Diplocynodon is an extinctgenus of alligatoroid crocodilian that lived during the Paleocene to Middle Miocene in Europe. Some species may have reached lengths of 3 metres (9.8 ft),[7] while others probably did not exceed 1 metre (3.3 ft).[8] They are almost exclusively found in freshwater environments.[9] The various species are thought to have been opportunistic aquatic predators.[10]
In the nineteenth century, D. steineri was named from Styria, Austria and D. styriacus was named from Austria and France. A third Austrian species, Enneodon ungeri, was placed in its own genus. The Austrian and French species of Diplocynodon were synonymized with E. ungeri in 2011, and because the name Diplocynodon has priority over Enneodon, the species is now called D. ungeri.[11] Other genera have recently been found to be synonymous with Diplocynodon. Hispanochampsa muelleri of Spain was determined to be synonymous with Diplocynodon in 2006,[5] and Baryphracta deponaie of Germany was confirmed to be synonymous with Diplocynodon in 2012.[3]
Well preserved specimens have been found in the Messel Pit and the Geiseltallignite deposit in Germany. Most articulated Diplocynodon specimens from these localities contain gastroliths. In the Eocene epoch, the German sites were either a swampy freshwater lake (Messel Pit) or a peat bog swamp (Geiseltal).
Below is a more detailed cladogram of Diplocynodon:[14]
Diplocynodon
Diplocynodon deponiae
Diplocynodon darwini
Diplocynodon hantoniensis
Diplocynodon ratelii
Diplocynodon tormis
Diplocynodon muelleri
Palaeobiology
According to enamel δ13C values from specimens from the Late Oligocene site of Enspel, the Diplocynodon living in the palaeoenvironment fed primarily on aquatic vertebrates.[15]
^ abcRossmann, T.; Blume, M. (1999). "Die Krokodil-Fauna der Fossillagerstätte Grube Messel". Ein aktueller Überblick., Natur und Museum, Frankfurt am Main. 129 (9): 261–270.
^ abcdMassimo Delfino; Thierry Smith (2012). "Reappraisal of the morphology and phylogenetic relationships of the middle Eocene alligatoroid Diplocynodon deponiae (Frey, Laemmert, and Riess, 1987) based on a three-dimensional specimen". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (6): 1358–1369. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32.1358D. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.699484. S2CID84977303.
^Sabău I, Venczel M, Codrea VA, Bordeianu M. 2021. Diplocynodon: a salt water eocene crocodile from Transylvania? North-Western Journal of Zoology 17(1):117-121
^ abJeremy E. Martin; Martin Gross (2011). "Taxonomic clarification of Diplocynodon Pomel, 1847 (Crocodilia) from the Miocene of Styria, Austria". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 261 (2): 177–193. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2011/0159.
^Jeremy E. Martin (2010). "A new species of Diplocynodon (Crocodylia, Alligatoroidea) from the Late Eocene of the Massif Central, France, and the evolution of the genus in the climatic context of the Late Palaeogene". Geological Magazine. 147 (4): 596–610. Bibcode:2010GeoM..147..596M. doi:10.1017/S0016756809990161. S2CID140593139.
_white_background.jpg){kind=small}
