Mourasuchus
Name:
Mourasuchus
Phonetic: Moo-rah-soo-kus.
Named By: Price - 1964.
Synonyms: Carandaisuchus, Nettosuchus.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Crocodylomorpha, Crocodylia, Eusuchia, Alligatoroidea.
Species: M. amazonensis
(type),
M.arendsi, M.
atopus, M. nativus, M. pattersoni.
Diet: Filter feeder/carnivore.
Size: Up to 12 meters long.
Known locations: South America, Peru.
Time period: Miocene.
Fossil representation: Several individuals
represented by skull and mandible (lower jaw) material and teeth.
With
an estimated length of up to twelve meters long, Mourasuchus
was one of
the biggest crocodiles
of all time. However despite this size
Mourasuchus had a relatively weak jaw and skull
construction combined
with quite small teeth for its size. These two things do not portray
an apex predator that wrestled large prey into the water, yet
whatever Mourasuchus ate it had to be in plentiful
supply in order for it
to grow so large.
With
this in mind Mourasuchus may have been a filter
feeder like another
giant crocodile from Africa called Stomatosuchus.
This would
essentially involve Mourasuchus submerging or
sweeping its jaws into the
water and engulfing a shoal of fish. It could then contract its
throat muscles to expel water out of the mouth while the teeth
prevented its catch from being forced out, leaving Mourasuchus
with a mouthful of
food.
Mourasuchus
was not the only giant crocodile living in South America during the
Miocene, and may have on occasion been living in the same areas as
the caiman like Purussaurus,
and the gharial like Gryposuchus.
However if Mourasuchus was indeed a filter
feeder, then it may have
been able to live alongside other large crocodiles like these without
actually competing with them for the same food source. This could
also be why Mourasuchus grew so large, because by
doing so it could
take itself off the list of potential prey items for these other two
crocodiles.
| Name | Time/Location | Size (meters) |
| Deinosuchus (alligator-like crocodile). | Cretaceous/USA. | 10-12 |
| Gryposuchus (gharial-like crocodile). | Miocene/S. America. | 10 |
| Mourasuchus (alligator-like crocodile). | Miocene/Peru. | 12 |
| Purussaurus (caiman-like crocodile). | Miocene/S. America. | 11-13 |
| Rhamphosuchus (gharial-like crocodile). | Miocene/India. | 8-11 |
| Sarcosuchus (crocodile). | Cretaceous/Africa. | 9-9.5 |
| Stomatosuchus (crocodile). | Cretaceous/Egypt. | 10 |
| 3 of todays largest living crocs below | ||
| Alligator mississippiensis (American alligator). | Present/S. E. USA. | 3.4 average - up to almost 6. |
| Crocodylus niloticus (Nile crocodile). | Present/Africa. | Average up to 5, largest up to 6.45. |
| Crocodylus porosus (Salt water crocodile). | Present/India, S. E. Asia, N. Australia. | Average 4-5.5, largest recorded 6-6.6, possibly slightly bigger. |
Further reading
- Mourasuchus Price, Nettosuchus
Langston, and the family Nettosuchidae
(Reptilia: Crocodilia). - Copeia 1966 (4): 882–885. - W. Langston -
1966.
- Palaeoenvironmental implications of the giant crocodylian Mourasuchus
(Alligatoridae, Caimaninae) in the Yecua Formation (late Miocene) of
Bolivia. - Alcheringa 39. 1–12. - D. E. Tineo, P. Bona, L. M. Perez, G.
D. Vergani, G. Gonzalez, D. G. Poire, Z. Gasparini & P.
Legarreta - 2015.
- A new Mourasuchus (Alligatoroidea, Caimaninae)
from the late Miocene
of Venezuela, the phylogeny of Caimaninae and considerations on the
feeding habits of Mourasuchus. - PeerJ 5. 1–37. -
G. M. Cidade, A.
Solórzano, A. D. Rincón, D. Riff & A. S. Hsiou - 2017.
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