Paludirex

Paludirex (meaning "swamp king") is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylians from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Australia. Remains of this animal have been found in the Riversleigh lagerstätte of northwestern Queensland. It was a medium-sized crocodilian, estimated to grow to at least 4 metres in length. In 1886 Charles Walter De Vis informally described Pallimnarchus pollens based on fragmentary cranomandibular and osteoderm material discovered around 1860 that was mineralised by apatite. While this marked the first fossil crocodile ever described from Australia, the name was merely coined "out of convenience". Regardless the name came to widespread use with a variety of specimens being referred in addition to the syntype specimens. In 1997 a second species was named by Paul Willis and Ralph Molnar, Pallimnarchus gracilis. Given the fragmentary remains of the material the genus was based on, consisting of eight different pieces most likely belonging to multiple specimens and even taxa, a lectotype was established by Molnar in 1982. This lectotype, the anterior portion of a mandible (specimen QMF1149) was chosen as it was significantly more complete than the material the genus was previously based on. The mandible most likely belonged to an immature specimen, possibly 3 meters in length. Molnar's description was based on comparing Pallimnarchus to only 4 other species of crocodilians. The Saltwater Crocodile, Freshwater Crocodile, New Guinea Crocodile and Quinkana. While this was reasonable at the time, many more genera of crocodilians have been described from Australia since then, rendering the proportional differences between it and members of the genus Crocodylus and Quinkana insufficient. Furthermore, the specimen was lost some time during the 1990s to late 2000s, with only a small piece of the right mandible being rediscovered in 2004. Neither the rediscovered remains, description or illustrations of the lectotype were able to provide definitive autapomorphies.