Paralligatoridae

Paralligatoridae is an extinct family of neosuchian crocodyliforms that existed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It includes the genera Paralligator, Brillanceausuchus, Kansajsuchus, Shamosuchus, Scolomastax, Sabresuchus, Rugosuchus, Batrachomimus and Wannchampsus, as well as the yet-unnamed "Glen Rose form".^[1][2]

Paralligatoridae Temporal range: Late Jurassic - Late Cretaceous, Oxfordian–Maastrichtian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skulls of Paralligator
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Clade:	Pseudosuchia
Clade:	Crocodylomorpha
Clade:	Neosuchia
Family:	†Paralligatoridae Konzhukova, 1954
Genera
†Batrachomimus †Brillanceausuchus †Kansajsuchus †Paralligator †Rugosuchus †Sabresuchus †Scolomastax †Shamosuchus †Tarsomordeo †Wannchampsus †Yanjisuchus

Evolution

Phylogenetic analyses of crocodyliforms find Paralligatoridae to nest within Neosuchia, a large clade (evolutionary grouping) that also includes modern crocodylians. In crocodyliform phylogeny, paralligatorids are usually found near the base of Neosuchia, outside the clade Eusuchia, which includes crocodylians and their closest relatives. Below is a cladogram from Montefeltro et al. (2013) showing the phylogenetic relationships of Paralligatoridae:^[1]

Mesoeucrocodylia	Thalattosuchia Metasuchia Notosuchia Neosuchia Khoratosuchus jintasakuli Tethysuchia Theriosuchus Goniopholididae Bernissartia fagesii Paralligatoridae Batrachomimus pastosbonensis Shamosuchus spp. Rugosuchus nonganensis Eusuchia Susisuchus anatoceps Hylaeochampsa vectiana Allodaposuchus precedens Hylaeochampsidae Pietraroiasuchus ormezzanoi Iharkutosuchus makadii Isisfordia duncani Crocodylia