Crocodylus is one of three genera from the Crocodylinae subfamily extending from the Crocodylidae family.
Established species include three extinct species:
There are thirteen living species:
- American Crocodile, Crocodylus acutus
- Slender-snouted Crocodile, Crocodylus cataphractus - studies in DNA and morphology suggest this species may be more basal than Crocodylus and therefore belongs in its own genus, Mecistops.[1][2][3]
- Orinoco Crocodile, Crocodylus intermedius
- Freshwater Crocodile, Crocodylus johnsoni
- Philippine Crocodile, Crocodylus mindorensis
- Morelet's Crocodile or Mexican Crocodile, Crocodylus moreletii
- Nile Crocodile or African Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus (the subspecies found in Madagascar is sometimes called the Black Crocodile)
- New Guinea Crocodile, Crocodylus novaeguineae
- Mugger Crocodile, Marsh Crocodile, or Indian Crocodile, Crocodylus palustris
- Saltwater Crocodile or Estuarine Crocodile, Crocodylus porosus
- Cuban Crocodile, Crocodylus rhombifer
- Siamese Crocodile, Crocodylus siamensis
- Desert Crocodile, Crocodylus suchus
- Crocodylus raninus (Has been considered as a synonym of Crocodylus porosus. Its status remains unclear.[4])
[edit] Phylogeny
The cladogram below follows the topology from a 2011 analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences by Robert W. Meredith, Evon R. Hekkala, George Amato and John Gatesy.[3]
| Crocodylus |
| Asia-Australia |
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| Africa-New World |
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[edit] References
- ^ McAliley, Willis, Ray, White, Brochu & Densmore (2006). Are crocodiles really monophyletic?—Evidence for subdivisions from sequence and morphological data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39: 16-32.
- ^ Brochu, C. A.; Njau, J.; Blumenschine, R. J.; Densmore, L. D. (2010). "A New Horned Crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania". PLoS ONE 5 (2): e9333. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009333. PMC 2827537. PMID 20195356. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2827537.
- ^ a b Robert W. Meredith, Evon R. Hekkala, George Amato and John Gatesy (2011). "A phylogenetic hypothesis for Crocodylus (Crocodylia) based on mitochondrial DNA: Evidence for a trans-Atlantic voyage from Africa to the New World". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60: 183–191. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.026.
- ^ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Crocodylus&species=raninus
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