Halticosaurus orbitoangulatus Was Not a Dinosaur

Reassessment of cf. Halticosaurus orbitoangulatus from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Germany – a pseudosuchian, not a dinosaur

Authors:

1. HANS-DIETER SUES FLS (a)
2. RAINER R. SCHOCH (b)

Affiliations:

a. Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 121, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA

b. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, D-70191 Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract:

The holotype of cf. Halticosaurus orbitoangulatus Huene, 1932, comprises an incomplete and macerated but associated skull of an archosaurian reptile from the middle (second) Stubensandstein (middle Löwenstein Formation; Upper Triassic: Norian) of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally interpreted as a theropod dinosaur but more recently it has been suggested that this taxon has crocodylomorph affinities. Detailed preparation of the holotype of cf. H. orbitoangulatus has revealed much new anatomical information and permitted reassessment of its affinities. The maxilla lacks both a distinct antorbital fossa and a medial bony lamina bordering the antorbital fenestra. The lateral surface of the dentary bears a pronounced horizontal ridge. The squamosal differs from that of basal crocodylomorphs in being L-shaped rather than arcuate in dorsal view, lacking a dorsolateral overhang, and lacking an interlocking contact with the paroccipital process as, for example, in the basal crocodylomorph Saltoposuchus connectens from the same horizon and locality. Phylogenetic analysis placed cf. H. orbitoangulatus amongst loricatan pseudosuchians (but not amongst Crocodylomorpha) rather than amongst theropod dinosaurs. The holotype of cf. H. orbitoangulatus represents a previously unrecognized taxon of loricatan pseudosuchian, which is here named Apatosuchus orbitoangulatus and set apart from other known Norian-age non-crocodylomorph loricatans by its apparently much smaller size. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London