scientific work on Crocodylia and its relatives. The unusual combination and spelling are intended as an auditory and visual pun such that the ‘ch’ sound in Brochu takes the place of the ‘s’ sound in ‘suchus.’ combined with ‘souchos’ (Greek for crocodile), which is a common suffix for crocodylomorph genera.[2]

Phylogeny

A phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 found that Brochuchus was a close relative of Osteolaemus. Brochuchus and Osteolaemus are part of a clade within Crocodylidae called Osteolaeminae. This clade is the sister taxon to Crocodylinae which contains the genus Crocodylus, which includes most living crocodiles.[2]

Paleobiology

Brochuchus has a generalized crocodylid body form with a long, narrow snout and a robust skeleton. Like most other species within Crocodylidae, Brochuchus was probably predatory and likely spent much of its time in water. As shown by the many mammal fossils that have been found on Rusinga Island, Brochuchus lived alongside several species of proboscideans (elephant relatives) and primates, the most famous of which is the early ape Proconsul. Although there is no direct evidence for what Brochuchus ate, it may have preyed on Proconsul. If this is the case, Brochuchus may have been one of the earliest anthropoidophagous ("ape-eating") crocodilians.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9: e12094. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Conrad, J. L.; Jenkins, K.; Lehmann, T.; Manthi, F. K.; Peppe, D. J.; Nightingale, S.; Cossette, A.; Dunsworth, H. M.; Harcourt-Smith, W. E. H.; McNulty, K. P. (2013). "New specimens of "Crocodylus" pigotti (Crocodylidae) from Rusinga Island, Kenya, and generic reallocation of the species". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (3): 629. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.743404. S2CID 86141651.
  3. 1 2 E. Tchernov and J. Van Couvering. 1978. New crocodiles from the Early Miocene of Kenya. Palaeontology 21(4):857-867
  4. ↑ Adam P. Cossette; Amanda J. Adams; Stephanie K. Drumheller; Jennifer H. Nestler; Brenda R. Benefit; Monte L. McCrossin; Frederick K. Manthi; Rose Nyaboke Juma; Christopher A. Brochu (2020). "A new crocodylid from the middle Miocene of Kenya and the timing of crocodylian faunal change in the late Cenozoic of Africa". Journal of Paleontology. 94 (6): 1165–1179. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.60. S2CID 222232657.
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