Cranial morphology and phylogenetic reassessment of Barreirosuchus franciscoi (Crocodylomorpha, Notosuchia), a Peirosauria from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil.

With nearly 30 living species of relatively similar ecological traits, Crocodylomorpha is represented today by only a small fraction of its past diversity. The well-documented crocodylomorph fossil record has revealed more than 500 taxa, with much higher ecological and morphological diversity than their extant counterparts. An example of such astonishing diversity is the Late Cretaceous rocks of the Bauru Group (southeast Brazil), from which numerous taxa are known, belonging to the clade Notosuchia.

Osteohistological characterization of notosuchian osteoderms: Evidence for an overlying thick leathery layer of skin.

Osteoderms are mineralized structures embedded in the dermis, known for nonavian archosaurs, squamates, xenarthrans, and amphibians. Herein, we compared the osteoderm histology of Brazilian Notosuchia of Cretaceous age using three neosuchians for comparative purposes. Microanatomical analyses showed that most of them present a diploe structure similar to those of other pseudosuchians, lizards, and turtles.

Erratum: Cretaceous blind snake from Brazil fills major gap in snake evolution.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.

Cretaceous Blind Snake from Brazil Fills Major Gap in Snake Evolution.

Blind snakes (Scolecophidia) are minute cryptic snakes that diverged at the base of the evolutionary radiation of modern snakes. They have a scant fossil record, which dates back to the Upper Paleocene-Lower Eocene (∼56 Ma); this late appearance conflicts with molecular evidence, which suggests a much older origin for the group (during the Mesozoic: 160-125 Ma). Here we report a typhlopoid blind snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil, gen.