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What if land crocodiles outcompeted mammals?
Topic Started: May 21 2010, 10:39 PM (2,591 Views)
Pando
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Land crocodylomorphs like Protosuchia and Notosuchia were the main competitors of mammals during the Cretaceous. At the KT extinction the mammals survived and the Protosuchians and Notosuchians died off. But what if it was the other way around?

I might be interested into turning this into a project if enough of you are interested.

--EDIT--
Birds are also extinct to allow the crocodylomorphs to take over the world in the Paleocene.
Edited by Pando, May 22 2010, 01:40 AM.
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Toad of Spades
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I had an idea for a crurotarsan dominated Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Small specialized crurotarsans had replaced early mammals, but it could be changed for crocodylimorphs to replace them instead.

Crocodiles could easily adapt to many of the body forms and niches that mammals today hold. It would be interesting to see herds of cursorial herbivorous crocodiles crossing the Nile while "modern" style crocodiles similar our timeline attack them, then when they cross the other side dog-like and cat-like crocodiles ambush them like lions and leopards.
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Pando
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Yeah, it would. This would make a really good project. But what about the trees? How would crocodylmomorphs dominate the trees?
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Toad of Spades
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Small long legged crocodiles have existed before, so crocodilians like that could easily evolve multiple times. It wouldn't be too big of a leap for them to become arboreal.
Edited by Toad of Spades, May 22 2010, 01:15 AM.
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Pando
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First they'll have to go back to their Triassic glory. Once that's done then we can start talking.

What about gorgonopsid-like crocodylomorphs?
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Toad of Spades
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Sounds interesting and easy to pull off. Kaprosuchus has multiple pairs of huge fangs, so just one pair is easily possible.

Are birds and pterosaurs are extinct. If so, then flying crocodylimorphs could evolve.
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Pando
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Pandorasaurus
May 21 2010, 10:39 PM
Land crocodylomorphs like Protosuchia and Notosuchia were the main competitors of mammals during the Cretaceous. At the KT extinction the mammals survived and the Protosuchians and Notosuchians died off. But what if it was the other way around?

I might be interested into turning this into a project if enough of you are interested.
Everything's the same, except it was the mammals dying and land crocodylomorphs surviving. A flyer to replace bats would be interesting, but I'm afraid squamates would do that before. But you never know.

--EDIT--
Since birds were the Paleocene and Eocene mammal competitors, they shall also die off. That way they have an easy start.
Edited by Pando, May 22 2010, 01:39 AM.
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Ook
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more birds or some pterosaurs spread and survive(some maybe existet in early cenozoic)
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The Dodo
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Pandorasaurus said they went extinct with the K-T in this scenerio.
I think that with less competition squamates would diversify as well.
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Scrublord
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If birds are extinct, what would be the powered flyers?
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Ook
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but there is evodence taht few pterosaurs survives into early tetriary
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Carlos
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Early Cenozoic pterosaurs? Never heard of, but then again they never advertise any news on pterosaurs
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Pando
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There were NO cenozoic pterosaurs! Those were hadrosaurs!

I'd say that squamates would take the flying niche. Most land crocodylomorphs would look dog-like in my opinion, but a descendant of Armadillosuchus might take some interesting turns.
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Toad of Spades
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What about theropod mimic crocodilians with opposable thumbs? Could those be possible?
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Pando
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There were ones like that, there can be theropod mimics.

What kind of herbivores could there be?
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