Alligator munensis

Alligator munensis Temporal range: late Middle Pleistocene (possibly Holocene)
Top view of Alligator munensis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauromorpha
Clade:	Archosauriformes
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Alligatoridae
Genus:	Alligator
Species:	A. munensis
Binomial name
Alligator munensis Darlim et al., 2023

Alligator munensis is an extinct species of alligator from the Quaternary of Thailand. After the skull of A. munensis was discovered, it was tentatively assigned to the Chinese alligator before being recognized as a distinct species. Although the two are still considered to be close relatives, the pronounced anatomical differences suggest that the two species split from one another long prior to the Pleistocene, possibly during the uplifting of the Tibetan Plateau during the Miocene. It had a short and robust skull and may have had globular back teeth possibly corresponding to a greater amount of hard-shelled prey items. The nostrils of A. munensis were positioned much further towards the back of the skull than in other alligators, but the function of this is unknown.^[1]