Hylaeochampsidae

Hylaeochampsidae

Our CW3 and RW3 analyses resolve Hylaeochampsidae in a novel position as the sister-group of Brevirostres ( Fig. 6), rather than in its more typical placement as the sister-group of Crocodylia ( Buscalioni et al., 2011). In addition, the susisuchids Isisfordia duncani and Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti ( Sweetman et al., 2015; Turner & Pritchard, 2015) are placed as sister-taxa of Hylaeochampsidae in both CW3 and RW3, separate from Bernissartia . This association is based on the following characters: concave rostrum contour (character 86); anterior process of frontal truncated (character 182); squamosals extending to orbit margin and overlapping postorbitals (character 227); posterior edge of quadrate gently concave in dorsal view (character 283); paroccipital process dorsolaterally directed at a 45° angle in occipital view (character 290); prezygapophyseal processes of the anterior to middle cervical vertebrae flat or slightly convex (character 487); and a concave surface of the anterior centrum of the first caudal vertebra (character 501).