Ocepesuchus

Ocepesuchus (meaning "Ocepe crocodile", in reference to the OCP, or Office Chérifien des Phosphates, a phosphate-mining company that participated in the excavation of the specimen) is an extinct genus of gavialoid crocodilian, related to modern gharials. It lived in the Late Cretaceous of Morocco. Described by Jouve and colleagues in 2008, the type species is O. eoafricanus, with the specific name meaning "dawn African" in reference to its great age relative to other African crocodilians. Ocepesuchus had a long snout with a tubular shape, wider than high. It is the oldest known true crocodilian from Africa.[1][2]

Ocepesuchus
Temporal range:
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodilia
Superfamily: Gavialoidea
Genus: †Ocepesuchus
Jouve et al., 2008
Type species
†Ocepesuchus eoafricanus
Jouve et al., 2008

Ocepesuchus is based on OCP DEK-GE 45, a crushed but mostly complete skull from late Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous)-age rocks in the Oulad Abdoun Basin, in the vicinity of Khouribga, Morocco. The individual is interpreted as a small adult. The end of the snout and part of the bottom surface of the skull are missing. The preserved portion is a little over 25 centimeters long (9.8 in), and about 12 cm (4.5 in) wide at the rear margin, but the snout tapers to less than a third of that. Jouve and colleagues performed a cladistic analysis incorporating their new taxon, and found Ocepesuchus to be a gavialoid.[1]

A 2022 phylogenetic study by Iijima et al. recovered Ocepesuchus within Gavialinae, deeply nested within Gavialoidea, as shown in the cladogram below:[3]

 
 

Crocodyloidea

 
Gavialoidea
 
 

†Maroccosuchus zennaroi

 
 

†Megadontosuchus arduini

 
 

†Dollosuchoides densmorei

 
 

†Xaymacachampsa kugleri

 
 
 

†Kentisuchus astrei

 
 

†Kentisuchus spenceri

 
 
 
Gavialidae
 

†Tomistoma cairense

 
 

†Tomistoma coppensi

 
 

†Maomingosuchus petrolica

 
Tomistominae
 

Tomistoma schlegelii, false gharial

 
 
 

†Tomistoma lusitanica

 
 
 

†Gavialosuchus eggenburgensis

 
 
 

†Melitosaurus champsoides

 
 

†Tomistoma calaritanum

 
 

†Tomistoma gaudense

 
 
 

†Thecachampsa carolinensis

 
 

†Thecachampsa antiqua

 
 
 
 
 
 
Gavialinae
 

†Paratomistoma courti

 
 
 
 

†Penghusuchus pani

 
 
 

†Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis

 
 

†Hanyusuchus sinensis

 
 
 
 
 
 

†Eosuchus lerichei

 
 

†Eosuchus minor

 
 
 
 

†Ocepesuchus eoafricanus

 
 
 

†Eothoracosaurus mississippiensis

 
 
 

†Thoracosaurus macrorhynchus

 
 

†Thoracosaurus neocesariensis

 
 
 
 
 

†Aktiogavialis puertoricensis

 
 

†Eogavialis africanum

 
 
 

†Argochampsa krebsi

 
 
 

†Piscogavialis jugaliperforatus

 
 
 

†Ikanogavialis gameroi

 
 
 

†Siquisiquesuchus venezuelensis

 
 
 

†Dadagavialis gunai

 
 
 

†Gryposuchus neogaeus

 
 

†Gryposuchus croizati

 
 
 

†Aktiogavialis caribesi

 
 

†Gryposuchus pachakamue

 
 
 
 
 

†Gryposuchus colombianus

 
 

†Rhamphosuchus crassidens

 
 

†Myanmar gavialid

 
 

†Gavialis lewisi

 
 

†Gavialis bengawanicus

 
 
 

Gavialis gangeticus, gharial

 
 

†Siwalik Gavialis

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References
  1. Jouve, Stéphane; Bardet, Nathalie; Jalil, Nour-Eddine; Suberbiola, Xabier Pereda; Bouya; Baâda; Amaghzaz, Mbarek (2008). "The oldest African crocodylian: phylogeny, paleobiogeography, and differential survivorship of marine reptiles through the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (2): 409–421. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[409:TOACPP]2.0.CO;2.
  2. Other crocodile-like animals from older strata in Africa, like Sarcosuchus, are not true crocodilians, but related animals.
  3. Iijima M, Qiao Y, Lin W, Peng Y, Yoneda M, Liu J (2022). "An intermediate crocodylian linking two extant gharials from the Bronze Age of China and its human-induced extinction". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 289 (1970): Article ID 20220085. doi:10.1098/rspb.2022.0085.


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