Dakosaurus maximus new morphological description (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Jan 18, 2026, 11:36:18 AM (17 hours ago) Jan 18
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Ben Creisler
Yanina Herrera, Frederik Spindler, and Mario Bronzati (2026)
A complete morphological description of Dakosaurus maximus (Crocodyliformes: Thalattosuchia) with further insights into their palaeoecology.
Palaeontologia Electronica 29(1): a4
doi: https://doi.org/10.26879/1577
https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2026/5775-dakosaurus-maximus-morphology-and-palaeoecology
Free pdf:
https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/pdfs/1577.pdf
Herein we describe a new specimen of Dakosaurus maximus from the Torleite Formation of Germany (late Kimmeridgian, Late Jurassic). The material exhibits exquisite preservation and consists of a largely complete skull and mostly articulated postcranial remains. This represents one of the best-preserved metriorhynchids found worldwide. We present new information on the cranial and postcranial morphology of Dakosaurus maximus, thereby providing the most comprehensive morphological assessment of this taxon to date. The description confirms that Dakosaurus maximus possessed a triangular skull shape and a moderately elongated snout. We conducted phylogenetic analyses including the new information for D. maximus. Also, we carried out exploratory analyses to investigate the influence of cranial, dental, and postcranial characters in the phylogeny of Metriorhynchidae. Our results suggest that metriorhynchid relationships are primarily determined by cranial and dental characters. Notably, the analysis using postcranial characters failed to recover the two subfamilies within Metriorhynchidae: Geosaurinae and Metriorhynchinae. This suggests either a lack of significant postcranial differences between these groups or that such differences have not yet been adequately translated into phylogenetic characters. Additionally, this specimen provided valuable ecological insights. Evidence of non-fatal bite marks on the snout suggests intra- or interspecific interaction with a large coeval marine reptile. Moreover, the preservation of chondrichthyan remains within the abdominal cavity of D. maximus provides direct evidence of the dietary habits and ecological interactions of this marine reptile, reinforcing the hypothesis that Dakosaurus maximus was a macrophagous form of metriorhynchid and an apex predator that inhabited the ocean during the late Kimmeridgian.
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A new paper:
Free pdf:
Yanina Herrera, Frederik Spindler, and Mario Bronzati (2026)
A complete morphological description of Dakosaurus maximus (Crocodyliformes: Thalattosuchia) with further insights into their palaeoecology.
Palaeontologia Electronica 29(1): a4
doi: https://doi.org/10.26879/1577
https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2026/5775-dakosaurus-maximus-morphology-and-palaeoecology
Free pdf:
https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/pdfs/1577.pdf
Herein we describe a new specimen of Dakosaurus maximus from the Torleite Formation of Germany (late Kimmeridgian, Late Jurassic). The material exhibits exquisite preservation and consists of a largely complete skull and mostly articulated postcranial remains. This represents one of the best-preserved metriorhynchids found worldwide. We present new information on the cranial and postcranial morphology of Dakosaurus maximus, thereby providing the most comprehensive morphological assessment of this taxon to date. The description confirms that Dakosaurus maximus possessed a triangular skull shape and a moderately elongated snout. We conducted phylogenetic analyses including the new information for D. maximus. Also, we carried out exploratory analyses to investigate the influence of cranial, dental, and postcranial characters in the phylogeny of Metriorhynchidae. Our results suggest that metriorhynchid relationships are primarily determined by cranial and dental characters. Notably, the analysis using postcranial characters failed to recover the two subfamilies within Metriorhynchidae: Geosaurinae and Metriorhynchinae. This suggests either a lack of significant postcranial differences between these groups or that such differences have not yet been adequately translated into phylogenetic characters. Additionally, this specimen provided valuable ecological insights. Evidence of non-fatal bite marks on the snout suggests intra- or interspecific interaction with a large coeval marine reptile. Moreover, the preservation of chondrichthyan remains within the abdominal cavity of D. maximus provides direct evidence of the dietary habits and ecological interactions of this marine reptile, reinforcing the hypothesis that Dakosaurus maximus was a macrophagous form of metriorhynchid and an apex predator that inhabited the ocean during the late Kimmeridgian.
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