Quinkana

Quinkana is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylians that lived in Australia from about 25 million to about 20,000 years ago, with the majority of fossils having been found in Queensland. Four species are currently recognized, all of which have been named between 1981 and 1997. The two best understood species are Q. fortirostrum, the type species, and Q. timara, a more gracile form from the Miocene. The other two species, Q. babarra and Q. meboldi, from the Pliocene and Oligocene respectively, are only known from a few poorly preserved bone fragments. The name Quinkana comes from the "Quinkans", a legendary folk spirit from Gugu-Yalanji mythology. Quinkana is primarily known for its ziphodont teeth, meaning they were recurved, serrated and possessed flattened sides that gave them a blade-like shape. However, technically such teeth are only known from two species, as the basal-most form lacked serrations while the holotype of Quinkana fortirostrum did not preserve teeth in its alveoli. The genus is distinguishable by the combination of these ziphodont teeth and a deep, altirostral skull that is sometimes compared to those of sebecosuchians and planocraniids, leading some early researchers to mistakenly assign Quinkana to said groups. Quinkana is typically estimated to be around 3 m (10 ft) in length and to weigh around 200 kg (440 lb), though some remains from the Pliocene could suggest an even greater size. However, these estimates are based on fragmentary specimens and dimensions of related genera as there have been no complete Quinkana specimens found. The genus has been argued amongst paleontologists to be either terrestrial or semi-aquatic, with both sides providing a variety of arguments. Academic analysis cites comparative morphologies as indicators of Quinkana's habitation to be terrestrial, commonly comparing the anatomy of the crocodilian to other, more definitively terrestrial crocodylomorphs from the Mesozoic...