Gondwanasuchus scabrosus gen. et sp. nov., a new terrestrial predatory?crocodyliform (Mesoeucrocodylia: Baurusuchidae) from?the?Late Cretaceous Bauru Basin of Brazil

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• 作者：Thiago da Silva Marinho ; Fabiano Vidoi Iori ; Ismar de Souza Carvalho ; Felipe Mesquita de Vasconcellos
• 关键词：Gondwanasuchus scabrosus ; Baurusuchidae ; Crocodyliformes ; Bauru Basin ; Late Cretaceous
• 刊名：Cretaceous Research
• 出版年：2013
• 出版时间：August, 2013
• 年：2013
• 卷：44
• 期：Complete
• 页码：104-111
• 全文大小：2159 K

文摘

Baurusuchids are among the most common and diverse crocodyliform fossils from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Basin of Brazil. This inland continental basin was the habitat of a rich crocodyliform fauna containing five mesoeucrocodylian families, of which the Baurusuchidae represents highly specialized predatory crocodyliforms of terrestrial habits as indicated by their dental, cranial, and postcranial features. The large size they achieved, together with likely predatory adaptations, would suggest they competed and occupied theropod ecological niches in the Bauru Basin. Here we describe Gondwanasuchus scabrosus gen. et sp. nov., a medium-sized baurusuchid with a strongly laterally compressed skull, bearing unique dentition with deep apicobasal sulci and probably well-developed binocular vision. The cranial and dental features in Gondwanasuchus suggest that this active predator would have fed on small vertebrates and took the role of small theropods in terrestrial guild. Gondwanasuchus is the most distinctive baurusuchid known to date and enriches the knowledge on these important Gondwanan terrestrial predatory crocodyliforms.