Braincase and digital endocast of a loricatan pseudosuchian (Reptilia: Archosauria) from the Upper Triassic of Nova Scotia (Canada)

We present a detailed description of an incomplete but excellently
preserved braincase and a digitally generated endocast of a pseudosuchian
archosaur from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) Evangeline Member of the
Wolfville Formation of Nova Scotia (Canada). The general morphology of the
braincase particularly resembles that of the rauisuchid Postosuchus
kirkpatricki from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Texas. Indeed, the
quantitative phylogenetic analyses found the Wolfville specimen within
Rauisuchidae (Postosuchus spp., Polonosuchus silesiacus, and Rauisuchus
tiradentes) among loricatan pseudosuchians based on the presence of a deep
and dorsoventrally elongate basisphenoid recess. Although the specimen
described here shows differences with Postosuchus kirkpatricki and
Postosuchus alisonae, its fragmentary condition and the absence of
overlapping elements with other rauisuchids (Polonosuchus silesiacus and
Rauisuchus tiradentes) led us to be cautious and identify it as aff.
Postosuchus sp. The Wolfville rauisuchid braincase provides evidence for
the presence of this clade in low paleolatitudes during the Carnian,
bridging the higher paleolatitude occurrences of Rauisuchidae in southern
Brazil and in Poland, respectively.