A new paralligatorid (Crocodyliformes, Neosuchia) from the mid-Cretaceous of Jilin Province, northeastern China

Numerous dinosaurian, crocodyliform, and testudine fossils have been recently recovered from the mid -Cretaceous of the Yanji Basin, Jilin Province, China. Among the crocodyliform remains, the specimen (YJDM 00009) described here represents a new genus and new species, Yanjisuchus longshanensis gen. et sp. nov. It is the third Cretaceous crocodyliform found in Jilin Province after Paralligator sungaricus and Rugosuchus nonganensis. Y. longshanensis is a medium-to-large neosuchian characterized mainly by the frontal with a wedge-shaped elevation anteriorly, a transversely oriented, grooved preorbital ridge, the fused dentaries, and the dentary dentition with a diastema. Y. longshanensis was situated phylogeneti-cally within the Paralligatoridae, with Rugosuchus nonganensis and many other species of Paralligator from Central Asia. The discovery of Y. longshanensis not only adds a new group to the local reptilian fauna but also is important to our understanding of the biogeography and diversity of Paralligatoridae in Asia. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.