Paralligator

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title: "Paralligator" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["paralligatoridae", "late-cretaceous-crocodylomorphs-of-asia", "fossil-taxa-described-in-1954", "prehistoric-pseudosuchian-genera"] description: "Extinct genus of neosuchian crocodile" topic_path: "general/paralligatoridae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralligator" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Extinct genus of neosuchian crocodile ::

| fossil_range = Late Cretaceous, ~ | image = Paralligator Skulls.png | image_caption = P. gradilifrons and P. major skulls from the Bayan Shireh Formation | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Paralligator | type_species = Paralligator gradilifrons | type_species_authority = Konzhukova, 1954 | subdivision_ranks = Other species | subdivision =

• P. ancestralis Efimov, 1981
• P. major Efimov, 1981 | synonyms =
• Shamosuchus tersus Efimov, 1983
• Shamosuchus ulanicus Efimov, 1983
• Shamosuchus ulgicus Efimov, 1981

Paralligator is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodylomorph that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Maastrichtian) period in what is now the Bayan Shireh and Nemegt formations of Mongolia, approximately 96 million to 70 million years ago.

Description

P. gradilifrons reached up to 4 m in length. The cerebral hemispheres are the widest portions of the endocast of Paralligator; they are approximately 2.5 times wider than the olfactory tract and about 1.5 times wider than the midbrain and the portion corresponding to the medulla oblongata. The olfactory complex is as long as the remainder of the endocast and is thus highly anteroposteriorly elongated. The olfactory tract of Paralligator is transversally narrow and highly elongated, and it expands posteriorly into the cerebral hemispheres and anteriorly into the olfactory bulbs, which are paired and are divided by the mesethmoid facet, diverging anteriorly at an angle of approximately 25°–30°. Posterior to the cerebral hemispheres lies the mesencephalic portion of the endocast, which is notably constricted when observed from a dorsal view. Posterior to the mesencephalic portion of the endocast lies the anterior portion of the rhombencephalon, consisting of the pons and cerebellum; this section is notably laterally and dorsoventrally expanded. The flocculus is not developed. The medulla oblongata is wider lateromedially than it is deep.

Taxonomy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Paralligator_major.jpg" caption="[[Life restoration]] of ''P. gradilifrons''"] ::

Two species are recognized:{{species list | Paralligator gradilifrons | Konzhukova, 1954 | Paralligator major | Efimov, 1981

Misassigned species

"Paralligator" sungaricus, described from the Early Cretaceous Nenjiang Formation of Jilin Province, China, is based on postcranial remains consisting of a few presacral vertebrae, dorsal osteoderms, a partial left femur, and the proximal part of a left tibia and fibula. However, the type material is too fragmentary to be considered diagnostic, and the species is a nomen dubium. Turner (2015) also referred P. ancestralis a junior subjective synonym of P. gradilifrons.

References

References

1. Storrs, G. W.. (2000). "The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia". Cambridge University Press.
2. Turner, Alan H.. (25 February 2015). "A Review of Shamosuchus and Paralligator (Crocodyliformes, Neosuchia) from the Cretaceous of Asia". [[PLOS ONE]].
3. (28 December 2024). "Neurocranial anatomy of Paralligator (Neosuchia: Paralligatoridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia". [[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society]].
4. Sun, A.-L.. (1958). "A new species of ''Paralligator'' from Sungarian Plain.". [[Vertebrata PalAsiatica]].
5. Wu, X.-C.. (2001). "Cranial anatomy of a new crocodyliform (Archosauria: Crocodylomorpha) from the Lower Cretaceous of Song-Liao Plain, northeastern China". [[Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences]].
6. Efimov MB (1981) New paralligatorids from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. Trudy Sovmestnoi Sovetsko-Mongol'skoi Paleontologicheskoi Ekspeditsii 15: 26–28.
7. Konzhukova ED (1954) [New fossil crocodilian from Mongolia]. Trudy Paleontologicheskogo Instituta ANSSSR 48: 171–194.
8. (2015). "A review of ''Shamosuchus'' and ''Paralligator'' (Crocodyliformes, Neosuchia) from the Cretaceous of Asia". PLOS ONE.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::