Montsecosuchus depereti(Crocodylomorpha, Atoposauridae), new denomination forAlligatorium deperetiVidal, 1915 (Early Cretaceous, Spain): redescription and phylogenetic relationships

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Abstract
Alligatorium depereti, a species of the family Atoposauridae from the Upper Berriasian-Lower Valanginian (Early Cretaceous) of Spain, has neither been revised nor redescribed since the first decade of this century. In the present paper we propose that Alligatorium depereti be transferred to a new genus, Montsecosuchus, on the basis of a detailed description following recent preparation of the holotype specimen. The main autapomorphic features of Montsecosuchus are: cranial length less than one-half that of the presacral region, domed occiput (=dolichocephalous), parieto-squamosal suture ungrooved, and retroarticular process caudally projected and dorsally recurved. Montsecosuchus has three sacral vertebrae, a trait perhaps shared with Alligatorellus. The iliac blade exhibits a rounded anterior border. This feature could be an autapomorphy of Montsecosuchus or, on the basis of the available data concerning the closest sister groups of Atoposauridae, a probable convergence. Finally, the forelimb of Montsecosuchus differs from that of other Atoposauridae in having a relatively short zeugopod (the radius especially), another probable autapomorphic trait.

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