Piscogavialis
| Piscogavialis Temporal range: Late Miocene,
| |
|---|---|
| Skull of P. jugaliperforatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Gavialidae |
| Subfamily: | †Gryposuchinae |
| Genus: | †Piscogavialis Kraus 1998 |
| Type species | |
| †Piscogavialis jugaliperforatus | |
| Other species | |
| |
Piscogavialis is an extinct genus of gryposuchine gavialid crocodylian. Two species have been described, the type species P. jugaliperforatus and P. laberintoensis. Fossils of Piscogavialis have been found from the Mio-Pliocene Pisco Formation of the Sacaco Basin in southern Peru in 1998, where it coexisted with the much smaller gavialid Sacacosuchus.
Piscogavialis represents some of the best preserved gavialid material known from South America. The holotype skull is preserved in three dimensions and is nearly complete. A mandible and some postcranial material have also been found in association with the skull. Several important features of the occipital region of the skull support a referral to the family Gavialidae, which also includes the extant gharial and false gharial.