Teleosauridae

Teleosauridaeis afamilyofextincttypically marinecrocodylomorphssimilar to the moderngharialthat lived during theJurassic period.Teleosaurids werethalattosuchiansclosely related to the fully aquaticmetriorhynchoids,but were less adapted to an open-ocean,pelagiclifestyle. The family was originally coined to include all the semi-aquatic (i.e. non-metriorhynchoid) thalattosuchians and was equivalent to the modernsuperfamilyTeleosauroidea.However, as teleosauroid relationships and diversity was better studied in the 21st century, the division of teleosauroids into two distinct evolutionary lineages led to the establishment of Teleosauridae as a more restrictive family within the group, together with its sister familyMachimosauridae.

Teleosauridae Temporal range:Toarcian-Tithonian
Platysuchus multiscrobiculatus,Holzmaden Germany
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Clade:	Pseudosuchia
Clade:	Crocodylomorpha
Clade:	Crocodyliformes
Suborder:	†Thalattosuchia
Parvorder:	†Neothalattosuchia
Superfamily:	†Teleosauroidea
Family:	†Teleosauridae Geoffroy,1831
Subgroups
†Indosinosuchus †Mystriosaurus †Teleosaurinae(Geoffroy, 1831) †Platysuchus †Teleosaurus †Aeolodontinae(Johnsonet al.,2020) †Aeolodon †Bathysuchus †Mycterosuchus †Sericodon
Synonyms
MystriosauriFitzinger,1843 MystriosauridaeFitzinger, 1843 SteneosauridaeOwen,1843

Amongst teleosauroids, teleosaurids were generally smaller and less common than machimosaurids, suggesting the two families occupied differentniches,similar to modern species ofcrocodilians.However, teleosaurids were more diverse than machimosaurids, with generalist coastal predators (Mystriosaurus), long-snouted marinepiscivores(Bathysuchus), and potentially even long-snouted, semi-terrestrial predators (Teleosaurus). Additionally, teleosaurids occupied a wider range of habitats than machimosaurids, from semi-marine coasts and estuaries, the open-ocean, freshwater, and potentially even semi-terrestrial environments.

Classification

Teleosauridae isphylogeneticallydefined in thePhyloCodeby Mark T. Young and colleagues as "the largestcladewithin Teleosauroidea containingTeleosaurus cadomensisbut notMachimosaurus hugii.Teleosauridae is split into twosubfamilies,theTeleosaurinaeand theAeolodontinae,the former defined in thePhyloCodeas "the largest clade within Teleosauroidea containingTeleosaurus cadomensis,but notAeolodon priscusand the latter defined in thePhyloCodeas "the largest clade within Teleosauroidea containingAeolodon pricus,but notTeleosaurus cadomensis.

Thalattosuchia	Metriorhynchoidea Teleosauroidea Plagiophthalmosuchus Machimosauridae Teleosauridae Indosinosuchus kalasinensis Chinese teleosauroid Mystriosaurus Indosinosuchus potamosiamensis Teleosaurinae Teleosaurus Platysuchus Aeolodontinae Mycterosuchus Aeolodon Sericodon Bathysuchus

Palaeobiology

Teleosaurids were originally regarded as marine analogues to moderngharials,as they both typically share long, tubular snouts and narrow teeth. However, differences in the jaws, teeth, and skeleton of different teleosaurids suggest that they were more ecologically diverse than this. Earlier teleosaurids were coastal semi-aquatic generalists, while the two subfamilies were more specialised. Teleosaurines appear to have been semi-terrestrial, as they were more heavily armoured and had forward-facing nostrils. In contrast, aeolodontines have been found in deep marine waters and had reduced armour, implying that they were open water predators similar to metriorhynchoids (although the oldest aeolodontine,Mycterosuchus,appears to have been semi-terrestrial, similar to teleosaurines).

Palaeoecology

Distribution

Definitive fossils of teleosaurids are restricted to Laurasia, with material found inEurope(England,France,Germany,Italy,Portugal,RussiaandSwitzerland) and Asia (ChinaandThailand,and possiblyIndia).

See also

• List of marine reptiles