Epoidesuchus, new peirosaurid notosuchian from Late Cretaceous of Brazil + mosasaur fossils from Cretaceous of Colombia

[Ben Creisler]

Ben Creisler

bcre...@gmail.com

New papers:

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Epoidesuchus tavaresae gen. et. sp. nov.

Juan V. Ruiz, Marcos V. L. Queiroz, Kawan C. Martins, Pedro L. Godoy, Fabiano V. Iori, Max C. Langer, Felipe C. Montefeltro & Mario Bronzati (2024)
A new Peirosauridae (Crocodyliformes, Notosuchia) from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous), with a revised phylogenetic analysis of Sebecia
The Anatomical Record (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25559
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25559


Peirosauridae (Crocodyliformes, Notosuchia) is one of the fossil lineages of crocodyliforms ubiquitous in the Cretaceous deposits of the Bauru Basin. Here, we describe a new species of a longirostrine Peirosauridae from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Basin, Late Cretaceous). The specimen consists of a partially preserved skull with a cranial roof, interorbital region, and fragments of the posterior portion of the rostrum, including the prefrontal and lacrimal; left hemimandible, with 14 alveoli and 12 teeth; and a single cervical rib fragment. The specimen is associated with Peirosauridae by three cranial synapomorphies, and it can be assigned to a new genus and species by presenting seven cranial and one tooth apomorphies. To clarify the position of the new taxon, an updated phylogenetic analysis was performed with increased sampling of taxa of Notosuchia, especially Peirosauridae, and phylogenetically relevant characters. Our results indicated the monophyly of Peirosauridae, formed by two main lineages, the oreinirostral and presumably terrestrial Peirosaurinae and the longirostrine and presumably semi-aquatic Pepesuchinae. The recovering of both lineages as distinct entities was also reinforced through a morphospace analysis. Pepesuchinae were notable by exploring a position of the morphospace not explored by any other Notosuchia. Their longer rostra and the assumption of them being gradually specialized to aquatic habits reflects the unique diversity of these crocodyliforms through the Cretaceous deposits of South America and Africa.

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Juan S. López-Rueda, Michael J. Polcyn, Johan Lindgren, Luis E. Cruz-Guevara & Andrés S. Rodríguez-Sañudo (2024)
Mosasaur (Reptilia, Mosasauridae) remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Colombia, including the first occurrence of the genus Globidens
Cretaceous Research 105997
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105997
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667124001708

Isolated mosasaur teeth and vertebrae recovered from beds of the Guadalupe Group of central Boyacá, Colombia, are reported. A partial tooth crown identified as Globidens sp., found in the Labor-Tierna Formation (Maastrichtian), represents the first report of this genus from northern South America and its most equatorial occurrence. A tooth crown recovered from the Plaeners Formation (upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian), represents the youngest record of the subfamily Plioplatecarpinae in Colombia. These occurrences collectively constitute the youngest record of the family Mosasauridae in Colombia and expand both the taxonomic diversity and biogeography of mosasaurids in northern South America.

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[Mickey Mortimer]

I'd like to note the free supplementary information for Epoidesuchus includes a proof version, so is almost as good as the final version.  I'd love to see more authors doing this.

Mickey Mortimer