The internal braincase anatomy of Thalattosuchus superciliosus–with implications for the endocranial evolution of metriorhynchid crocodylomorphs

Abstract

Thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs underwent a major evolutionary transition, evolving from semiaquatic forms reminiscent of extant crocodylians, into pelagic marine forms with flippers, a tail fin and smooth scaleless skin. These fully aquatic forms–the Metriorhynchidae–evolved a novel suite of endocranial anatomies hypothesised to be related to living in saltwater. However, much remains to be discovered about the evolution of these internal braincase structures. Herein, we describe the endocranial anatomy of an early diverging metriorhynchid, Thalattosuchus superciliosus, using microfocus computed tomography (μCT) data and three-dimensional modelling. We compared it against geosaurine and metriorhynchine metriorhynchids, as well as the early diverging metriorhynchoid Pelagosaurus. We found that non-geosaurine metriorhynchids differ from geosaurines in having less laterally expanded cerebral hemispheres, shallower curvatures of the brain’s dorsal margin, and lacking the ventral deflection of the pneumatic diverticulum ventral to the pituitary fossa chamber. However, early-diverging metriorhynchids have well-defined otoccipital diverticula and lacked the ‘extreme pelagic’ endosseous labyrinth morphology. We hypothesise that early metriorhynchids were not adapted to a sustained pursuit lifestyle. Moreover, we posit that within both metriorhynchid subfamilies there was parallel evolution towards becoming pursuit predators.