An atoposaurid neosuchian (Archosauria: Crocodyliformes) from the Lower Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia (People's Republic of China)

Cranial and postcranial remains from the Laolonghuoze locality in the Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia (China), represent a previously unrecorded taxon of crocodyliform archosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Luohandong Formation (Zhidan Group). Several cranial features indicate that this form is referable to the Atoposauridae, which were previously definitely known only from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Europe. Certain derived characters further indicate that the Ordos material is closely related to, if not actually referable to, Theriosuchus. The Ordos atoposaurid differs from the species of Theriosuchus in only a few features. In view of its fragmentary nature, the new material is identified as cf. Theriosuchus sp. at present.