Allodaposuchus precedens, Nopcsa, 1928

Martin, Jeremy E., Delfino, Massimo, Garcia, Géraldine, Godefroit, Pascal, Berton, Stéphane & Valentin, Xavier, 2016, New specimens of Allodaposuchus precedens from France: intraspecific variability and the diversity of European Late Cretaceous eusuchians, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 176 (3), pp. 607-631 : 622

AFFINITIES OF ALLODAPOSUCHUS PRECEDENS

The three nearly complete skulls (MMS/VBN-12- 10A, MMS/VBN-12-42 and MMS/VBN-93-28) share diagnostic features for Allodaposuchus precedens such as the laterally open cranioquadrate groove, participation of the nasal into the external nares, ectopterygoid adjacent to the posterior margin of the maxillary tooth row, very large fourth maxillary alveolus and a maxillary alveolar count of 13. Although one specimen is fragmentary and represented only by a skull table (MMS/VBN-12-10D), it is similar in size to MMS/VBN- 12-42, which shares the open cranioquadrate groove, a similar ornamentation pattern and overall skull proportions. There is therefore no doubt that all specimens belong to a single taxon and represent various growth stages. The results of the phylogenetic analysis of Allodaposuchus precedens based on the MMS/ VBN specimens are congruent with the results recovered by Brochu et al. (2012). For this reason and for ease of reading, the consensus tree is simplified with several taxa having derived positions in the crown group collapsed into major clades ( Fig. 13 ) (54 trees retained; best tree length = 655; consistency index = 0.346; retention index = 0.815). Minor alterations concern the base of Eusuchia with a well-resolved hypothesis involving Iharkutosuchus makadii + Hylaeochampsa vectiana as the most derived hylaeochampsid clade. Acynodon adriaticus and Acynodon iberoccitanus occupy a basal position in this group and Allodaposuchus precedens occupies the basalmost position in the monophyletic hylaeochampsid clade.

Figures

Figure 13. Phylogenetic results of the inclusion of the VBN skulls of Allodaposuchus precedens in the matrix of Brochu et al. (2012). Numbers represent Bremer decay indices.