Isisfordia - oldest eusuchian (Cenomanian)

[John Scanlon <riversleigh@outbackatisa.com.au>]

I've heard rumours about this beast for a few years now, but haven't seen
the material or manuscript.  Several news stories are out today:

http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1658120.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200606/s1662797.htm
http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060612/full/060612-4.html
 
The article in Proceedings B by Salisbury, Molnar, Frey and Willis isn't
even online yet, but the nature.com story gives the
doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3613.

Everyone in Australia is going to be pretty chuffed (as Steve Salisbury is
quoted as saying) that the "ancestor" of modern crocs lived here, but to me
the exciting thing about getting articulated material in Cenomanian
estuarine deposits (just a thousand kilometers or so down the road from
here) is that we might even find some dolichosaurs and pachyophiids too...

Cheers,
John
 
-----------------------------------------------
Dr John D. Scanlon
Palaeontologist, 
Riversleigh Fossil Centre, Outback at Isa
19 Marian Street / PO Box 1094
Mount Isa  QLD  4825
AUSTRALIA
Ph:   07 4749 1555
Fax: 07 4743 6296
Email: riversleigh@outbackatisa.com.au
http://tinyurl.com/f2rby