LEIOKARINOSUCHUS BROOKENSIS, PHOLIDOSAURUS MEYERI, OR ANTEOPHTHALMOSUCHUS HOOLEYI? WHAT IS THIS CROC?

Specimen NHMUK 28966 is a part of the skull of a crocodyliform from the Lower Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight. It was first described as Pholidosaurus meyeri but was attributed recently to a new genus and species, Leiokarinosuchus brookensis. The specimen is highly eroded, and most of the characters considered as diagnostic are likely the result of its poor state of preservation. All the observations are biased by the strong erosion of the skull, and consequently, no diagnostic character can be retained for this species. A review of the goniopholidid Anteophthalmosuchus hooleyi, also from the English Wealden, shows that NHMUK 28966 can be attributed to this species. Leiokarinosuchus brookensis is therefore a junior synonym of Anteophthalmosuchus hooleyi. In extant crocodylians, the growth of the occipital condyle is isometric whereas the growth of the foramen magnum is allometric relative to the skull table width. The slopes of the log-transformed data obtained for the holotype of A. hooleyi and BGS GSM 119453, a small specimen previously assigned to cf. Anteophthalmosuchus, are similar to those obtained for two extant species. This confirms observations of anatomical similarities and the attribution of BGS GSM 119453 to A. hooleyi. The new attributions clarify the taxonomic composition of the crocodylomorph assemblage from the Wessex Formation. It is clearly dominated by the large generalist goniopholidid A. hooleyi; the long-snouted morphology was represented by the medium-sized Vectisuchus leptognathus, whereas Theriosuchus sp., Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti, and Hylaeochampsa vectiana are small dietary specialists.