A ziphodont mesosuchian crocodile from the Eocene of Algeria and its implications for vertebrate dispersal

Abstract

Fossils from a newly discovered, probably middle Eocene locality in southern Algeria provide the first evidence of an African terrestrial mesosuchian crocodilian with a ziphodont dentition (that is, with compressed, serrated teeth). Ziphodont mesosuchians were previously known mainly from South America and Europe, but have not been reported from North America. Several other groups of land vertebrates show a disjunct distribution in the Palaeogene, with representatives in Europe and South America, but no certain record in North America, where they should occur if, as has been suggested, dispersal had taken place from South America to Europe across North America. The discovery of a ziphodont mesosuchian in Algeria is the first tangible evidence that may support the alternative hypothesis of faunal connections between South America and Europe via Africa.