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A new alligatoroid (Eusuchia, Crocodylia) from the Eocene of China and its implications for the relationships of Orientalosuchina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Hsi-yin Shan ,
Xiao-Chun Wu Open the ORCID record for Xiao-Chun Wu [Opens in a new window] ,
Tamaki Sato ,
Yen-nien Cheng  and
Scott Rufolo
Hsi-yin Shan
Affiliation:
National Museum of Natural Science, 1 Guanqian RD., Taichung40453, China ,
Xiao-Chun Wu*
Affiliation:
Canadian Museum of Nature, PO Box 3443 STN“D”, Ottawa, ONKIP 6P4, Canada ,
Tamaki Sato
Affiliation:
Tokyo Gakugei University, 4-1-1 Nukui Kita Machi, Koganei City, Tokyo184-8501, Japan
Yen-nien Cheng
Affiliation:
National Museum of Natural Science, 1 Guanqian RD., Taichung40453, China ,
Scott Rufolo
Affiliation:
Canadian Museum of Nature, PO Box 3443 STN“D”, Ottawa, ONKIP 6P4, Canada ,
*
*Corresponding author
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Abstract

A new crocodylian, Dongnanosuchus hsui n. gen. n. sp., is described mainly based on four well-preserved skulls from the Eocene Youganwo Formation of the Maoming Basin, southeastern China. It is an alligatoroid and phylogenetically nested within the Orientalosuchina. Dongnanosuchus hsui n. gen. n. sp. differs from all other orientalosuchines primarily in certain features of the skull: (1) a preorbital ridge connects posteriorly with the dorsal orbital rim and a ridge around the anteroventral margin of the orbit, (2) the palatine is short and does not reach the posterior border of the suborbital fenestra, (3) the external mandibular fenestra is closed, and (4) the splenial joins the formation of the mandibular symphysis. The discovery of Dongnanosuchus hsui n. gen. n. sp. confirms the monophyly and North American origin of the Orientalosuchina but suggests that the clade dispersed to Asia via Beringia after diverging from the mainline rather than a sub-lineage of the Alligatoroidea in the Late Cretaceous.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/f8ca22f1-6323-462e-bf32-03c6a164c82e.

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Journal of Paleontology , Volume 95 , Issue 6 , November 2021 , pp. 1321 - 1339
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Paleontological Society

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