A long-snouted Late Cretaceous crocodyliform, Terminonaris cf. T. browni, from the Carlile Shale (Turonian) of Kansas

Abstract

We describe the first record of Terminonaris cf. T. browni Osborn, 1904 (Reptilia: Crocodyliformes) from the Fairport Chalk Member of the Carlile Shale (Upper Cretaceous: lower Middle Turonian) in Russell County, Kansas. The specimen is a partial rostrum consisting of fused nasals with parts of co-ossified maxillae. This new fossil record is significant because it is the geologically youngest Terminonaris specimen, the first Terminonaris specimen from Kansas, the sixth known specimen of the genus, and the southernmost occurrence in North America. Because Terminonaris is thought to have been a nearshore inhabitant, its occurrence in the Fairport Chalk, which is an offshore deposit, suggests that the specimen was transported for a long distance before its deposition.