Dr Paul M.J. Burke
@palaeoburke.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden studying the marine reptiles of Skåne (formerly at University College London)
I've been lucky to be a guest on two podcasts to talk about my latest paper on the fossil crocodylian Herugavialis! People Are Fish: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTR6... @palaeocast.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWT2... And the original paper here: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...
Episode 178: Herugavialis
YouTube video by Palaeo cast
youtube.com
Ep178: Herugavialis www.palaeocast.com/herugavialis/ Restudy of a problematic 'false gharial' from the Eocene of Egypt described 100 years ago helps find its place in the gavialoid tree. w/ Dr Paul Burke. #Paleo #Paleontology #Fossil #Evolution #Podcast #Gharial #Crocodilian #Phylogenetics
Here's an article for @uk.theconversation.com on recent work from my @es-ucl.bsky.social group (led by @palaeoburke.bsky.social) + collaborators (inc. @crocsophie.bsky.social) on gavialoid crocodylians, including their ecology, diversity, and the newly named Herugavialis: doi.org/10.64628/AB....
How the Sphinx is helping answer a riddle about extinct crocodiles
New technology is helping to identify extinct fossil species.
doi.org
Researchers have discovered a new species of extinct #crocodile from Egypt, sharing more than just its home with the Great Sphinx. Read the full #RSOS paper: doi.org/10.1098/rsos... #palaeontology @palaeoburke.bsky.social
Back at it after chairing #MarineReptileConf2026 plesiosaur session, now in croc and turtle talks. First is Paul Burke on Aigialosuchus, a Late Cretaceous tethysuchian.
Cranial anatomy of the Middle Eocene Egyptian crocodylian Herugavialis cairensis provides new insights into gavialoid diversity in the Mediterranean region royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...
Cranial anatomy of the Middle Eocene Egyptian crocodylian Herugavialis cairensis provides new insights into gavialoid diversity in the Mediterranean region
Abstract. Gavialoidea is presently composed of only two extant crocodylian species, the Indian gharial Gavialis gangeticus, and the false gharial Tomistoma
royalsocietypublishing.org
Introducing Herugavialis cairensis, a newly recognised Eocene gavialoid crocodylian from Egypt from the same geological formation as the rocks used to build the Sphinx, led by @palaeoburke.bsky.social (with @stephanspiekman.bsky.social + @hesham-sallam.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
a warm welcome to herugavialis cairensis, a gavialoid from middle eocene egypt 🐊 originally described as a species of tomistoma, h. cairensis is redescribed by burke et al. as an early-diverging gavialoid in an #openaccess paper royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article... (art by adel lee)
Introducing Herugavialis cairensis. A new genus of fossil gavialoid crocodylian from the Middle Eocene of Egypt. Recovered from the Mokattam Formation, Herugavialis was found from the same rocks used to build the Great Sphinx and pyramids of Egypt. Read here: doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
Our new paper, on the endocranial anatomy of the ‘thoracosaurs’ is now officially out!! We implemented CT scans to three ‘thoracosaur’ skulls and reconstructed models of the brains and inner ears of these specimens, comparing to the extant Indian gharial! dx.doi.org/10.1111/pala...
The endocranial anatomy of ‘thoracosaur’ crocodyliforms: implications for their ecology and phylogenetic affinities
‘Thoracosaurs’ are Late Cretaceous to early Palaeogene longirostrine eusuchian crocodyliforms from coastal marine deposits in Europe and North America. Their phylogenetic placement is debated; wherea...
dx.doi.org
Really excited to finally see this out and grateful to everyone who contributed, including @palaeoburke.bsky.social @pdmannion.bsky.social & @nathandehaut.bsky.social Also a huge thank you to @thepalass.bsky.social for publishing our work!
🌊🐊 Were some of the earliest crocodylians venturing into the sea? 🦴 For our new paper in Palaeontology, we CT-scanned three skulls of “thoracosaurs” and found clues for a shallow-marine lifestyle in these enigmatic critters. ➡ doi.org/10.1111/pala... ️📖
Our new paper led by @devinhoffman.bsky.social + @piginatutu.bsky.social on growth in mekosuchine crocodylians, with implications for their extinction versus the survival of Crocodylus in Australasia (+ @houssayecnrs.bsky.social, @rnf.bsky.social, @reddirtpalaeo.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
World, here is your Crocodile Brain Encyclopedia. Our new paper, which details the internal cranial anatomy of over 43 crocodylian species is finally out! Read here: doi.org/10.1111/joa.... @pdmannion.bsky.social
Computed tomography reveals the endocranial anatomy of Crocodylia: Implications for phylogenetic relationships and ecomorphological convergence across Crocodylomorpha
The evaluation of the endocranial anatomy of 43 crocodylian species reveals several differences, including variation in the curvature of the encephalic endocast, the size of the endosseous labyrinth ...
doi.org
If you've ever wondered what the inside of a crocodile's skull looks like, wonder no more! Here are 43 of them in our new paper led by @palaeoburke.bsky.social in which we evaluate endocranial anatomy across extant + fossil crocodylians 🐊: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @es-ucl.bsky.social
Computed tomography reveals the endocranial anatomy of Crocodylia: Implications for phylogenetic relationships and ecomorphological convergence across Crocodylomorpha
The evaluation of the endocranial anatomy of 43 crocodylian species reveals several differences, including variation in the curvature of the encephalic endocast, the size of the endosseous labyrinth ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
New paper on the internal anatomy of the skull of the Early Cretaceous crocodyliform Pholidosaurus, with evidence for oceanic capability, led by Sapienza Università di Roma PhD student Leonardo Barbini, with @palaeoburke.bsky.social (@es-ucl.bsky.social): onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
New paper out on the endocranial anatomy of the the Purbeck Limestone's own Pholidosaurus purbeckensis! 🐊 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Endocranial anatomy of the earliest cretaceous European neosuchian crocodyliform Pholidosaurus purbeckensis provides new evidence for the ecological evolution of Pholidosauridae
We present new insights into the internal cranial anatomy of the neosuchian crocodyliform Pholidosaurus purbeckensis, based on CT-scan data of material from the lowermost Cretaceous Purbeck Limestone...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Our paper re-evaluating the notosuchian Eremosuchus elkoholicus is out now! This work formed a chapter of my PhD thesis, and sheds some light on the complex evolutionary history of sebecid crocodyliforms 🐊🌎 @es-ucl.bsky.social
Dr Paul M.J. Burke@palaeoburke.bsky.social · 12mo agoNew paper on the notosuchian Eremosuchus by @piginatutu.bsky.social, co-authored by myself and @pdmannion.bsky.social among others out now!! We even find some cool evidence of replacement teeth in the dentary! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
New paper on the notosuchian Eremosuchus by @piginatutu.bsky.social, co-authored by myself and @pdmannion.bsky.social among others out now!! We even find some cool evidence of replacement teeth in the dentary! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
A re-evaluation of the notosuchian crocodyliform Eremosuchus elkoholicus from the lower Eocene of Algeria and the evolutionary and biogeographic history of sebecids
Notosuchian systematics have been highly debated in recent decades, particularly the placement of sebecids and closely related species. As the only notosuchian lineage to have survived the Cretaceo...
tandfonline.com
🚨New Pub!🚨A re-evaluation of the notosuchian crocodyliform Eremosuchus elkoholicus from the lower Eocene of Algeria and the evolutionary and biogeographic history of sebecids🐊🇩🇿By Nicholl et al. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Making my way home after a great #SVP2025 in Birmingham, thank you for everyone who gave me such lovely, kind feedback after my Romer talk!! Big up the crocs 🐊
Last week I successfully defended my PhD and became a doctor of crocs! 🐊
