rrbp:08630 Rukwasuchus sp.
Biological Specimen ID: 000364217
Object Type Biological Specimen
Number of media representing object 2

GENERAL DETAILS

Specimen ID
000364217
Vouchered
Yes
Description
Partial skull including the cranial table, braincase, and interorbital region but lacking the rostrum, anterior palate, lacrimals, jugals, quadratojugals, and mandible.
Sex
Unknowable
Is type specimen
Yes
External repository source
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Date uploaded
May 18, 2021
Object collector
Sertich, Joseph; O'Connor, Patrick
Specimen Measurements
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BIOLOGICAL SPECIMEN TAXONOMY

GBIF
Rukwasuchus
Domain
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Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Superclass
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Class
Reptilia
Subclass
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Superorder
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Order
Crocodylia
Suborder
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Superfamily
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Family
Peirosauridae
Subfamily
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Tribe
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Genus
Rukwasuchus
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Species
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Subspecies
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Contributing User
User Supplied
Rukwasuchus yajabalijekundu
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Order
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Suborder
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Subfamily
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Tribe
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Genus
Rukwasuchus
Subgenus
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Species
yajabalijekundu
Subspecies
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Contributing User

IDENTIFIERS AND EXTERNAL LINKS

Institution code
rrbp
Collection code
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Catalog number
08630
Occurrence ID
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External identifier
A NEW CROCODYLIFORM FROM THE MIDDLE CRETACEOUS GALULA FORMATION, SOUTHWESTERN TANZANIA JOSEPH J. W. SERTICH*,1 and PATRICK M. O’CONNOR2,3 1Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado 80205, U.S.A., jsertich@dmns.org; 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, 228 Irvine Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701, U.S.A., oconnorp@ohio.edu; 3Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, Irvine Hall, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, U.S.A. ABSTRACT—A new taxon of peirosaurid crocodyliform, Rukwasuchus yajabalijekundu, gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of a well-preserved partial skull from the middle Cretaceous Galula Formation exposed in southwestern Tanzania. The skull is distinguished from those of other crocodyliforms by the presence of a mediolaterally narrow, elongate, and septate internal narial fenestra (choana) located anteriorly on the pterygoid; a markedly depressed posterior border of the parietal, excluding the supraoccipital from the dorsal cranial table; and a ventrally directed descending process of the postorbital with a well-developed posteroventral process. The lateral surface of the braincase is exquisitely preserved and includes a welldeveloped laterosphenoid bridge dividing the foramina for the three primary branches of the trigeminal nerve. In overall morphology, the holotype skull and isolated teeth compare closely with Hamadasuchus rebouli from the middle Cretaceous Kem Kem Beds of Morocco. Reevaluation of the problematic putative African peirosaurid taxa Stolokrosuchus lapparenti and Trematochampsa taqueti reveal a number of derived cranial characters shared with Peirosauridae and Araripesuchus. A close relationship between Rukwasuchus and other African members of Peirosauridae is supported by a parsimony analysis of Crocodyliformes. As the only known sub-Saharan peirosaurid from Africa, Rukwasuchus represents the only link between middle Cretaceous southern vertebrate faunas and much more abundant, taxonomically diverse, and potentially penecontemporaneous faunas from northern Africa. SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP; doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.819808
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SPECIMEN DATING

Date Collected
May 18, 2021
Time Period
Late Cretaceous
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Dating Method
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PROJECTS CONTAINING MEDIA REPRESENTING THIS OBJECT

(Not yet implemented)

SPECIMEN ORIGINAL LOCATION

Locality
RRBP 2007-02
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EXCAVATION/COLLECTION DETAILS

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