A PLANT-EATING CROCODYLIFORM REPTILE FROM THE CRETACEOUS OF CHINA

WITH few exceptions, tooth shape among crocodyliform reptiles (Crocody lia of traditional use) is rather uniform(1). We report here on the pr esence of multicuspid molariform teeth in a remarkable new crocodylifo rm from the Lower Cretaceous of China, which may represent the first k nown herbivorous member of that group. The overall structure of these teeth is very similar to that of the postcanine teeth of tritylodontid synapsids and represents a particularly striking example of convergen t evolution, It indicates back-to-front (proal) motion of the mandible produced by the posterior pterygoid muscle during jam closing, much a s in the extant tuatara, Sphenodon(2,3). Certain derived features indi cate that the new Chinese crocodyliform is closely related to the Noto suchidae from the Cretaceous of Gondwana(4). Its discovery thus casts further doubts on claims(5) concerning an endemic Gondwanan tetrapod f auna during the Cretaceous.