Brachychampsa montana existed from the late Campanian stage of the Cretaceous and even through the first few million years of the Paleocene (after the K-T extinction)... Yes, that means this resilient creature survived the massive catastrophe that spelled the end for the non-avian dinosaurs!
Since its description was published by Charles Gilmore in 1911, the exact relationships of B. montana have been debated and changed multiple times. Originally, it was placed within the family Alligatoridae (Gilmore, 1911), and this was then placed within the subfamily Alligatorinae (Estes,19 64). However, in 1994 new remains and data subsequently placed it outside Alligatoridae, but still within Alligatoroidea (Norell and Clark, 1994).
Brachychampsa is particularly interesting due to its heterodont dentition - this means that, unlike most reptiles, it has differently-shaped teeth in different areas of the jaw. In the anterior portion of the jaw, the teeth are narrow and conical, whereas the posterior teeth are bulbous. This has led some to postulate a diet mainly consisting of turtles (Carpenter and Lindsay, 1980), but the current thought is that it had a more generalist diet. This is based on the fact that modern alligators consume turtles despite a lack of bulbous posterior teeth, and the fact that dietary preferences in crocodylians change with age. While turtles would have provided a bountiful food source for any crocodylians in the Late Cretaceous based on their relative abundance and co-occurrence, it is likely that these creatures were generalists and would include other prey in their diet (Sullivan and Lucas, 2003).
Well, I hope this Creature Feature has given you a bit more knowledge about Brachychampsa montana, and perhaps will get you a bit more interested in the non-dinosaurian fauna of Hell Creek!
Acknowledgements:
Gilmore, Charles W. 1911. A new fossil alligator from the Hell Creek Beds of Montana. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 41: 297-302.
Estes, R. 1964. Fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous Lance Formation, eastern Wyoming. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 49: 1-180.
Norell, M. A.; Clark, J. M.; Hutchison, J. H. 1994. The Late Cretaceous alligatoroid Brachychampsa montana (Crocodylia): new material and putative relationships. American Museum Novitates 3116: 1-26.
Carpenter, K. and D. Lindsey. 1980. The dentary of Brachychampsa montana Gilmore (Alligatorinae; Crocodylidae), a Late Cretaceous turtle-eating alligator. Journal of Paleontology 54:1213–1217
Sullivan, Robert M.; Lucas, Spencer G. 2003. Brachychampsa montana Gilmore (Crocodylia, Alligatoroidea) from the Kirtland Formation (upper Campanian), San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23 (4): 832-841.
Nice option!, creatures like this needs more Love!!.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! It's very unfortunate that they often get overshadowed by dinosaurs.
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