An Additional Baurusuchid from the Cretaceous of Brazil with Evidence of Interspecific Predation among Crocodyliformes

Author(s)

Godoy, Pedro L. ^{[1, 2]} ; Montefeltro, Felipe C. ^[3] ; Norell, Mark A. ^[2] ; Langer, Max C. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Div Paleontol, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[3] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Dept Zool, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 9, n. 5 MAY 8 2014.
• Web of Science Citations: 23

Abstract

A new Baurusuchidae (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia), Aplestosuchus sordidus, is described based on a nearly complete skeleton collected in deposits of the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous) of Brazil. The nesting of the new taxon within Baurusuchidae can be ensured based on several exclusive skull features of this clade, such as the quadrate depression, medial approximation of the prefrontals, rostral extension of palatines (not reaching the level of the rostral margin of suborbital fenestrae), cylindrical dorsal portion of palatine bar, ridge on the ectopterygoid-jugal articulation, and supraoccipital with restricted thin transversal exposure in the caudalmost part of the skull roof. A newly proposed phylogeny of Baurusuchidae encompasses A. sordidus and recently described forms, suggesting its sixter-taxon relationship to Baurusuchus albertoi, within Baurusuchinae. Additionally, the remains of a sphagesaurid crocodyliform were preserved in the abdominal cavity of the new baurusuchid. Direct fossil evidence of behavioral interaction among fossil crocodyliforms is rare and mostly restricted to bite marks resulting from predation, as well as possible conspecific male-to-male aggression. This is the first time that a direct and unmistaken evidence of predation between different taxa of this group is recorded as fossils. This discovery confirms that baurusuchids were top predators of their time, with sphagesaurids occupying a lower trophic position, possibly with a more generalist diet. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/16007-9 - Alpha-taxonomic review of the Baurusuchidae (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from Vale do Rio do Peixe formation (Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous), with the description of a new specimen from General Salgado-SP
• Grantee: Pedro Lorena Godoy
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 13/11358-3 - The Crocodyliformes OTIC region, evolutive and PALEOEBIOLOGICAL implications
• Grantee: Felipe Chinaglia Montefeltro
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 13/06811-0 - First record of abdominal contents in fossil Crocodyliformes, and its paleoecological and biological implications
• Grantee: Pedro Lorena Godoy
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree