Crocodylus rhombifer Cuvier, 1807

Morgan, Gary S., Albury, Nancy A., Rímoli, Renato, Lehman, Phillip, Rosenberger, Alfred L. & Cooke, Siobhán B., 2018, The Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) from Late Quaternary Underwater Cave Deposits in the Dominican Republic, American Museum Novitates 2018 (3916), pp. 1-1 : 1-

Crocodylus rhombifer Cuvier, 1807

Cuban Crocodile

Figures 6–10

REFERRED SPECIMENS: The sample of Quaternary crocodile fossils from the Dominican Republic consists of about 100 specimens, five of which consist of partial to complete skulls with partial associated postcranial skeletons. The following list of specimens includes only the most complete fossil skulls and mandibles of Crocodylus rhombifer from Oleg’s Bat Cave and Ni-Rahu used in the cranial descriptions and comparisons. The appendix provides a more complete list of the fossil sample of C. rhombifer from the Dominican Republic, including postcranial material associated with several of the skulls listed here. Isolated postcranial elements from Oleg’s Bat Cave are listed as C. rhombifer in the appendix. Although most postcranial elements of crocodiles cannot be confidently identified to the species level, it seems reasonable to tentatively refer these specimens to C. rhombifer considering that all diagnostic cranial material from this same site represents this species.

NI-RAHU: MHD 414. Complete skull and articulated mandibles, and two associated vertebrae. Collected by Phillip Lehman and Cristian Pittaro of the DRSS on August 10, 2013. The skull and mandibles from Ni-Rahu are illustrated in figure 6. The left half of the skull from the premaxilla to the quadrate is covered with a thick layer of calcite flowstone. No observations could be made on the palate of this specimen because of the flowstone coating. The mandibles are also covered with flowstone, with only the teeth on the right side visible. Several cranial measurements either could not be taken or are estimates (table 1). The mandibles are firmly attached to the skull, and are so completely covered in flowstone that little of their anatomy is evident, except for the teeth in the right mandible.

OLEG’S BAT CAVE: MHD 572 . A nearly complete skull lacking only the left premaxilla, right nasal, and the ectopterygoids and palatines (fig. 7). This specimen also includes associated postcranial elements (see appendix). Collected “under mud” on the floor of Oleg’s Bat Cave by members of the DRSS on August 12, 2012. A handwritten note in the MHD collection identifies this specimen as “crocodile 1.”

Figures

FIGURE 6. Skull and articulated right and left mandibles of a Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) of Late Quaternary age from Ni-Rahu (= Cueva de Lynn), Dominican Republic (MHD 414). The skull and mandibles of this specimen are partially covered with a thick layer of calcite flowstone, obscuring many morphological features. A. Dorsal, B. ventral, C. left lateral, D. right lateral, and E. posterior views.

FIGURE 7. Skull of a Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) of Late Quaternary age from Oleg’s Bat Cave, Dominican Republic (MHD 572) in A. dorsal, B. ventral, C. left lateral, and D. posterior views.

FIGURE 8. Skull and left mandible of a Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) of Late Quaternary age from Oleg’s Bat Cave, Dominican Republic (MHD 574). Skull in A. dorsal, B. ventral, C. left lateral, and D. posterior views. Left mandible in E. medial and F. lateral views.

FIGURE 9. Limb bones of the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) of Late Quaternary age from Oleg’s Bat Cave, Dominican Republic. All limb bones are from the left side and are from the same associated individual (MHD 576). A. Humerus, B. radius, C. ulna, D. femur, E. tibia, F. fibula. In each pair of photographs, the anterior view is on the left and posterior view on the right.

FIGURE 10. Ilia of the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) of Late Quaternary age from Oleg’s Bat Cave, Dominican Republic (MHD 575). A. External and B. internal views of the right ilium; C. external and D. internal views of the left ilium.