Un nuevo Mesoeucrocodylia cretácico del norte de la Cuenca Neuquina, Argentina

Abstract

In this contribution, a new specimen of Mesoeucrocodylia from levels attributed to the Plottier Formation (Cretaceous, Upper Coniacian) is described in the locality Yacimiento Narambuena, Rincón de los Sauces, in the north section of the Neuquén Province. The material includes an incomplete subadult specimen with mostly articulated postcranium of an approximate length of 60 cm. The study and comparisons to allow distinguish the specimen from other Mesoeucrocodylia previously known from this same basin and suggest the presence of a new taxon, increasing the diversity of this clade in this period in the Neuquén Basin. The specimen from Rincon de los Sauces presents postcraneal characters previously attributed to Notosuchia and Neosuchia, both clades mainly defined by cranial characters. This set of primitive and derived characters prevents the location of its precise phylogenetic position among the Mesoeucrocodylia. © 2011 by the Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia.