By Sheryll Poe | September 14, 2022

Quick question: Do you know what a group of crocodiles is historically called? Learn that and so much more in the latest special issue of The Anatomical Record entitled, “The Age of Crocodilians and Their Kin: Anatomy, Physiology, and Evolution.” The issue explores the anatomy and physiology of present-day crocodilians and their extinct relatives and was guest edited by Professors Casey Holliday of the University of Missouri School of Medicine and Emma R. Schachner of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

“Crocodiles and their ancestors, the pseudosuchians, have dominated temperate waterways around the world since the Triassic,” says Editor-in-Chief of the Anatomical Record, Heather Smith. “In the distant past, they flourished on both land and sea in a variety of forms, ranging from armored, armadillo-like creatures, bipedal forms, and bulky, predatory species. The papers in this Special Issue bring crocodiles and their extinct ancestors to life and shed light on their unique evolutionary adaptations using paleontological fieldwork, imaging, 3D modeling, developmental biology, physiological monitoring, dissection, and other related scientific methods.”

In their editorial introducing the issue and the guest editors, Jeffrey Laitman and Heather Smith write, “Our Guest Editors are two energetic stars in the study of functional anatomy of living crocodilians and on the reconstruction of reptilian ancestors in the prehistoric world, often based upon their own findings on living forms. To any who have met them, they are also really interesting people who do interesting things,” including training dogs, shooting at United States Practical Shooting Association matches, and of course, studying and writing about reptiles.

Read the special issue of The Anatomical Record.