Crocodylus

Crocodylus
C. palustris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Crocodylidae
Genus:	Crocodylus Laurenti, 1768
Species
See text

Crocodylus is one of three genera from the Crocodylinae subfamily extending from the Crocodylidae family.

Established species include three extinct species:

• † Crocodylus acer - probably represents a distinct genus.
• † Crocodylus affinis - probably represents a distinct genus.
• † Crocodylus anthropophagus, an extinct crocodile from Plio-Pleistocene of Tanzania.

There are thirteen living species:

• American Crocodile, Crocodylus acutus
• Slender-snouted Crocodile, Crocodylus cataphractus - studies in DNA and morphology suggest this species may be more basal than Crocodylus and therefore belongs in its own genus, Mecistops.^[1][2][3]
• Orinoco Crocodile, Crocodylus intermedius
• Freshwater Crocodile, Crocodylus johnsoni
• Philippine Crocodile, Crocodylus mindorensis
• Morelet's Crocodile or Mexican Crocodile, Crocodylus moreletii
• Nile Crocodile or African Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus (the subspecies found in Madagascar is sometimes called the Black Crocodile)
• New Guinea Crocodile, Crocodylus novaeguineae
• Mugger Crocodile, Marsh Crocodile, or Indian Crocodile, Crocodylus palustris
• Saltwater Crocodile or Estuarine Crocodile, Crocodylus porosus
• Cuban Crocodile, Crocodylus rhombifer
• Siamese Crocodile, Crocodylus siamensis
• Desert Crocodile, Crocodylus suchus

• Crocodylus raninus (Has been considered as a synonym of Crocodylus porosus. Its status remains unclear.^[4])

Phylogeny

The cladogram below follows the topology from a 2011 analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences by Robert W. Meredith, Evon R. Hekkala, George Amato and John Gatesy.^[3]

Crocodylus	Asia-Australia  C. porosus C. palustris C. siamensis C. johnsoni C. novaeguineae C. mindorensis  Africa-New World  C. suchus C. niloticus  New World  C. rhombifer C. moreletii C. acutus C. intermedius

References

1. ^ McAliley, Willis, Ray, White, Brochu & Densmore (2006). Are crocodiles really monophyletic?—Evidence for subdivisions from sequence and morphological data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39: 16-32.
2. ^ Brochu C. A., Njau J., Blumenschine R. J., Densmore L. D. (2010) "A New Horned Crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. PLoS ONE 5(2): e9333. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009333
3. ^ ^{a b} Robert W. Meredith, Evon R. Hekkala, George Amato and John Gatesy (2011). "A phylogenetic hypothesis for Crocodylus (Crocodylia) based on mitochondrial DNA: Evidence for a trans-Atlantic voyage from Africa to the New World". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60: 183–191. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.026. 
4. ^ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Crocodylus&species=raninus