A new species of vocalizing crocodyliform (Notosuchia, Sphagesauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil

ABSTRACT

Caipirasuchus is a genus of sphagesaurid notosuchian from the Bauru Basin (Upper Cretaceous), southeast Brazil. They were small-sized herbivorous/omnivorous animals, that measured around 1 metre in length, and had a wide diversity and geographical dispersion in the basin. Here, we diagnosed the 6th species of the genus, originating from sandstones of the Adamantina Formation in the municipality of Catanduva, São Paulo State. Caipirasuchus presents a significant variation in the morphology of structures in the choana region. In particular, the new species has chambers in the wings of the pterygoids that connect with an extension of the airways, suggesting a region of resonance used in vocalisation. The different palatal structures in Caipirasuchus may be related to distinct bioacoustic signatures and indicate apossible improvement in the social organisation of Caipirasuchus.

KEYWORDS:

• Crocodylomorpha
• crocodyliformes
• Adamantina formation
• bioacoustics
• vocalization
• Bauru Basin

Acknowledgment

We express our gratitude to the individuals involved in the field activities, Edvaldo Fabiano dos Santos (in memoriam) and Laércio Fernando Doro, for their contributions to palaeontological research in the municipality of Catanduva and for generously donating the fossils MPMA 68-0003/12 and MPMA 68-0004/12. We acknowledge Sandra Aparecida Simionato Tavares for providing access to the study material. We thank Felipe Montefeltro for making the data matrix available. Finally, we extend our sincere appreciation to the editor Gareth Dyke and to the reviewer Agustín G. Martinelli, Juan V. Ruiz and an anonymous for their valuable comments and suggestions that significantly enhanced the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2024.2364332

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.