Crocodylus checchiai

Crocodylus checchiai is an extinct species of crocodile from the Pliocene of Libya and the Miocene of Kenya. C. checchiai was named in 1957 from the Sahabi Formation. It is similar in appearance to the Nile crocodile C. niloticus and may even be the same species. Remains from the lower Nawata Formation in the Turkana Basin of Kenya that were first attributed to the Nile crocodile have now been reassigned to C. checchiai, extending its geographic and temporal range.[1]

Crocodylus checchiai Temporal range: Late Miocene - early Pliocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Crocodylidae
Genus:	Crocodylus
Species:	C. checchiai
Binomial name
Crocodylus checchiai Maccagno, 1948

C. checchiai is one of the oldest species of Crocodylus and is placed at the base of the crocodile radiation. It may be closely related to Neotropical crocodiles like the Orinoco crocodile, or to other African crocodiles like Crocodylus anthropophagus and Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni. Below is a cladogram from the phylogenetic analysis of Brochu and Storrs (2012), which places C. checchiai at the base of Crocodylus:[1]

Crocodyloidea

"Asiatosuchus" germanicus     Prodiplocynodon langi       Asiatosuchus grangeri     "Crocodylus" affinis     "Crocodylus" depressifrons       Brachyuranochampsa eversolei     "Crocodylus" acer    Crocodylidae   Tomistominae    Kentisuchus spenceri       Dollosuchoides densmorei     Megadontosuchus arduini           Gavialosuchus eggenburgensis     Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis         Tomistoma lusitanica     Tomistoma schlegelii           "Tomistoma" cairense       Thecachampsa antiqua     Thecachampsa americana     Thecachampsa carolinense         Penghusuchus pani       Paratomistoma courti     Maomingosuchus petrolica                Crocodylinae    "Crocodylus" megarhinus    Mekosuchinae    Kambara implexidens     Australosuchus clarkae       Trilophosuchus rackhami     Quinkana             "Crocodylus" pigotti     "Crocodylus" gariepensis       Euthecodon arambourgii     Euthecodon brumpti        Osteolaeminae    Rimasuchus lloydi       Voay robustus       Osteolaemus osborni     Osteolaemus tetraspis             Mecistops cataphractus    Crocodylus    Crocodylus checchiai     C. palaeindicus       C. anthropophagus     C. thorbjarnarsoni       C. niloticus       C. siamensis       C. palustris       C. porosus     C. johnsoni     C. mindorensis       C. novaeguineae     C. raninus               C. acutus     C. intermedius     C. rhombifer     C. moreletii

References

1. Brochu, C. A.; Storrs, G. W. (2012). "A giant crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene of Kenya, the phylogenetic relationships of Neogene African crocodylines, and the antiquity of Crocodylus in Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (3): 587. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.652324.