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PROCAIMANOIDEA
(pro-cay-men-oy-dee-a)
meaning: "Before caiman forms"
Named By: Charles W. Gilmore in 1946
Time Period: Eocene
Location: USA, Utah and Wyoming - Green River Formation
Size: Uncertain, but thought to be small
Diet: Carnivore
Fossil(s): Holotype established from a skull and partial left hind leg. Additionally remains have since been attributed to the genus
Classification: | Chordata | Reptilia | Crocodilia | Alligatoridae | Alligatorinae |
Also known as: | Hassiacosuchus kayi |
About

Procaimanoidea ("Before Caiman-forms") is an extinct genus of alligatorid from the Eocene of North America. It was named posthumously in 1946 by Charles W. Gilmore; the type species is P. utahensis, from the Uintan (middle Eocene) of Utah. It is based on USNM 15996, a nearly complete skull and partial left hind leg. A second species, P. kayi, was named in 1941 by C.C. Mook as a species of Hassiacosuchus, for remains from the Bridgerian (early Eocene) of Wyoming. It was reassigned to Procaimanoidea in 1967 by Wassersug and Hecht. Procaimanoidea was a small alligatorid, and slightly heterodont, the last four teeth on each side of the jaws having blunt tips.

Read more about Procaimanoidea at Wikipedia
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