Boverisuchus
A small, hoof-toed crocodyliform that ran on land.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Boverisuchus is an extinct crocodyliform from the planocraniid family, living during the early to middle Eocene (Ypresian to Lutetian) in what is now Germany and western North America. It was fairly small, reaching an estimated length of 2.2 to 3.6 meters and weighing around 100 kilograms.
The type species, Boverisuchus magnifrons, was named by Oskar Kuhn in 1938 from Germany’s Lutetian deposits, alongside Weigeltisuchus geiseltalensis. For years, most paleontologists considered both species to be junior synonyms of Pristichampsus rollinatii. However, a 2013 revision by Brochu found that P. rollinatii was based on insufficiently diagnostic material, making it a nomen dubium, and reinstated Boverisuchus as a valid genus. Brochu also assigned Crocodylus vorax (often called Pristichampsus vorax since 1975) as a second Boverisuchus species. Material from the middle Eocene of Italy and Texas may represent another unnamed species. The two Asian species of Planocrania were found to be closely related to Boverisuchus in phylogenetic analysis, leading to the reinstatement of the family Planocraniidae.
Phylogenetic studies based on morphology often place Planocraniidae near the base of the crocodilian crown group, sometimes just outside Brevirostres (alligators, caimans, and crocodiles, but not gharials). However, molecular studies using DNA sequencing have challenged Brevirostres, finding crocodiles and gavialids more closely related. A 2018 tip-dating study by Lee & Yates, combining molecular, morphological, and stratigraphic data, placed planocraniids outside the crown group Crocodylia. A 2021 study by Rio & Mannion, using a revised morphological dataset, recovered Planocraniidae within Crocodylia as the sister group to Longirostres.
Like other planocraniids, Boverisuchus likely had heavily armored skin and long limbs suited for running. Its hoof-like toes suggest a largely terrestrial lifestyle, so it probably hunted land mammals. Its teeth were ziphodont—laterally compressed, sharp, and serrated—similar to those of theropod dinosaurs, which once led paleontologists to think some non-avian dinosaurs survived the K-Pg extinction. Some material once referred to Pristichampsus rollinatii shows additional adaptations: a round tail (like a dinosaur’s) without the osteoderm crest seen in modern crocodiles, and the ability to gallop.
The North American species B. vor
- type_species
- Boverisuchus magnifrons
- time_period
- Early to middle Eocene (Ypresian to Lutetian)
- location
- Germany and western North America
- estimated_length
- 2.2–3.6 metres (7.2–11.8 ft)
- estimated_weight
- around 100 kilograms (220 lb)
- classification
- Planocraniidae
Lore & Background
The type species Boverisuchus magnifrons was first named by paleontologist Oskar Kuhn in 1938, from the Lutetian of Germany alongside Weigeltisuchus geiseltalensis. Most paleontologists have considered both species to represent junior synonyms of the type species of Pristichampsus, P. rollinatii. Following a revision of the genus Pristichampsus by Brochu (2013), P. rollinati was found to be based on insufficiently diagnostic material and therefore is a nomen dubium while Boverisuchus was reinstated as a valid genus. Brochu (2013) also assigned Crocodylus vorax, which has been referred to as Pristichampsus vorax since Langston (1975), as the second species of Boverisuchus. According to Brochu (2013), material from the middle Eocene of Italy and Texas may represent another yet unnamed species. The two Asian species of Planocrania were found to be most closely related to Boverisuchus using a phylogenetic analysis. The name Planocraniidae was reinstated to contain these genera and replace Pristichampsidae.
Reader's Guide
Boverisuchus is important for understanding the ecological diversity of early Eocene crocodyliforms. Its hoof-like toes and long limbs suggest a fully terrestrial, cursorial lifestyle, unlike most modern crocodilians. The ziphodont teeth—laterally compressed, sharp, and serrated—were initially mistaken for theropod dinosaur teeth, leading some paleontologists to believe non-avian dinosaurs survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The genus also illustrates taxonomic instability: it was long considered a junior synonym of Pristichampsus until Brochu (2013) reinstated it. Phylogenetic placement of Planocraniidae remains debated, with morphological analyses placing it within Crocodylia near Brevirostres, while a 2018 tip dating study placed it outside crown group Crocodylia. A 2021 study recovered it within Crocodylia as sister to Longirostres. The North American species B. vorax is known from the Bridger Formation, where it coexisted with large predatory mammals such as Harpagolestes, Mesonyx, and Patriofelis, and stomach contents indicate it preyed on the tapiroid Helaletes.
Did You Know?
- Boverisuchus had hoof-like toes, suggesting it lived more on land than in water.
- Its teeth were ziphodont and initially mistaken for theropod dinosaur teeth.
- The North American species B. vorax is known from stomach contents to have preyed on the tapiroid Helaletes.
- The genus was reinstated as valid in 2013 after a revision found the type species of Pristichampsus to be a nomen dubium.
More in Extinct Archosaurs 1-24
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