Simosuchus

SimosuchusPug-nosed Crocodile
Classification
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Subphylum	Vertebrata
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Clade	Sauropsida
Class	Reptilia
Clade	Archosauria Pseudosuchia Crocodylomorpha Crocodyliformes Mesoeucrocodylia Metasuchia Ziphosuchia
Suborder	Notosuchia
Species	Simosuchus clarki
Presence
Location	Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Province, northwest Madagascar Kallamedu Formation, Kaveri Basin, south India
Temporal Range	70 - 66 million years ago, Maastrichtian Stage, Late Cretaceous Period
Episodes	Islands (Segment 3)
Characteristics
Height	30 - 36 centimeters (12 - 14 inches)
Length	75 centimeters (2 feet, 6 inches)
Diet	Herbivorous
Possibly lived a burrowing lifestyle

Main

Gallery

MainGallery

“ This is Simosuchus. It's not a dinosaur, but a miniature relative of crocodiles, one that lives almost entirely on land, and is strictly vegetarian. ”

― David Attenborough, Islands

Simosuchus (Pug-nosed Crocodile) is a genus of notosuchian crocodylomorph that lived in the Maevarano Formation, Madagascar, 70 - 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, peculiar for its herbivorous diet and adaptations implying that it lived a fossorial (burrowing) lifestyle. A single multicuspid tooth found in the Kallamedu Formation of the Kaveri Basin indicates the presence of Simosuchus (or a similar-looking close relative of it) in southern India.

Paleobiology

“ Simosuchus have tough, armored bodies that protect them from attack by the island's predators, so they can risk dropping their guard... sometimes. ”

― David Attenborough, Islands

Simosuchus grew to the size of a small dog, with adult specimens being around 75 centimeters (2 feet, 6 inches) long. It earned its name "pug-nosed crocodile" due to its distinct, short, tall snout, differing from the long, low skulls of other crocodyliforms. This, in combination with its maple leaf-shaped teeth (much like those of herbivorous iguanids), lead paleontologists to believe that it is actually herbivorous. Its tail is also very short, unlike other crocodyliforms. Otherwise, Simosuchus is very much like other crocodyliforms, covered with an armor of tightly-interlocked osteoderms, with the osteoderms covering the back, tail, and limbs being light and porous, while those covering the belly are plate-like, with an inner structure resembling that of cancellous (spongy) bone.

Paleoecology

Paleoenvironment

Main: Maevarano Formation

Main: Maevarano Formation

“ The island of Madagascar has been separated from the African mainland for 80 million years, so long that most of its animals are now very different from any to be found elsewhere. ”

― David Attenborough, Islands

Simosuchus lived 70 - 66 million years ago in the Maevarano Formation in the Mahajanga Province of Madagascar, an island whose plate split away from Africa approximately 170 - 155 million years ago, then separated from the Indian subcontinent around 90 - 80 million years ago. The Maevarano Formation is recognized as an alluvial plain where the discharge of rivers fluctuate. The area is also believed to have had reddish soil, with floodplains that supported vegetation able to grow in the relatively dry climate. The region, at times semi-arid (like it is today), at times undergoing strong dry and wet seasons, was eventually claimed by rising sea levels that pushed the shoreline back. This may or may not have been the result of the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event, a catastrophe that wiped out three-quarters of life on Earth.

A single, isolated multicuspid tooth found in the Kallamedu Formation of the Kaveri Basin in southern India indicates the first known presence of Simosuchus or a similar-looking notosuchian outside of Madagascar, serving as further evidence of the link between India and Madagascar.

Social Behavior, Evasive and Defensive Tactics

“ The Simosuchus have a network of escape routes that lead them to their underground burrows. Once inside, they block the entrance with their heavily-armored backs. ”

― David Attenborough, Islands

Prehistoric Planet depicts Simosuchus as having social capabilities, able to form small groups, based on how numerous specimens are found together, and how its living relatives were, to a degree, social. In the event of a predator attack, they are also shown to have prepared narrow escape burrows in which they can hide, plugging the entrances with their heavily-armored backs (for a little more security, they can dig even deeper into their burrows to ensure that those hunting them really cannot reach them), based on how they seem to have a few features indicating the ability to dig burrows, and how modern crocodiles can dig tunnels several meters in length. But should one be unlucky to find no vacant burrow to jump into, they can buy time to escape by bluffing in the form of aggressive hisses, tail swipes, kicks, and even running and sliding backwards into predators without actually intending to make contact, for it is reasonable to assume that, while not indicated in the fossil record, Simosuchus and other extinct creatures were likely as complex as animals today.

Appearance

	Islands, Segment III
	Setting Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Province, Madagascar Filming Location Lower Zambezi National Park, Lusaka Province, southeast Zambia

Islands, Segment III

Setting
Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Province, Madagascar

Filming Location
Lower Zambezi National Park, Lusaka Province, southeast Zambia

In the third segment of Islands, on Madagascar, a Simosuchus navigates through an area of plants. It is then shown that they live in a group. One Simosuchus reaches up to grab leaves that are out of reach by rearing up and standing on top of another, while some members of the group are shown simply basking under the sun, or sleeping in the shade, not too wary of hunters given how their heavily-armored bodies make them feel more secure, unaware that, from afar, the region's apex predator is observing them.

“ Majungasaurus. Madagascar's top hunter. This particular female is blind in one eye. So she finds it hard to make a kill, and is now very hungry. ”

― David Attenborough, Islands

The hunter, a female Majungasaurus appears to have dried blood and various wounds on her, and it is revealed that her left eye has gone blind. Due to her disability, she has found it difficult to hunt, and has thus gone very hungry. She finally decides to charge at the group of Simosuchus, causing them to run for the burrows they set up beforehand to escape from predators. One male Simosuchus ends up unable to find an unoccupied burrow, and is left to face the Majungasaurus.

“ This little male is unlucky. But he's not helpless. Reverse charges, tail swipes, and aggressive kicks. ”

― David Attenborough, Islands

With nowhere to run, the Simosuchus resorts to bluffing his way out of the situation, with reverse charges, kicks, hisses, and tail swipes, confusing and deterring the Majungasaurus long enough for the notosuchian to find a vacant burrow to rush for and hide in. The hunter tries to reach into the burrow, but it proves too narrow for her broad snout to fit in. As a safety precaution, the Simosuchus digs himself even deeper, getting dirt all over the hunter's face.

“ The hunter's snout is too broad to reach very far inside. But just to be on the safe side, the Simosuchus digs even deeper. For the Majungasaurus, yet another hunt has ended in failure. ”

― David Attenborough, Islands

Dejected and left growling in frustration due to the failure to secure a meal, the Majungasaurus walks off. Once the hunter has left, the Simosuchus warily walks back out of his burrow, looking around to make sure there are no other threats around before moving on.

Gallery

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References

Prehistoric Planet

Miscellaneous Species
Crocodylomorphs	Shamosuchus Simosuchus
Mammals	Adalatherium Cimolodon cf. nitidus
Others	Beelzebufo Madtsoia Protostegid