Crocodile articles
What does the Greek part of the binomial name $\textit{Crocodylus niloticus}$ describe?
During which geological era did the extant Nile crocodile first appear according to East African fossils?
Approximately how many million years ago (Ma) do fossils recovered from Kenya date the first appearance of $\textit{Crocodylus niloticus}$?
What morphological feature did massive extinct relatives like $\textit{C. anthropophagus}$ possess?
To which modern crocodile species is $\textit{Rimasuchus lloydi}$ actually more closely related, despite its size?
Which region was historically part of the Nile crocodile's expansive northern range but is now largely extirpated due to habitat change and pollution?
In what year did genetic studies formally recognize the West African crocodile populations as a separate species, $\textit{Crocodylus suchus}$?
What specific morphological variation is noted in crocodiles from Lake Turkana, Kenya?
Approximately how recently is the colonization of Madagascar by Nile crocodiles thought to have occurred?
What feature suggests the ancestral stock leading to $\textit{C. niloticus}$ dispersed westward across a connected landscape?
What extinct group does *Smilosuchus* belong to, despite its crocodile-like appearance?
In phytosaurs like *Smilosuchus*, where were the nasal openings (nares) situated on the skull?
What evolutionary phenomenon explains why phytosaurs and true crocodiles developed strikingly similar features?
How did the dentition (teeth structure) of phytosaurs differ from that of crocodiles?
What broader group, characterized by crocodile-line reptiles, includes both phytosaurs and modern crocodiles?
During which geological period did *Smilosuchus* establish itself as an apex aquatic predator?
Where are the nostrils of modern crocodiles located?
In the context of archosaurs, *Smilosuchus* and its relatives are more accurately described as distant evolutionary cousins to crocodiles rather than what?
What happened to the phytosaur lineage after the Triassic period?