Crocodilia (Crocodiles, Alligators, Caimans, Gharials etc.)
Crocodiles are one of the two surviving archosaur lineages. The other being birds.
Family: Alligatoridae (Alligators and Caimans)
Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
Caiman crocodilus apaporiensis | (Medem, 1955) | Apaporis caiman, Apaporis River caiman | (rediscovered) | Apaporis River, Colombia | Rediscovered or relocated | Access |
Family: Crocodylidae (True Crocodiles)
Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
Aldabrachampsus dilophus | Brochu, 2006 | Aldabra horned (terrestrial) crocodile | Less than 120ka | Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles | Extinct | Access |
Crocodylus siamensis
|
Schneider, 1801 | Siamese crocodile | - | Asia | Rediscovered | Access |
Crocodylus sinhaleyus | Deraniyagala, 195X | Sri Lankan crocodile, Ceylon crocodile | c.78ka? | Sri Lanka (=Ceylon) | Extinct | Access |
Crocodylus sp. nov. 'New Providence Island' | - | New Providence Island crocodile | ? | New Providence Island, Bahamas | Extinct if valid | Access |
Voay robustus | Grandidier & Vaillant, 1872 | Malagasy crocodile | Holocene? | Madagascar | Extinct | Access |
Family: Gavialidae (Gharials and False Gharials)
Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
Hanyusuchus sinensis |
Iijima, Qiao, Lin, Peng, Yoneda & Liu, 2022 | >1000 AD | southeastern China | Extinct | Access | |
?Ikanogavialis papuensis | De Vis, 1905 | Murua gharial | Late Pleistocene or Holocene | Murua (=Woodlark =Muruya), Solomon Islands | Extinct | Access |
Family: Mekosuchidae (Terrestrial Crocodiles)
Often treated as a subfamily (Mekosuchinae) of the family Crocodylidae. I have retained it as a distinct family in order to emphasise both their morphological distinctiveness and the magnitude of Late Pleistocene / Holocene biodiversity losses.
Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
Mekosuchus inexpectatus | Balouet & Buffetaut, 1987 | New Caledonian terrestrial crocodile | Younger than 2,000 BC | New Caledonia | Extinct | Access |
Mekosuchus kolpokasi | Mead, Steadman, Bedford, Bell & Spriggs, 2002 | Vanuatu terrestrial crocodile | c.1,000 BC | Efate Island, Vanuatu | Extinct | Access |
Paludirex gracilis | (Willis & Molnar, 1997) | - | Late Pleistocene | Australia | Extinct | Access |
Quinkana fortirostrum | Molnar, 1981 | - | Late Pleistocene (c.38,000 BC?) | Queensland, Australia | Extinct | Access |
Volia athollandersoni | Molnar, Worthy & Willis, 2002 | Fijian terrestrial crocodile | Late Pleistocene | Viti Levu, Fiji | Extinct | Access |