Wessex Formation Research Articles

A new sauropod dinosaur hindlimb from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation, Isle of Wight, UK.

The Barremian-aged Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, UK, offers a globally significant glimpse into the sauropod dinosaur faunas of the early Cretaceous. These deposits have yielded specimens of several neosauropod lineages, such as rebbachisaurids, titanosauriforms (including some of the earliest titanosaur remains), and possible flagellicaudatans. Here, we report an undescribed sauropod partial hindlimb from the Wessex Formation (NHMUK PV R16500) and analyse its phylogenetic affinities. This hindlimb preserves the left tibia, astragalus and pes, lacking only a few phalanges. NHMUK PV R16500 can be diagnosed based on two autapomorphies: an unusually high distal end to midshaft transverse width ratio in metatarsals III and IV, and the presence of small bump-like projections located in the centre of the proximal articular surfaces of the unguals of pedal digits I and II. The phylogenetic affinities of NHMUK PV R16500 are uncertain: although our analyses recover it as an early-branching somphospondylan, a single character change moves it to close to Flagellicaudata when extended implied weighting is applied. The possibility of flagellicaudatan affinities for NHMUK PV R16500 implies a potential ghost lineage that survived the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary; however, we present evidence that the somphospondylan position is more probable and should be preferred.

Palaeoenvironment and taphonomy of the Hypsilophodon Bed, Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation, Isle of Wight

The ‘ Hypsilophodon Bed’ occurs at the top of the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian) on the Isle of Wight, England. Numerous remains of the small ornithopod dinosaur Hypsilophodon foxii have been recovered from the bed since the mid-19th century. Previous theories for these fossil occurrences have focused on catastrophic mass death events including miring and flood-related mortality. However, only limited sedimentological and taphonomic analyses of the horizon and its fossil assemblage have been undertaken, hindering efforts to evaluate different theories for how the assemblage formed. Here, we undertake a sedimentological study of the bed to constrain its depositional environment, examine matrix from Hypsilophodon fossils to identify where they were collected from within the bed, and undertake taphonomic investigation of Hypsilophodon specimens. Results reveal a floodplain which became a marsh and then mudflats at the edge of a lagoon. Hypsilophodon fossils are spatially and stratigraphically distributed throughout the bed. Specimens are largely incomplete and unabraded suggesting most perished on or near to the floodplain and may have lain exposed for some time prior to burial. Overall, evidence suggests the fossil assemblage of the Hypsilophodon Bed formed as an accumulation of remains over time.

Comptonatus chasei, a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England

A new iguanodontian dinosaur, Comptonatus chasei gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight. These strata provide an important record of a critical time in the development of iguanodontian diversity. The specimen, which is described here for the first time, was found and excavated in 2013 and represents the most complete iguanodontian skeleton discovered in the Wealden Group for a century. A new taxon is diagnosed by several autapomorphies found in the neurocranium, teeth, coracoid and other parts of the body, together with a unique suite of characters. These include a dentary with a straight ventral border, and a markedly expanded prepubic blade. These features set it apart from the sympatric Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis, Brighstoneus simmondsi and Iguanodon cf. bernissartensis, increasing the known diversity of this clade in the Barremian–early Aptian of England. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2F3125A5-BDEF-4835-8829-92104752A86F

Vectidromeus insularis, a new hypsilophodontid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England

The Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, UK, has produced a diverse dinosaurian fauna over the past 150 years. Hypsilophodontids are the most common small dinosaurs in the assemblage. Currently all hypsilophodontids are referred to Hypsilophodon foxii, originally described based on skulls and skeletons from the Hypsilophodon bed near Cowleaze Chine, in the uppermost Wessex Formation. We report a new hypsilophodontid, Vectidromeus insularis gen. et sp. nov., from exposures near Sudmoor Point, lying at the base of the exposed Wessex, ∼150 m below the Hypsilophodon beds. Associated elements of the dorsal vertebrae, pelvis, hindlimbs, and tail are preserved. The specimen represents a juvenile, but differs from adult and juvenile Hypsilophodon foxii in the short and deep posterior iliac blade, short pubic peduncle, laterally exposed brevis fossa, rectangular ischia, and large fourth trochanter. Vectidromeus adds to the diversity of dinosaurs in the Wessex Formation. With other putative hypsilophodontids now assigned to other families, the Hypsilophodontidae currently comprises just Hypsilophodon and Vectidromeus, both from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight. Hypsilophodontidae appear to be endemic to the Early Cretaceous of Europe.

A well preserved pan-pleurodiran (Dortokidae) turtle from the English Lower Cretaceous and the first radiometric date for the Wessex Formation (Hauterivian–Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

The oldest record of a dortokid turtle (Testudines, Pan-Pleurodira) and the first occurrence of the group in the UK is reported. This find corresponds to the oldest pan-pleurodiran turtle in the country, and the only one from the Mesozoic of the UK. The new specimen, from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, comprises a relatively complete shell with post cranial elements within a calcite-filled shell vacuity. Micro CT scanning has revealed these tiny bones to include cervical, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, scapulae, pelvic girdle and appendicular elements. In addition, aspects of the internal morphology of the carapace and plastron are revealed. No features allow the new specimen to be distinguished from the coeval Eodortoka morellana of Spain, and we therefore identify it as Eodortoka cf. morellana.The specimen was found ex-situ, and due to questions raised regarding the provenance of the specimen, U–Pb geochronology of the diagenetic calcite filling was performed to establish the age of the specimen. Previously, it has been challenging to determine absolute timing constraints for the Wessex Formation fossil material due to lack of minerals dateable with radiometric techniques. This analysis has thus provided the first radiometric date for the Wessex Formation of 127.3 ± 2.7 Ma.

Vectipelta barretti, a new ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, UK

The Wealden Group of southern England was deposited by rivers, on floodplains and in lagoons during the Early Cretaceous. Two historically significant ankylosaurs, Polacanthus and Hylaeosaurus, are currently known from its deposits; Hylaeosaurus from the ‘lower Wealden fauna’ and Polacanthus from the ‘upper Wealden fauna’. Here, we describe a new genus and species of ankylosaur from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, which is characterized by numerous postcranial autapomorphies. Vectipelta barretti gen. et sp. nov. is 6–8 million years older than Polacanthus, and at least 3 million years younger than Hylaeosaurus, suggesting a more complicated pattern of faunal turnover in the Wealden Group than previously realized. Vectipelta does not appear to be closely related to either of the other Wealden taxa, but instead is found in a clade with two Chinese ankylosaurs, suggesting a complex pattern of dispersal to and from Europe, North America and Asia during the Early Cretaceous. The historic practise of cataloguing all ankylosaur material from the Wessex Formation as ‘Polacanthus’ has potentially prevented a diversity of taxa from being discovered, and new and existing material in museum collections should be re-appraised using an autapomorphy-driven approach. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0B19B56E-971D-4316-A92C-FC9AB29BBC38

Microvertebrate-rich gutter casts from the basal Wessex Formation (Wealden Group, Lower Cretaceous) of Dungy Head, Dorset: Insights into the palaeoecology and palaeoenvironment of a non-marine wetland

A detailed taxonomic, taphonomic and sedimentological examination of a newly discovered microvertebrate-rich horizon within the non-marine, Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation (Wealden Group) of Dungy Head, Dorset, aids the ecological and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of southern England's Early Cretaceous wetlands. Historically, the Wessex Formation of Dungy Head has been neglected due to its partially vegetated state and landslipped coastal exposure; here the section's palaeontological and stratigraphical significance is realised. Non-marine, cypridoidean ostracods indicate a depositional age of late Berriasian–early Valanginian; consequently, the faunal assemblage recorded here represents the oldest fauna to be described from the Wessex Formation to date. Significantly, winnow-induced gutter casts are shown to be an important repository of mixed aquatic and terrestrial microvertebrate remains. Hydraulic sorting within a fluvial environment has resulted in the formation of multi-taxic, microvertebrate-rich gutter casts that through close lateral and stratigraphical association form a unique, bone-rich taphofacies. The recorded assemblage is typical of wetland biodiversity containing a minimum of 25 taxa including, non-marine molluscs, ostracods, elasmobranchs, osteichthyans, and tetrapods. Importantly, the gutter casts permit the taxonomic evaluation of a primarily aquatic biota in which albuliform fishes are recorded from the Wessex Formation for the first time. The biota also includes a diverse elasmobranch fauna, including hybodontoid sharks and a rhinobatid ray. Furthermore, lepidosaurs, including both scincomorphs and, tentatively, an anguimorph, are confirmed in the Wessex Formation of Dorset.

The osteology and affinities of Eotyrannus lengi, a tyrannosauroid theropod from the Wealden Supergroup of southern England.

Eotyrannus lengi Hutt et al., 2001 from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation (part of the Wealden Supergroup) of the Isle of Wight, southern England, is described in detail, compared with other theropods, and evaluated in a new phylogenetic analysis. Eotyrannus is represented by a single individual that would have been c. 4.5 m long; it preserves the anterior part of the skull, a partial forelimb and pectoral girdle, various cervical, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, rib fragments, part of the ilium, and hindlimb elements excluding the femur. Lack of fusion with regard to both neurocentral and sacral sutures indicates subadult status. Eotyrannus possesses thickened, fused, pneumatic nasals with deep lateral recesses, elongate, tridactyl forelimbs and a tyrannosaurid-like scapulocoracoid. The short preantorbital ramus of the maxilla and nasals that are approximately seven times longer than they are wide show that Eotyrannus was not longirostrine. A posterodorsally inclined ridge on the ilium’s lateral surface fails to reach the dorsal margin: a configuration seen elsewhere in Juratyrant. Eotyrannus is not arctometatarsalian. Autapomorphies include the presence of curving furrows on the dentary, a block-like humeral entepicondyle, and a distoproximally aligned channel close to the distolateral border of the tibia. Within Tyrannosauroidea, E. lengi is phylogenetically intermediate between Proceratosauridae and Yutyrannus and the clade that includes Xiongguanlong, Megaraptora, Dryptosaurus and Tyrannosauridae. We do not find support for a close affinity between Eotyrannus and Juratyrant. Our analysis supports the inclusion of Megaraptora within Tyrannosauroidea and thus increases Cretaceous tyrannosauroid diversity and disparity. A proposal that Eotyrannus might belong within Megaraptora, however, is based on character states not present in the taxon. Several theropods from the Wessex Formation are based on material that overlaps with the E. lengi holotype but none can be shown to be synonymous with it.

A rare pelvic fracture in a Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight.

A partial axial skeleton of a Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis was recovered by the author west of Hanover Point, Compton Bay, Isle of 26-34)(figure 1). The site was within a Wessex Formation plant debris bed of Barremian age, Lower Cretaceous.

A European giant: a large spinosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Vectis Formation (Wealden Group, Early Cretaceous), UK.

Postcranial elements (cervical, sacral and caudal vertebrae, as well as ilium, rib and limb bone fragments) belonging to a gigantic tetanuran theropod were recovered from the basal unit (the White Rock Sandstone equivalent) of the Vectis Formation near Compton Chine, on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight. These remains appear to pertain to the same individual, with enormous dimensions similar to those of the Spinosaurus holotype and exceeding those of the largest European theropods previously reported. A combination of features—including the presence of spinodiapophyseal webbing on an anterior caudal vertebra—suggest that this is a member of Spinosauridae, though a lack of convincing autapomorphies precludes the identification of a new taxon. Phylogenetic analysis supports spinosaurid affinities but we were unable to determine a more precise position within the clade weak support for a position within Spinosaurinae or an early-diverging position within Spinosauridae were found in some data runs. Bioerosion in the form of curved tubes is evident on several pieces, potentially related to harvesting behaviour by coleopteran bioeroders. This is the first spinosaurid reported from the Vectis Formation and the youngest British material referred to the clade. This Vectis Formation spinosaurid is unusual in that the majority of dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous units of the Wealden Supergroup are from the fluviolacustrine deposits of the underlying Barremian Wessex Formation. In contrast, the lagoonal facies of the upper Barremian–lower Aptian Vectis Formation only rarely yield dinosaur material. Our conclusions are in keeping with previous studies that emphasise western Europe as a pivotal region within spinosaurid origination and diversification.

A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography

The Lower Cretaceous of England has produced a diverse assemblage of dinosaurs, including ornithischians, sauropods, and theropods. The origins of this assemblage are poorly understood. Here, we describe a new dromaeosaurid, Vectiraptor greeni gen. et sp. nov., from the Barremian Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight. The animal is represented by associated dorsal vertebrae and a partial sacrum. Dorsal vertebrae are short, with pleurocoels, camellate pneumatization, stalked parapophyses and enlarged neural canals. Neural spines are tall, with large ligament scars. Sacral centra lack pleurocoels but have large neural canals and foramina suggesting pneumatization. These characters suggest affinities with Dromaeosauridae and specifically the derived, large-bodied Eudromaeosauria. Vectiraptor resembles Early Cretaceous eudromaeosaurs from North America, suggesting a faunal exchange between Europe and North America. The diverse Early Cretaceous dinosaur assemblage found in England and Europe resulted from dispersal from North America, Asia, and West Gondwana, likely involving both land bridges and oceanic dispersal. Europe served as a biotic crossroads in the Early Cretaceous, allowing faunal interchange between landmasses.

New spinosaurids from the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, UK) and the European origins of Spinosauridae

Spinosaurids are among the most distinctive and yet poorly-known of large-bodied theropod dinosaurs, a situation exacerbated by their mostly fragmentary fossil record and competing views regarding their palaeobiology. Here, we report two new Early Cretaceous spinosaurid specimens from the Wessex Formation (Barremian) of the Isle of Wight. Large-scale phylogenetic analyses using parsimony and Bayesian techniques recover the pair in a new clade within Baryonychinae that also includes the hypodigm of the African spinosaurid Suchomimus. Both specimens represent distinct and novel taxa, herein named Ceratosuchops inferodios gen. et sp. nov. and Riparovenator milnerae gen. et sp. nov. A palaeogeographic reconstruction suggests a European origin for Spinosauridae, with at least two dispersal events into Africa. These new finds provide welcome information on poorly sampled areas of spinosaurid anatomy, suggest that sympatry was present and potentially common in baryonychines and spinosaurids as a whole, and contribute to updated palaeobiogeographic reconstructions for the clade.

A new hadrosauriform dinosaur from the Wessex Formation, Wealden Group (Early Cretaceous), of the Isle of Wight, southern England

A new genus and species of non-hadrosaurid hadrosauriform dinosaur, Brighstoneus simmondsi gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight. The new taxon has two autapomorphies, a nasal having a modest nasal bulla with convex sides, and primary and accessory ridges on the lingual aspect of the maxillary crown. The dentary has at least 28 alveolar positions, which is the highest number recorded in an ornithopod with non-parallel sided alveoli, creating a character combination that is unique within Iguanodontia. The hadrosauriform fauna of the Barremian–Aptian Wealden Group on both the Isle of Wight and mainland England has been represented for almost a century by just two taxa, the robust Iguanodon bernissartensis and the more gracile Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis, with referred material often being fragmentary or based on unassociated elements. This discovery increases the known hadrosauriform diversity in England and, together with recent discoveries in Spain, suggests that their diversity in the upper Wealden of Europe was considerably wider than initially realized. This find also has important implications for the validity of the Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis hypodigm, and a reassessment of existing material is suggested. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:31F0D48F-C1DA-406E-A811-1F5937ED19F4

First record of intact equisetalean strobili from the Wealden (Lower Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight, southern England

Two excellently preserved small strobili were obtained from a Wealden plant debris bed in the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation, south-east of Chilton Chine, on the Isle of Wight, southern England. The strobili are preserved as compressions and show the characteristic morphology of sporangiophore heads of Equisetales. Based on the morphology of the strobili, attribution to a certain species is not warranted. Therefore, the strobili have been left unassigned in the fossil-genus Equisetostachys which is commonly used for isolated strobili of fossil sphenophytes. From their size, shape and constitution, the strobili are interpreted as immature; the absence of preserved sporangia and spores is consequently not unexpected. Affiliation with Equisetum burchardtii might be an option. The strobili represent the first record of any equisetalean or sphenophyte remains from the Wessex Sub-basin of the English Wealden and are thus of considerable importance. The find is especially significant because previously known specimens from the Weald Sub-basin and the German Wealden are confined to subterranean rhizomes, adventitious roots, tubers and bases of aerial shoots, commonly preserved in situ, together with only fragmentary remains of sporangiophore heads from disarticulated strobili. These strobili finds are thus the first intact equisetalean reproductive structures from the Wealden of either England or Germany.

The Wessex Formation (Wealden Group, Lower Cretaceous) of Swanage Bay, southern England

The Early Cretaceous Wealden Group of Swanage Bay, Dorset, southern England, comprises two formations, a lower Wessex Formation and an overlying Vectis Formation. Presently only part of the former is exposed and here its stratigraphy, sedimentology and palaeontology are redescribed. Recent work on the Wealden Group of the Wessex Sub-basin has focused either on the Barremian – earliest Aptian of the Isle of Wight, or on the Wealden Group of Dorset in a broader context. Consequently, the Wealden Group of Swanage Bay lacks detailed analysis and description. In the 200 years since the first account of the geology and stratigraphy of Swanage Bay, slumping and vegetation growth have dramatically concealed the upper part of the Group at this previously well-known locality. A stratigraphical framework with assigned marker beds is established here for the first time allowing for the precise placement of new palaeontological discoveries. Analysis of the palaeobotanical and microvertebrate remains recovered from the recorded section permits a more accurate reconstruction of the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation ecosystem of east Dorset.

Osteology and Taxonomy of British Wealden Supergroup (Berriasian–aptian) Ankylosaurs (Ornithischia, Ankylosauria)

ABSTRACT Ankylosaurs, dinosaurs possessing extensive body armor, were significant components of terrestrial ecosystems from the Middle Jurassic–latest Cretaceous. They diversified during the Early Cretaceous, becoming globally widespread. The Lower Cretaceous Wealden Supergroup (Berriasian–Aptian) of Britain has produced abundant ankylosaur material, with three currently recognized taxa: Hylaeosaurus armatus (Grinstead Clay Formation, West Sussex); Polacanthus foxii (Wessex Formation, Isle of Wight); and Horshamosaurus rudgwickensis (Weald Clay Group, West Sussex). However, these taxa are poorly understood; the initial descriptions of Hylaeosaurus and Polacanthus date from the 1800s and subsequent referrals of specimens have been based largely on provenance rather than morphological comparisons. This has led to uncertainty over the definitions of these taxa and the compositions of their hypodigms. Here, we redescribe the holotypes of Hylaeosaurus and Polacanthus, provide comparisons between these taxa, and use this information to assess the taxonomy of all ankylosaur specimens from the British Wealden Supergroup. We conclude that Hylaeosaurus and Polacanthus are valid, distinct taxa, which can be diagnosed by a combination of autapomorphies and a unique combination of characters. However, in both cases, we restrict their hypodigms to the holotypes. ‘Horshamosaurus rudgwickensis’ is a nomen dubium (an indeterminate nodosaurid dinosaur) and the majority of ankylosaur specimens from the Wealden Supergroup are taxonomically indeterminate. Hylaeosaurus and Polacanthus are separated stratigraphically, with Hylaeosaurus from the Valanginian of the Weald Sub-basin and Polacanthus from the Barremian of the Wessex Sub-basin. This separation supports the hypothesis of distinct lower and upper dinosaur faunas in the Wealden Supergroup of Britain.

First tapejarid pterosaur from the Wessex Formation (Wealden Group: Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the United Kingdom

An isolated, partial premaxilla from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation of Yaverland, Isle of Wight, UK is identified as pterosaurian on account of its overall morphology and thin bone walls. It is regarded as a tapejarid on account of it unique downturned tip with a unique pattern of slit-like foramina on its occlusal surface, while a combination of sensory foramina and lateral outline identify it as a new genus and species, Wightia declivirostris gen. et sp. nov. The downturn of the occlusal margin lies beyond the anterior margin of the nasoantorbital fenestra suggesting affinities with Sinopterus from China rather than South American tapejarids such as Tapejara, Tupandactylus and Caiuajara. This specimen is the first record of Tapejaridae in the Wessex Formation, and is amongst the oldest record of the Tapejaridae outside of China.

A remarkable dropstone from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England

A remarkably large, derived, metamorphic clast of Palaeozoic aspect weighing approximately 20 kg was recently recovered from a plant debris bed occurring in the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian), fluvial, lacustrine and terrestrial Wessex Formation exposed on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight, southern England. It is interpreted as a dropstone transported in tree roots from a source locality on the Cornubian Massif. During the Early Cretaceous the eastern extremity of this has been estimated to be some 110 km to the west of the collection locality. Polished extrabasinal clasts of similar lithology are commonly encountered in the Wessex Formation but all recorded to date are much smaller and the majority have been interpreted as gastroliths, although some must be dropstones. The occurrence of this clast demonstrates long distance, floating transport of large root systems and therefore the potential to transport, over long distances, some of the logs and dinosaur remains encountered in the Wessex Formation. Direct evidence for this has been lacking until now and it suggests that some of the dinosaurs recorded from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight may not have been floodplain residents or visitors.

Additional evidence for very large wing-span pterosaurs in the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian) of southern England

A partial distal left metacarpal IV of a pterodactyloid pterosaur is notable for its size. The specimen, from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation exposed on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, southern England is identified as an ornithocheirid, perhaps close to the Ornithocheirus, Coloborhynchus, Caulkicephalus, Anhanguera complex. A morphometric analysis suggests an original wing span of approximately 5.6 m. With an early Barremian age, this pterosaur would have been a giant for its time.

A new species of Anteophthalmosuchus (Crocodylomorpha, Goniopholididae) from the Lower Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, and a review of the genus

A new species of goniopholidid crocodyliform, Anteophthalmosuchus epikrator sp. nov., is herein described based on two specimens from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, UK. These specimens were previously referred to the type species Anteophthalmosuchus hooleyi. In addition, we provide a comprehensive redescription of the A. hooleyi holotype. The new species has several skull table and iliac morphological characteristics that distinguish it from A. hooleyi, such as: sub-square supratemporal fossae; thicker iliac crest that is not positioned low at the anterior iliac margin; absence of a bulge formed by the anterior convergence of the iliac and supraacetabular crests; a ‘wasp-waisted’ postacetabular process; and, a comparatively deeper acetabular fossa. The evolutionary relationships of A. epikrator were assessed in phylogenetic analyses that affirmed its status as a distinct species that is closely related to A. hooleyi. An additional Anteophthalmosuchus specimen from Belgium, the so called ‘Dollo's goniopholidid’, recently assigned to A. hooleyi is here referred to A. epikrator, based on the shared autapomorphies, and moreover, the results from the phylogenetic analyses which confirm the ‘Dollo's goniopholidid’ close affinity with the new species. Intriguingly, two of our cladistic analyses yielded a paraphyletic Anteophthalmosuchus in regards to the Spanish Anteophthalmosuchus species, A. escuchae, which was recovered forming a trichotomy with Hulkeopholis spp. The exclusion of A. escuchae from the cladistic analysis not only restored the monophyletic status of Anteophthalmosuchus, but also resolved previously found unsettled relationships within Goniopholididae. The most likely reason for this puzzling phylogenetic outcome is the relatively fragmentary nature of the Spanish Anteophthalmosuchus specimens, therefore, necessitating further study of new material in order to help elucidate its taxonomic relationships.