Francesco Della Giustina
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just-fre.bsky.social
Francesco Della Giustina
@just-fre.bsky.social
🦴 Geologist and vertebrate paleontologist.
🌊 Interested in the evolution of Mesozoic marine predators.

📚 TA and PhD student at @universitedeliege.bsky.social

🌐 https://beacons.ai/_just_fre
Finally, we also demonstrated the importance of the postcranium for croc phylogenies, showing how some postcranial characters alter significantly the position of Allodaposuchidae within the Eusuchian phylogenetic tree, with crucial implications for the Crown-clade Crocodylia.

6/6 🧵
June 9, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Our study expands our global knowledge of allodaposuchid anatomy, focusing on the osteology and myology of the axial and appendicular skeletons, as well as the osteoderm pattern, all of which indicate a semi-aquatic lifestyle with possibly enhanced terrestrial locomotion.

5/6 🧵
June 9, 2025 at 8:46 PM
However, all allodaposuchid species are mainly represented by craniodental remains, inevitably making the postcranial record of this clade somewhat neglected.

4/6 🧵
June 9, 2025 at 8:46 PM
We identify it as an allodaposuchid, a group of crocs living in rivers and brackish waters of the islands of the southern European archipelago during the latest Cretaceous. Their diversity has increased significantly in recent years, with new species being described from Spain and France.

3/6 🧵
June 9, 2025 at 8:46 PM
The remains, now housed at the Institut Català de Paleontologia, were primarily excavated more than 30 years ago and have not received any attention since then. However, we estimate it to be the most complete crocodyliform from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe.

2/6 🧵
June 9, 2025 at 8:46 PM