Cricosaurus (Thalattosuchia, Metriorhynchidae) survival across the J/K boundary in the High Andes (Mendoza Province, Argentina)

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Introduction
Even though ornamentation-smoothing age tendency could not be properly evaluated given 149 the reduced diameter of the material (maximum diameter of c. 78 mm), the other characters 150 described are diagnostic of G. bifrons (Leanza, 1945;Aguirre-Urreta and Álvarez, 1999).

Systematic paleontology
sulcus is more prominent and high, and likely ends at the level of the anterior-most portion of the nasals (Fig. 4). The dorsal margin of the preorbital fossa is formed by the nasal, and 286 the ventral one by the maxilla (we cannot rule out the participation of the jugal in the 287 ventral margin). The lacrimal contributes to the posterior margin (Fig. 4)

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A portion of the maxilla is exposed in ventral view. It contacts the palatine through 298 a serrated suture (see palatine description). The palatal region of the maxilla is ornamented 299 with deep grooves (Fig. 3B), a feature only shared with the Swiss rhacheosaurin (see 300 Young et al., 2020), and Pu. potens within Thalattosuchia. The left maxilla, in its middle 301 region, preserves six teeth included in a deep groove (Fig. 4A). In the right maxilla, 302 maxillary tooth row extends, at least, to the level of the anterior margin of the orbit, as in 303 other metriorhynchids (e.g. C. lithographicus, C. araucanensis, Metriorhynchus 304 superciliosus). The interalveolar spaces are shorter than the anteroposterior diameter of the 305 alveoli, as is common in metriorhynchids (e.g. Cricosaurus spp., Maledictosuchus 306 riclaensis).
The nasals are elongate and have the typical triangular outline in dorsal view of thalattosuchians (e.g. Andrews, 1913). Both nasals miss the anterior-most portion leaving  Both lacrimals are incompletely preserved and due to postmortem deformation are 327 partially exposed. As in all metriorhynchids, they are oriented vertically, and face laterally 328 (e.g., Fraas, 1902;Andrews, 1913;Pol and Gasparini, 2009;Young et al., 2010) (Fig. 4A,

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B). The lacrimal dorsally contacts the prefrontal, anteriorly the nasal, and forms the 330 posterior margin of the preorbital fossa (Fig. 4B). The lacrimal has a process that anteriorly about twice as long as broad and the posterolateral margin is rounded, as in e.g. C. 345 araucanensis, and C. lithographicus. 346 The dorsal surface of the prefrontal is more exposed in lateral view (  Information 3). After this procedure, the resolution of the internal relationships of the 513 Rhacheosaurini improved (Fig. 7). So, this tree will be used to describe the phylogenetic Cricosaurus puelchorum the ornamentation of the dermatocranium is more evident than in 552 all known Cricosaurus, having even the palatal surface of the maxilla ornamented (Fig. 3). Rhacheosaurini, being Early Cretaceous in age and having an ornamented dermatocranium.

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Also, the dental morphology of MCNAM-PV 5096 is unusual for a Rhacheosaurini.