Abstract
The present work describes a new species of Baurusuchidae from Upper Cretaceous sediments of the Bauru Basin, and provides the first complete postcranial description for the family. Many postcranial features observed in the new species are also present in other notosuchian taxa, and are thus considered plesiomorphic for the genus. These are: long cervical neural spines; robust deltopectoral crest of the humerus; large proximal portion in the radiale that contacts the ulna; ulnare anterior distal projection; supra-acetabular crest well developed laterally; post-acetabular process posterodorsally deflected; presence of an anteromedial crest in the femur; fourth trocanter of femur posteriorly positioned; tibia with a laterally curved shaft; calcaneum tuber posteroventrally oriented; osteoderms ornamented with grooves and imbricated in the tail. On the other hand, we found the following sacral and carpal features to be unique among all mesoeucrocodylians analyzed: transverse processes of sacral vertebrae dorsolaterally deflected; presence of a longitudinal crest in the lateral surface of sacral vertebrae; pisiform carpal with a condyle-like surface. The majority of these cited features corroborates a cursorial locomotion for the new species described in the present study, suggesting that members of the family Baurusuchidae were also cursorial species.
Highlights
The family Baurusuchidae was originally erect‐ ed by Price (1945) to allocate Baurusuchus pachecoi, a crocodile known by a partially preserved skull from the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of Bra‐ zil
We analyzed Crocodyliform material from the following institutions: Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP); Museu de Ciências da Terra, De‐ partamento Nacional de Produção Mineral, Rio de Janeiro (DGM); Museu de Paleontologia de Monte Alto (MPMA); Museo Argentino de Ciencias Natu‐ rales, Buenos Aires (MACN); Museo Paleontologico Carlo Ameghino, Cipoletti (MPCA); Museo de La Plata (MLP); Museo Professor Juan Olsacher, Zapa‐ la (MOZ); Museo de La Universidad de Comahue, Neuquén (MUC)
The long cervical neural spines of B. albertoi are noticeable when compared to the relatively short condition of Crocodylia. This feature is present in Notosuchus (Pol, 2005), Mahajangasuchus (Buckley & Brochu, 1999) and Mariliasuchus (MZSP‐PV 50), but in Baurusuchus the cervical neu‐ ral spines are more elongated in relation to the body vertebrae
Summary
The family Baurusuchidae was originally erect‐ ed by Price (1945) to allocate Baurusuchus pachecoi, a crocodile known by a partially preserved skull from the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of Bra‐ zil. Two additional Up‐ per Cretaceous South American terrestrial crocodiles, Cynodontosuchus rothi (Woodward, 1896) and Wargosuchus australis (Martinelli & Pais, 2008), were tenta‐ tively allocated in the Baurusuchidae by most authors (Price, 1959; Gasparini, 1981; Martinelli & Pais, 2008). Their very fragmentary nature does not allow a more accurate evaluation of their phylo‐ genetic position within the notosuchian radiation of South American mesoeucrocodylians. We describe a new species of the genus Baurusuchus represented by a fragmentary skull and an almost complete postcranial skeleton, representing the first detailed postcranial description for the family Baurusuchidae
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