Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Evolutionary Dynamics: An Analysis of Diversification Patterns in the Discovery of a New Eunotosuchian Crocodyliform from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous) from General Salgado-SP.

• Grant number: 24/01564-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: July 28, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Felipe Chinaglia Montefeltro
• Grantee: Arthur Dentello Araújo
• Supervisor: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/08076-8 - A new crocodyliform Eunotosuchia from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous) of General Salgado-SP., BP.IC

Abstract

Recent expeditions in a new locality in the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous) in General Salgado, São Paulo discovered a new specimen of a new species of eunotosuchian (Crocodyliformes, Notosuchia). The new specimen consists of a partial skeleton including cranial and postcranial elements, and is the key focus of the following project. Preliminary anatomical assessments of the new specimen demonstrate a unique combination of characters that suggests an its phylogenetic position as a basal Xenodontosuchia non-Baurusuchidae and non-Sphagesauridae. As such, the specimen has great potential to contribute to the understanding of the initial evolution of the rich Notosuchia fauna recognized in the Adamantina Formation. The crocodyliform record of the Adamantina Formation in that geographical region, is at this point limited to four Baurusuchidae species and three Sphagessauridae. In recent years, the work-group based at the LAPEISA (Laboratório de Paleontologia e Evolução de Ilha Solteira, UNESP) has focused on the development and improvement of a morphological database to establish a reliable phylogenetic framework for Mesozoic crocodyliforms. A reliable phylogenetic framework is particularly important for objective biogeographic analyses. In this context, this new species of basal Xenodontosuchia recovered in the Adamantina Formation in that region, coupled with a broad phylogenetic context, will contribute to the understanding of the historical radiation of eunotosuchians in the continental ecosystems of Gondwana, with potential temporal, stratigraphic and biogeographical implications.