New Patagonian baurusuchids (Crocodylomorpha; Notosuchia) from the Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Upper Cretaceous; Neuquén, Argentina): New evidences of the early sebecosuchian diversification in Gondwana

LEARDI, JUAN MARTÍN; POL, DIEGO; GASPARINI, ZULMA

COMPTES RENDUS PALEVOL

ELSEVIER FRANCE-EDITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES MEDICALES ELSEVIER

Lugar: Paris; Año: 2018

1631-0683

The Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Santonian) of the Neuquén basin (southwesternArgentina) has one of the most complete crocodyliform records of South America, togetherwith the Adamantina and Marília formations of Brazil. In this contribution we report two fragmentary individuals from two different localities of the Bajo de la Carpa Formation: a middle sized individual (MLP 26-IV-30-2) represented by postcranial remains from the Boca del Sapo locality; and, a large bodied individual (MACN Pv-RN 1150) consisting only of snout elements from Paso Córdoba locality. Despite the remains of both specimens are fragmentary, they display anatomical characters of a specialized notosuchian carnivore clade: Baurusuchidae. Our phylogenetic analysis recovers these new individuals as non baurusuchine baurusuchids, although they take multiple phylogenetic positions on the different most parsimonious trees. These new remains highlight the relevance of the Bajo de la Carpa Formation for understanding the rise of notosuchians during the Late Cretaceous.