Palaeopathology of a crocodile femur from the Pliocene of eastern Australia

A large fossilized crocodilian left femur recovered from the Pliocene Chinchilla Local Fauna of southeastern Queensland, Australia, exhibits a region of proliferative bone, consistent with an episode of osteitis. The nature and location of the pathology suggest a simple fracture with puncture wounds, possibly the result of a crushing bite of another crocodile, followed by infection. The size and morphology of the femur most closely resembles the now extinct Plio-Pleistocene crocodile Pallimnarchus.