Chenanisuchus lateroculi (Jouve, 2005)

Hill, Robert V., Mccartney, Jacob A., Roberts, Eric, Bouaré, Mohamed, Sissoko, Famory & O'leary, Maureen A., 2008, Dyrosaurid (Crocodyliformes: Mesoeucrocodylia) Fossils from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene of Mali: Implications for Phylogeny and Survivorship across the K / T Boundary, American Museum Novitates 3631 (1), pp. 1-20 : 10

CHENANISUCHUS LATEROCULI Jouve et al., 2005a

HOLOTYPE: OCP DEK-GE 262 ( Jouve et al., 2005a).

NEW REFERRED SPECIMEN: CNRST SUNY 280.

LOCALITY: Mali-8; Maastrichtian phosphate conglomerate.

DESCRIPTION: CNRST SUNY 280 consists of the frontoparietal portion of the skull roof with portions of the articulated prefrontals and supraoccipital elements (fig. 6A). The specimen is identified as a dyrosaurid based on the presence of otic capsules that closely approach one another medially, and an occipital exposure of the parietal. Although the lateral margins of the supratemporal fenestrae are not preserved, they can be confidently reconstructed as rostrocaudally elongate, based on the size of the preserved supraoccipital (fig. 6B). In addition, the supraoccipital contributes to the bases of occipital tuberosities, although their full extent is not known.

The specimen compares most closely with the description of Chenanisuchus lateroculi ( Jouve, 2005a) . The skull roof is flat and ornamented with moderately deep pits separated by rounded ridges. The ornamentation is most pronounced at the centers of the frontal and parietal, but diminishes in the vicinity of the frontoparietal and frontonasal sutures. The ornamentation extends fully to the straight caudal margin of the parietal, differing slightly from the condition in the holotype of C. lateroculi , in which ornamentation is lacking in this region.

The interfenestral bar is relatively wide, and does not form a peaked sagittal crest as in Rhabdognathus and Hyposaurus . Instead, the dorsal surface slightly overhangs the base of the bar, forming a broad, T-shaped cross section as in Chenanisuchus lateroculi . The suture between the frontal and prefrontal elements is not L-shaped, as in other specimens of Chenanisuchus , but instead is straight and diagonal, as in all other dyrosaurids in which it is known, forming an angle of about 50 degrees with the long axis of the skull. We do not consider this character to represent an interspecific variation, and accordingly refer this specimen to C. lateroculi .