A new species of Goniopholis from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

The new goniopholidid crocodile Goniopholis baryglyphaeus sp. nov. from the Kimmeridgian of Guimarota/Leiria, Portugal is based on the oldest known relatively complete skeleton of Goniopholis from Europe and consists of a nearly complete skull to-ether with a mandible and various postcranial remains. G. baryglyhaeus shows characters that hitherto have only been described for Goniopholis simus: a caudal expansion of the prefrontal that excludes the frontal from the medial margin of the orbit; and the loss of contact between the paroccipital process and the lateral surface of the squamosal and the quadrate, which exposes the cranioquadrate canal laterally. This new species can be distinguished from other European Goniopholis species by an articular facet placed ventral to the retroarticular process, and directed slightly medioventrally; a caudal margin of the mandible forming almost a right angle at its caudoventral corner; an almost square rostrolateral corner of the cranial table; a straight transverse suture between the parietal and the frontal with a median rostral process; a rostrally tapering wedge-like lacrimal, and a regular heavy skull-sculpturing. The new find of Goniopholis in Portugal shows that this genus was distributed in a larger area, and was present much earlier, than hitherto reported in south-western Europe.