Alligator mefferdi is an extinct species of alligator described by Charles Craig Mook. They lived in the Miocene period, and their range was principally in what is now Nebraska, United States.[2][3] The type specimen was discovered in the Ash Hollow Formation at Ash Hollow State Historical Park.[2]
| Alligator mefferdi Temporal range: Miocene,
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
| Clade: | Archosauriformes |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Alligatoridae |
| Subfamily: | Alligatorinae |
| Genus: | Alligator |
| Species: | †A. mefferdi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Alligator mefferdi C.C. Mook, 1946
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Classification edit
A. mefferdi is a member of the subfamily Alligatorinae, within the larger family Alligatoridae. Phylogenetic studies have found A. mefferdi to be most closely related to the living American alligator.[4][1]
Measurements edit
The average measurements for the skull of A. mefferdi are 298 x 170 millimeters. Based on the length, the estimated body mass was 34.6 kg.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9: e12094. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
- ^ a b c [1] Fossilworks
- ^ "Alligators may not have changed much in 8 million years". Mashable UK. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- ^ Michael S. Y. Lee; Adam M. Yates (27 June 2018). "Tip-dating and homoplasy: reconciling the shallow molecular divergences of modern gharials with their long fossil". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285 (1881). doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.1071. PMC 6030529. PMID 30051855.
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