Eocaiman

E-oh-kay-men.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Eocaiman ‭(‬Dawn Caiman‭)‬.

Phonetic

E-oh-kay-men.

Named By

G.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Simpson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1933.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Sauropsida,‭ ‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Crocodylia,‭ ‬Crocodylia,‭ ‬Alligatoridae,‭ ‬Caimaninae.

Diet

Piscivore/Carnivore.

Species

E.‭ ‬cavernensis‭

Size

Details unavailable but there is some variance between species.

Known locations

Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Salamanca Formation,‭ ‬Brazil,‭ ‬and Colombia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Honda Group.

Time Period

Danian of the Paleocene through to the Messinian of the Miocene.

Fossil representation

Several individuals,‭ ‬though often of incomplete skull and jaw remains.

In Depth

       Eocaiman is so named due to the similarity to the modern day Caiman of South America,‭ ‬though Eocaiman appears much earlier in the fossil record,‭ ‬with the earliest examples going all,‭ ‬the way back to the first stage of the Paleocene.‭ ‬Henceforth,‭ ‬Eocaiman is expected to‭ ‬have been quite similar to its modern day cousins,‭ ‬hunting in the river systems of ancient South America for fish and other small terrestrial vertebrates.‭ ‬Eocaiman however were not even close to the top crocodylian predators of the time,‭ ‬with genera such as Mourasuchus and Purussaurus easily dwarfing Eocaiman in terms of physical size.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new crocodilian from the Notostylops beds of Patagonia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬American Museum Novitates‭ ‬623:1-9‭ ‬-‭ ‬G.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Simpson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1933. -‭ ‬Fossil crocodilians from Colombia and the Cenozoic history of the Crocodilia in South America.‭ ‬-‭ ‬University of California Publications in Geological Sciences‭ ‬52:1-169‭ ‬-‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Langston Jr.‭ ‬-‭ ‬1965. -‭ ‬A new species of Eocaiman Simpson‭ (‬Crocodylia,‭ ‬Alligatoridae‭) ‬from the Lower Paleocene of Patagonia‭ [‬Una nueva especie de Eocaiman Simpson‭ (‬Crododylia,‭ ‬Alligatoridae‭) ‬del Paleoceno Inferior de Patagonia‭] ‬-‭ ‬Ameghiniana‭ ‬44‭(‬2‭)‬:435-445‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Bona‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007. -‭ ‬A new Eocaiman‭ (‬Alligatoridae,‭ ‬Crocodylia‭) ‬from the Itabora� Basin,‭ ‬Paleogene of Rio de Janeiro,‭ ‬Brazil‭ ‬-‭ ‬Historical Biology:‭ ‬An International Journal of Paleobiology‭ ‬25‭(‬3‭)‬:327-337‭ ‬-‭ ‬Andr� E.P.‭ ‬Pinheiro,‭ ‬Daniel C.‭ ‬Fortier,‭ ‬Diego Pol,‭ ‬Di�genes A.‭ ‬Campos‭ & ‬L�lian P.‭ ‬Bergqvist‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.

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