Cranial morphology of a new phytosaur (Diapsida, Archosauria) from the Upper Triassic of India: implications for phytosaur phylogeny and biostratigraphy

Detailed description and phylogenetic assessment of a phytosaur skull collected from the Tiki Formation of the Rewa Gondwana Basin of India and earlier diagnosed as Parasuchus hislopi, shows that it pertains to a new genus and species, Volcanosuchus statisticae. The new taxon is characterized by marginal overlapping of the nostrils by the antorbital fenestrae, external nares situated on a bulbous and raised dome, the lateral surface of the jugal ornamented by a prominent ridge defined by multiple tubercles and radiating thread-like structures, and distinct ornamentation patterns on the rostrum and skull table. Phylogenetic analysis nests Volcanosuchus within Mystriosuchinae where it forms a sister taxon to (Rutiodon + Leptosuchomorpha) and marks the transition between the basal Parasuchidae and more derived Mystriosuchinae phytosaurs. Evolution of the phytosaur skulls resulted in changes from non-overlapping nostril and antorbital fenestra to an overlapping state, anteroposterior elonga...