2026/05/01 by Ana Laura S. Paiva, Pedro L. Godoy, Daniel M. dos Santos +2 · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Amphibian and Reptile Biology
paper · doi:10.1111/pala.70061
Abstract Notosuchian crocodylomorphs were predominantly active terrestrial predators, exhibiting a wide range of ecomorphological specializations and body sizes. Given that body size plays an important role in the life history of vertebrates, its accurate estimation for notosuchians is crucial for understanding macroevolutionary and macroecological patterns in the group. Yet, reconstructing body size of fossil species with no living representatives is challenging, as demonstrated previously for Notosuchia, as well as other taxonomic groups. Here, we estimated the total body length of 40 Cretaceous–Cenozoic notosuchian species using a phylogenetic Bayesian inference approach that accounts for non‐independence of taxa, based on cranial and femoral measurements from near‐complete crocodylomorph specimens. Our results reveal notable discrepancies between estimates based on crania and femora, with skull length providing more robust estimates. We suggest that femoral length is more strongly influenced by factors such as locomotion, limb posture, and ecological habitat, all of which vary across Notosuchia (and Crocodylomorpha more broadly). Nevertheless, the sizes of both skeletal regions are significantly correlated with total body length in notosuchians. Larger body sizes are typically associated with a more semi‐aquatic lifestyle, probably due to selective pressures associated with this ecology. Our findings also suggest that notosuchians from freshwater habitats and with less specialized diets were less affected by the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction event, allowing some lineages to persist and ultimately thrive in its aftermath.