Gobiosuchidae
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| Gobiosuchidae Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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Gobiosuchidae was a family of Late Cretaceous crocodyliforms that lived in what is now the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.
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[edit] Genera
The two genera currently classified within Gobiosuchidae are Gobiosuchus and Zaraasuchus.
[edit] Synapomorphies
According to Pol & Norell (2004), gobiosuchids form a clade united by the following synapomorphies:
- Parietal without broad occipital portion
- Absence of external mandibular fenestra
- More than two parallel rows of dorsal osteoderms
- Cranial table as wide as ventral portion of skull
- Palpebrals sutured to each other and the frontal, excluding it from the orbital margin
- External surface of ascending process of jugal exposed posterolaterally
- Longitudinal ridge on lateral surface of jugal below infratemporal fenestra
- Dorsal surface of posterolateral process of squamosal ornamented with three longitudinal ridges
- Presence of a sharp ridge along ventral surface of angular
- Surangular with a longitudinal ridge on its dorsolateral surface
- Dorsal surface of osteoderms ornamented with anterolaterally and anteromedially directed ridges
- Cervical region surrounded by lateral and ventral osteoderms sutured to the dorsal elements
- Presence of appendicular osteoderms
- Closed, or incipiently close, supratemporal fenestra
[edit] References
- Pol, D. & Norell, M. A., (2004). A new gobiosuchid crocodyliform taxon from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 3458: 1-31.
