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It’s #FossilFriday, so let’s dive into the new #Deinosuchus paper and my accompanying illustration. There’s a lot of material to cover, so get comfy. Unless otherwise noted, all images are either by me or from Cossette and Brochu (2020).pic.twitter.com/UE1krKCTWe
Before the publication of the new paper, 3 species of Deinosuchus were recognized: D. hatcheri (the type species which all others are compared to), D. rugosus, and D. riograndensis. A fourth species from eastern North America, D. schwimmeri, is described in the new paper.
“D. rugosus” is only known from teeth, and is no longer considered valid because the teeth can’t be classified st a species level. The other three species have distinctive features, and lived in different places, adding support to the idea that they’re separate from each other.pic.twitter.com/32Mld4C2XI
Unfortunately, D. hatcheri is very incomplete (image 1). This causes most analyses to combine the three species into one, despite their clear differences. D. riograndensis, however, is far more completely known (image 2).pic.twitter.com/nd7wYFLQP5
Because of this, Cossette and Brochu have petitioned for the type species to change to D. riograndensis. This allows for far more detailed comparisons that lead to cladoframs (family trees) that accurately show the three species to be separate. (Dumb meme by me. You’re welcome.)pic.twitter.com/CHmoahCNso
Now to the good stuff. While it’s historically been depicted as a simple scaled-up alligator, Deinosuchus actually has very unique and bizarre anatomy, especially in the skull. First image from Schwimmer (2010), second a WIP of the skull from my illustration.pic.twitter.com/4aK8KeVvAO
The skull of Deinosuchus is long, wide, and flattened. Its nasal bones, however, are extremely inflated, giving it a distinctive, bulbous nose.pic.twitter.com/6xI2oJyQpk
The exact reason for its big nose is uncertain. However, it also has two openings (properly called fenestrae) at the tip of its snout. It’s possible that the combination of fenestrae and inflated nasal bones helped lighten the skull while still maintaining its strength.pic.twitter.com/ElcGBXNm1P
The fenestrae appear to be connected to the respiratory system, so they could have also helped it control its body temperature, or enhanced vocalizations. At this point, we just don’t know.
Another distinctive feature: the osteoderms (scutes). While these vary slightly between species, they’re generally large, round, and lumpy, and probably looked a bit gnarled in life. As @MarkWitton brilliantly puts it, Deinosuchus armor is less “gator” and more “Dalek”.pic.twitter.com/JtS2aoYKoG
In short, Deinosuchus was more than just a modern alligator on steroids. It was a bus-sized, duck-billed, clown-nosed crocodylian colossus that dined on dinosaurs on both sides of the continent.pic.twitter.com/6A9aj4dpFT
There are a ton of details I left out, so to get the full story, make sure to read the (open-access) paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02724634.2020.1767638 …
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