Vertebrate palaeontologist and one of Australia's leading science communicators. Now mostly teaching researchers how to communicate but dabbling in some palaeontology along the way as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Flinders University Phone: +61 418 472 150 Address: 12 Brightview Ave Blackwood SA 5051
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2006
While the crocodyliform lineage extends back over 200 million years (Myr) to the Late Triassic, m... more While the crocodyliform lineage extends back over 200 million years (Myr) to the Late Triassic, modern forms—members of Eusuchia—do not appear until the Cretaceous. Eusuchia includes the crown group Crocodylia, which comprises Crocodyloidea, Alligatoroidea and Gavialoidea. Fossils of non-crocodylian eusuchians are currently rare and, in most instances, fragmentary. Consequently, the transition from Neosuchia to Crocodylia has been one of the most poorly understood areas of crocodyliform evolution. Here we describe a new crocodyliform from the mid-Cretaceous (98–95 Myr ago; Albian–Cenomanian) Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, as the most primitive member of Eusuchia. The anatomical changes associated with the emergence of this taxon indicate a pivotal shift in the feeding and locomotor behaviour of crocodyliforms—a shift that may be linked to the subsequent rapid diversification of Eusuchia 20 Myr later during the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary. While Laurasia (in partic...
A longirostrine crocodilian right dentary fragment, a tooth and an associated dorsal centrum are ... more A longirostrine crocodilian right dentary fragment, a tooth and an associated dorsal centrum are described from early Tertiary (probably Late Palaeocene or Early Eocene) represents the second oldest crocodile known from Australia. The material is incomplete and can not be identified to the level of genus and its phylogenetic relationships are unclear. However, it appears to be closely related to other extinct crocodiles from younger deposits in Australia.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2006
While the crocodyliform lineage extends back over 200 million years (Myr) to the Late Triassic, m... more While the crocodyliform lineage extends back over 200 million years (Myr) to the Late Triassic, modern forms—members of Eusuchia—do not appear until the Cretaceous. Eusuchia includes the crown group Crocodylia, which comprises Crocodyloidea, Alligatoroidea and Gavialoidea. Fossils of non-crocodylian eusuchians are currently rare and, in most instances, fragmentary. Consequently, the transition from Neosuchia to Crocodylia has been one of the most poorly understood areas of crocodyliform evolution. Here we describe a new crocodyliform from the mid-Cretaceous (98–95 Myr ago; Albian–Cenomanian) Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, as the most primitive member of Eusuchia. The anatomical changes associated with the emergence of this taxon indicate a pivotal shift in the feeding and locomotor behaviour of crocodyliforms—a shift that may be linked to the subsequent rapid diversification of Eusuchia 20 Myr later during the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary. While Laurasia (in partic...
A longirostrine crocodilian right dentary fragment, a tooth and an associated dorsal centrum are ... more A longirostrine crocodilian right dentary fragment, a tooth and an associated dorsal centrum are described from early Tertiary (probably Late Palaeocene or Early Eocene) represents the second oldest crocodile known from Australia. The material is incomplete and can not be identified to the level of genus and its phylogenetic relationships are unclear. However, it appears to be closely related to other extinct crocodiles from younger deposits in Australia.
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Papers by Paul M A Willis