Bottosaurus, AGASSIZ, 1849

Cossette, Adam P., 2021, A new species of Bottosaurus (Alligatoroidea: Caimaninae) from the Black Peaks Formation (Palaeocene) of Texas indicates an early radiation of North American caimanines, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191 : -

BOTTOSAURUS SPECIMENS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA

Some specimens from the Black Mingo Group of South Carolina have been attributed to B. harlani ( Erickson, 1998) . Erickson (1998) included these specimens on the basis of shared dental morphology. Until now, this morphology was considered diagnostic for B. harlani , but as seen here it is shared among all species of Bottosaurus .

In addition to the issues with the referral of the South Carolina specimens to B. harlani , the age of the material is controversial. Specimens are known from many localities, including the Black River at Kingstree, SC, USA and Clapp Creek at Kingstree, SC, USA ( Erickson, 1998). Weems & Bybell (1998) indicate that the stratigraphy in the local area is poorly known and suggest that the sediments in the vicinity of Kingstree have been markedly reworked. Fossils ranging from the Late Cretaceous to the Pleistocene are found in the lag deposits of this locality. Additional specimens attributed to B. harlani have been found in St Stephen, SC, USA ( Erickson, 1998). The stratigraphy of this locality is well understood ( Weems & Bybell, 1998), and the specimens are attributed to the late Palaeocene (Thanetian) Williamsburg Formation ( Erickson, 1998).

Given that the material described here is from the same approximate time period as the Williamsburg Formation material, it is possible that B. fustidens ranged throughout the Gulf of Mexico and along the south-eastern coast of the present-day USA. Future discovery of skeletal elements bearing morphology diagnostic of either B. harlani or B. fustidens is necessary to determine the phylogenetic affinities of the South Carolina material.