A new species ofAraripesuchus(Crocodylomorpha, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the lower Cretaceous of Patagonia (Argentina)

A new species of the genus Araripesuchus from the Albian-Cenomanian locality of the El Chocón (Neuquén Province, Argentina) is described. The diagnosis of the genus is reviewed and its phylogenetic placement within Crocodylomorpha discussed. Araripesuchus is proposed here as being the sister taxon of Neosuchia, corroborating previous phylogenetic analysis. The new species, Araripesuchus patagonicus, differs from the type species, A. gomesii in the relationships of the prefronto-nasal and lachrymo-nasal sutures, the dermal placement of the postorbital bar on the medial side of the jugal, and the greater extension of the squamosals in the skull dorsum. The African species, “Araripesuchus” wegeneri, does not share the diagnostic traits of the genus, and its reassignment to a new genus needs to be considered. The phylogenetic context of Araripesuchus and “A.” wegeneri permits a reanalysis of the role played by their amphiatlantic distribution in the Aptian-Albian. “Araripesuchus” wegeneri and the South American forms might share a pre-Aptian common ancestor, and have been already differentiated and isolated in the African and South American continents by the time of the Aptian-Albian.