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Aeolosaurus rionegrinus Powell, 1987 Derivation of name. rionegrinus, in reference to the R��o Negro Province where the specimen has been found (Powell, 1987). Holotype. MJG-R 1, seven anterior caudal vertebrae; incomplete scapulae; humeri; right ulna and radius; five metacarpals; nearly complete ischia; right tibia and fibula; astragalus; and incomplete fragments (Powell, 1987). Locality and Horizon. Angostura Colorada Formation, upper Campanian���lower Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous, Casa de Piedra, R��o Negro Province, Argentina (Powell, 1987). Emended diagnosis. Titanosaur with the following unique association of characteristics: prezygapophyses directed mainly upward on anteriormost caudal vertebrae and slightly curved downward on the remaining anterior caudal vertebrae; prezygapophyseal articular facets widened by the presence of both a dorsal and a ventral protuberance on the prezygapophyses of the anterior caudal vertebrae; and apex of the convexity of the posterior articulation strongly displaced upward, so that the apex is flushed to the level of the dorsal margin of the centrum on anterior and middle caudal vertebrae., Published as part of Santucci, Rodrigo M. & De, Antonio C., 2011, A new sauropod (Macronaria, Titanosauria) from the Adamantina Formation, Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous of Brazil and the phylogenetic relationships of Aeolosaurini, pp. 1-33 in Zootaxa 3085 on pages 5-6, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.205522, {"references":["Powell, J. E. (1987) The Late Cretaceous fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina. Part VI. The titanosaurids. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ' Bernardino Rivadavia', 3, 147 - 153."]}

Aeolosaurus Powell, 1987 Type species. Aeolosaurus rionegrinus Powell, 1987 Geographical and stratigraphical range. R��o Negro and Chubut provinces, Argentina, Allen, Angostura Colorada, Bajo Barreal, and Los Alamitos formations; and S��o Paulo and Minas Gerais states, Brazil, Adamantina and Mar��lia formations. Emended diagnosis. Titanosaur with the following unique association of characters: prezygapophyses curved downward on anterior caudal vertebrae and haemal arches with double articular facets set in a concave posterodorsal surface on anterior and middle caudal vertebrae. Comments. In the description of Aeolosaurus rionegrinus, Powell (1986, 1987, 2003) mentioned several characteristics that, according to him, would be the autapomorphies of that species. With the description of a new Aeolosaurus species from Argentina (Casal et al., 2007) and the proposal of the clade Aeolosaurini by Franco-Rosas et al. (2004), many of the autapomorphies of A. rionegrinus became the synapomorphies of the genus Aeolosaurus or of the clade Aeolosaurini, which also comprises the Brazilian titanosaur Gondwanatitan. Additionally, many of the appendicular features seen in A. rionegrinus cannot be assessed in these other taxa due to preservation problems. Since only the anterior and middle caudal vertebrae and the haemal arches are preserved in nearly all aeolosaurines known to date, we decided to constrain the diagnosis of the genus to these elements until more complete material are available in order to avoid creating ambiguous characteristics., Published as part of Santucci, Rodrigo M. & De, Antonio C., 2011, A new sauropod (Macronaria, Titanosauria) from the Adamantina Formation, Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous of Brazil and the phylogenetic relationships of Aeolosaurini, pp. 1-33 in Zootaxa 3085 on page 5, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.205522, {"references":["Powell, J. E. (1987) The Late Cretaceous fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina. Part VI. The titanosaurids. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ' Bernardino Rivadavia', 3, 147 - 153.","Powell, J. E. (1986) Revision de los titanosauridos de America del Sur. PhD Dissertation, Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, Argentina, 340 pp.","Powell, J. E. (2003) Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs: palaeobiological, palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, 111, 173 pp.","Casal, G., Martinez, R. D., Luna, M., Sciutto, J. C. & Lamanna, M. C. (2007) Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis sp. nov. (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) de la Formacion Bajo Barreal, Cretacico superior de Argentina. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, 10, 53 - 62.","Franco-Rosas, A. C., Salgado, L., Rosas, C. F. & Carvalho, I. S. (2004) Nuevos materiales de titanosaurios (Sauropoda) en el Cretacico Superior de Mato Grosso, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, 7, 329 - 336."]}

Aeolosaurus maximus sp. nov. 1999 a Aeolosaurus sp. Bertini et al. 1999 b Aeolosaurus sp. Bertini et al. 2001 Aeolosaurus sp. Santucci and Bertini, p. 308, Fig. 2 A Derivation of name. maximus, in reference to the size of the specimen, meaning large in Latin. Holotype. MPMA 12 -0001- 97, two incomplete posterior cervical vertebrae; seven incomplete cervical ribs; a fragmentary anterior dorsal centrum; a probable fragment of a middle dorsal vertebra; a fragmentary posterior dorsal vertebrae; several incomplete diapophysis of dorsal vertebrae; 12 incomplete dorsal ribs; six articulated anterior caudal vertebrae; a mid caudal centrum; two posterior caudal vertebrae; six anterior, one mid, and one posterior haemal arches; a probable fragmentary scapula; an incomplete right humerus; a probably fragmentary left humerus; a probably incomplete radius; incomplete right femur; left femur; left ischium; and several unidentified fragments. The material is housed in the Museu de Paleontologia de Monte Alto (Monte Alto Paleontological Museum), S��o Paulo, Brazil. Locality and horizon. Reddish, massive sandstones locally with carbonatic cementation, top of the Adamantina Formation, Campanian���Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous, approximately 12 Km SW of the city of Monte Alto, S��o Paulo State, Brazil (Fig. 1). Diagnosis. Titanosaur characterized by the following unique association of characteristics: well-developed posterior protuberance below the articular area on the anterior and middle haemal arches and lateral bulge on the distal portion of the articular process of the mid-posterior haemal arches. An additional set of ambiguous synapomorphies includes: presence of posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina (pcdl) at least 50 % thicker than the postzygodiapophyseal lamina (podl) in posterior cervical vertebrae; posterior dorsal vertebrae with intrapostzygapophyseal lamina and an oblique anterior centropostzygapophyseal lamina (acpol) which bifurcates from the proximal portion of the centropostzygapophyseal lamina (acpol); mid-thoracic ribs bearing well-developed anterior and posterior crests with a D-shaped cross section. These features are considered ambiguous because they cannot be assessed in other Aeolosaurus species so far, and may correspond to a set of synapomorphies of Aeolosaurus or even Aeolosaurini. Taphonomic note. The bones of A. maximus were unearthed from a small area of about 100m 2 (Fig. 1) and from the same stratigraphical level. No repeated elements were found. According to their position in the field, they represent a single individual that was lying with its left side down. The two fragmentary posterior cervical vertebrae together with several pairs of cervical ribs were found articulated, with the cervical ribs overlapping at least two consecutive ones. Their position in the field suggests the neck was dorsiflexed, which indicates the skeleton has undergone at least a slightly post-mortem exposure prior its final burial. The same pattern was observed in the recovered anterior caudal series. The high degree of articulation, together with the presence of both large complete bones and small and delicate elements, also suggests the skeleton has undergone little transport. Several theropod and crocodylomorph teeth have been recovered from the area where both femora were found. The presence of these teeth around this portion of the skeleton suggests that small theropod dinosaurs and crocodylomorphs have fed on the carcass. This pattern has also been reported elsewhere, where teeth of carnivorous dinosaurs are found near the sacral region of articulated or semi-articulated sauropods (Buffetaut and Suteethorn 1989). However, bite marks have not been found in the bones. Description. Cervical vertebrae. Comparing the cervical vertebrae of Aeolosaurus maximus with the nearly complete cervical series of Malawisaurus dixeyi (Gomani 2005) and the Series A from Peir��polis (Powell 2003), they seem to correspond to posterior cervical vertebrae, probably the 10 th and 11 th in the series. The two articulated posterior cervical vertebrae consist of the left lateral portion of the neural arches lacking the centra and the neural spines. Because of their large size (the preserved portion of the posteriormost cervical vertebra is 85 cm in length) and their slender structure, these vertebrae were kept in articulation during preparation. Moreover, they also have signs of dorsoventral deformation (Fig. 2). According to the preserved portions, the internal bony tissue (camellae) of the centra is composed of subcentimetrical coels circumscribed by thin lamellae. Both vertebrae have the left cervical ribs attached to their centra. The capitulum and tuberculum are thin sheets of bone which are anteroposteriorly wide. However, their contact with the transverse processes is not clear. The tuberculum is internally reinforced by a columnar ridge that extends from the base of the capitulum until the tuberculum. The anterior end of the cervical ribs is shorter than the posterior one and tapers to a point. The posterior end is long and slender, formed by a thin dorsoventrally convex sheet of bone that gradually becomes oval in cross section toward the end. According to the preserved cervical ribs (some of them are 60 cm in length) and their position in the field, they may overlap two or three adjacent cervical vertebrae (Fig. 1). On both vertebrae the parapophyses are badly damaged and therefore cannot be properly described. The diapophyses are blade-like projections and lay under the level of the prezygapophyses. On the posterior margin of the diapophyses there is a small sheet of bone that projects posteriorly. The most striking feature of these vertebrae is the strong development of the posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina, which is stouter than the postzygodiapophsyeal lamina. Although not completely preserved on both centra, the posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina seems to extend until the posterior margin of the centrum. The postzygodiapophsyeal lamina is thin, well-developed, and extends until the anterior margin of the postzygapophysis. This region is only preserved in the anteriormost cervical vertebra, which is broken and levered forward and upward by the forward displacement of the proceeding cervical vertebra (Fig. 2). The prezygapophysis is short and robust, with a wide, flat and elliptical articular facet. The anterior portion of the neural spine (left spinoprezygapophyseal lamina) is preserved. It originates right at the posterior margin of the prezygapophyseal articular facet and extends upward and backward (Fig. 2). Dorsal vertebrae. Only fragmentary dorsal vertebrae are preserved. A fragmentary neural arch is preserved, comprising a partial neural spine, the right diapophysis, and the right prezygapophysis. According to the height of the neural spine and its shape, this dorsal vertebra is regarded as a middle dorsal vertebra. The neural spine is tall and has an acute triangular shape in anterior view and is anteroporsteriorly short. The diapophysis is robust, short, and directed laterally. The spinodiapophyseal lamina is stout and well developed. The prezygapophysis is broken and seems to be shifted to a more medial position because its articular facet is unusually aligned to the sagittal plane (Fig. 3 A). A dorsal centrum (Fig. 3 B 1-2) is poorly preserved. Its shape cannot be established, but it has welldeveloped internal coels. In the anterior face of the neural arch there are three fossae that widen into large internal chambers. Between these fossae, on the anterior portion of the neural arch, there are two diagonal shallow ridges that cross each other near their base. Some isolated transverse processes also have spongy bony tissue. A left postzygapophysis is attributed to an anterior dorsal vertebra. It is robust and has a wide and flat articular facet. On its medial side a thin lamina is attached to it, which seems to be a fragmentary intrapostzygapophyseal lamina. A large fragmentary posterior dorsal vertebra is preserved and consists of part of the neural arch fused to the centrum, both postzygapophyses, and part of the postzygodiapophsyeal lamina. The dorsal margin of the posterior articulation of the centrum seems to form a large concavity, which indicates that the centrum was opisthocoelous. The neural canal is large and semi-oval in shape. In lateral view the posterior portion of the neural arch seems to bifurcate distally, where the side that forms the lateroposterior portion of the neural arch (cpol) bifurcates from the base of the postzygapophysis downward. Because of that, an additional oblique lamina, here called anterior centropostzygapophyseal lamina (acpol), originates from the base of the postzygapophysis and extends forward (Fig. 3 C 1-2). Unfortunately, its proximal end is not preserved and, therefore, the area where it attaches is not known. The postzygodiapophsyeal lamina is thin and well-developed. The postzygapophyses are robust with large and flat articular facets and face ventrally. They are supported by simple, robust, and well-developed spinopostzygapophyseal laminae. The postspinal lamina consists of a shallow and stout ridge. Although the hyposphene is absent, the postzygapophyses are linked to each other by a thin intrapostzygapophyseal lamina at their bases (Fig. 3 C 1-2). Caudal vertebrae. The anterior caudal vertebrae consist of a series of six articulated elements. By comparison with complete caudal series from Brazil (Kellner et al. 2005) and other anterior caudal vertebrae of other Aeolosaurus specimens (Salgado et al. 1997 a), they would correspond to the fourth to ninth caudal vertebra (Table 1). All caudal vertebrae are strongly procoelous, with the apex of the convexity of the posterior end slightly displaced above the midline of the centrum, and lack internal spongy bony tissue (Figs. 4���5). Distance between the articular facets of the prezyg./postzyg. 21,5 20,7 - - 17,5 18,0 Width at the tip of transverse processes - 34,0* 30,4 * 30,0* - - The anteriormost preserved caudal vertebra (probably the fourth caudal vertebra) lacks the right transverse process, the right prezygapophysis, and the distal end of the neural spine. The centrum is relatively long and higher than wide. The ventral face is slightly concave and surrounded by shallow lateral ridges. The neural arch is anteroposteriorly short and located on the anterior half of the centrum. The transverse process is stout and directed backward. A large protuberance is located between the anterior margin of the base of the transverse process and the prezygapophysis (Fig. 4 B). The prezygapophysis is robust, directed forward, and slightly curved downward when seen in lateral view. The postzygapophyses are large, located at the base of the neural arch, and have elliptical articular facets. At least the base of the neural spine is compressed laterally. The well-developed spinoprezygapophyseal laminae are stout and extend over the preserved portion of the neural spine (Fig. 4 A���B). The fifth caudal vertebra is nearly complete only lacking the distal end of the neural spine. The centrum is higher than wide and the lateral faces are concave anteroposteriorly. The posterior articulation of the centrum has a shallow elliptical groove. The morphology of this caudal vertebra is similar to that of the previous one, except for the curvature of the prezygapophysis, which is less developed, and the distal end of the transverse process, which is slightly expanded dorsoventrally (Fig. 4 C���D). The four remaining anterior caudal vertebrae are well preserved except for the last two vertebrae which lack the transverse processes. The centra are higher than wide and become progressively longer toward the posterior caudal vertebrae. In posterior view, the posterior ends are roughly hexagonal in shape. The articular area for the haemal arches is well-developed, forming a protuberance with a shallow pit at the ventroposterior margin of the centra. The ventral faces are slightly concave anteroposteriorly and laterally compressed, with incipient lateroventral ridges. The transverse processes are robust and strongly directed backward. The neural arches are located on the anterior half of the centra, reaching the anterior margin of the centra of the last two preserved anterior caudal vertebrae. The prezygapophyses become straight and relatively long, with moderately developed articular facets. The spinoprezygapophyseal laminae are well-developed, forming a deep fossa at the base of the neural spine. The postzygapophyses are robust, with concave articular facets and stout spinopostzygapophyseal laminae. The neural spines are laterally compressed at their base and laterally expanded at their distal end. They are directed forward, mainly in the last two anterior caudal vertebrae. The prespinal and postspinal laminae are incipiently developed (Fig. 4 E���J). The partial mid-caudal centrum is poorly preserved and, therefore, cannot provide any further information. The two posterior caudal vertebrae are well preserved. The centra are procoelous and wider than high. The ventral and lateral faces are gently concave anteroposteriorly. The neural arches are anteroposteriorly short and located on the anterior half of the centra. The transverse processes are absent. The prezygapophyses have rudimentary articular facets and are directed forward. The neural spines are low, anteroposteriorly long, and transversally compressed. The postzygapophyses are poorly developed, consisting of shallow articular facets on the ventral margin of the neural spine (Fig. 4 K). Dorsal ribs. Several incomplete dorsal ribs have been recovered. Unfortunately, they were not found in their anatomical position and, therefore, their assignment as anterior or posterior ribs have been made on the basis of better preserved sauropod material such as Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Opisthocoelicaudia. The more robust and platelike fragments were regarded as the anterior ribs, whereas the slender ribs were considered as the posterior ones (Fig. 6 B���E). None of the anterior ribs have the capitulum and tuberculum well preserved (Fig. 6 B���C). In both anterior and posterior dorsal ribs, the proximal portion consists of spongy bony tissue, mainly in a large rib fragment, where the coels open externally forming an elliptical pit. A fragment of proximal end is considered to be the first or second dorsal rib (Fig. 6 C). It is a blade-like element with the proximal end directed anteriorly. The posterior portion is damaged and exposes the internal spongy bony tissue and, because of that, it is not possible to determine the shape of the cross section. Other fragments regarded as anterior dorsal ribs have the cross section of the proximal end triangular in shape. The mid-dorsal ribs have shafts with subtriangular cross sections that become blade-like or elliptical toward their distal ends. A mid-thoracic rib has a marked depression between the capitulum and the tuberculum in medial view. The proximal portion of the shaft is D-shaped in cross section with sharp well-developed ridges on both the antero and posterolateral margins (Fig. 6 D). The best-preserved rib is about 900 mm in length and is considered to be a posterior one. It only lacks part of the capitulum and the tuberculum and, probably, part of the distal end. It is straight in medial view and gently curved in posterior view. It has the proximal portion of the shaft flat and is anteroposterioly concave in medial view. However, the distal end becomes triangular in cross section as in the middle posterior ones (Fig. 6 E). Haemal arches. Six anterior haemal arches are preserved (Fig. 7 A���F). Although not found articulated with the six anterior caudal vertebrae, some of them fit exactly in these caudal vertebrae. They are ���Y���-shaped and open proximally, in the proximal chevrons the haemal canal is less than 50 % of the length of the whole bone (Table 2). Both proximal and distal processes are laterally compressed (but not laminar) mainly on the distal portion of the distal processes. In lateral view they gently curve backward. The top of the proximal process is nearly flat and has a large concave area in the posterodorsal margin, forming double articular facets. In lateral view this depression is ventrally delimited by a posterior protuberance. The distal process has a rounded distal end in lateral view and is anteroposteriorly expanded. In posterior view the distal process has a thin ridge that runs through its whole posterior aspect (Fig. 7 A���F). A haemal arch from a mid-caudal vertebra is well preserved (Fig. 7 G). It is ���Y���-shaped with the haemal canal more than 50 % of the length of the whole bone. Only the distal end of the distal process is laterally compressed. In lateral view it is nearly straight with the distal end curved backward. As the anterior haemal arches, the articulation with the centrum has a large posterior concave area which, in lateral view, is ventrally marked by a well-developed protuberance. The proximal process has a lateral protuberance located on its distal half (Fig. 7 G). The distal haemal arch is a ���V���-shaped element. The proximal processes have elliptical cross section with a mildly-developed protuberance on their posterolateral margins. The proximal articulations with the centrum have a flat top and a posterior concavity, forming the double articular facets. However, the posterior protuberance that delimitates its ventral margin is less developed than in the previous haemal arches (Fig. 7 H). ha 1 ha 2 ha 3 ha 4 ha 5 ha 6 ha 7 ha 8 Total height 36,5 * 38,2 - - - - 16,5 11,3 Height of haemal canal 18,7 17,7 17,2 16,5 - - 9,1 7,4 Proximal width 12,5 11,8 10,1 11,4 - - 9,2 8,1 Scapula. A large platelike fragment is considered to be part of the distal end of a scapula. It has a rounded dorsal margin and its thickness decreases toward the ventral margin. Humeri. Both humeri are preserved (Fig 8 A���B). The right humerus (preserved length of 89 cm) lacks the distal end and the laterodorsal corner (Fig. 8 A). The proximal end has a well-developed anterior concavity and is medially expanded. The left one (preserved length of 63 cm) lacks both epiphyses, is anteroposterioly compressed, and is also badly damaged on its anterior portion (Fig 8 B). Radius. A long bone element (preserved length of 56 cm) found near the humerus is interpreted as a radius. Unfortunately, it is badly damaged and strongly compressed, so that nothing can be said about its morphology (Fig 8 C). Ischium. The left ischium is partially preserved (Figs. 9 B 1���2, 10). It is a platelike element with a concave dorsoposterior margin. Both iliac and pubic pedicles are not completely preserved. However, the pubic articulation seems to be well-developed. The acetabular area is partially preserved, corresponding to a gently concave area between the pubic and iliac articulations, where the bone is thinner than the posterodorsal margin. According to the preserved portion of the distal process, it seems to be relatively long and its thickness decreases from the dorsal margin to the ventral one. The distal process is twisted medially which indicates that when in articulation with its counterpart they should have met in a horizontal plane (Figs. 9 B 1���2)., Published as part of Santucci, Rodrigo M. & De, Antonio C., 2011, A new sauropod (Macronaria, Titanosauria) from the Adamantina Formation, Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous of Brazil and the phylogenetic relationships of Aeolosaurini, pp. 1-33 in Zootaxa 3085 on pages 6-17, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.205522, {"references":["Bertini, R. J., Santucci, R. M. & Ribeiro, L. C. B. (1999 b) O Titanosaurido Aeolosaurus sp. (Saurischia, Sauropoda) no Membro Serra da Galga da Formacao Marilia, Grupo Bauru do Triangulo Mineiro. Abstracts of the VI Simposio de Geologia do Sudeste, Sao Pedro, Brazil, 72 pp.","Santucci, R. M. & Bertini, R. J. (2001) Distribuicao paleogeografica e biocronologica dos titanossauros (Saurischia, Sauropoda) do Grupo Bauru, Cretaceo Superior do sudeste brasileiro. Revista Brasileira de Geociencias, 31, 307 - 314.","Buffetaut, E. & Suteethorn, V. (1989) A sauropod skeleton associated with theropod teeth in the Upper Jurassic of Thailand: Remarks on the taphonomic and paleoecological significance of such associations. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatololy, Palaeoecology, 73, 77 - 83.","Gomani, E. M. (2005) Sauropod Dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of Malawi, Africa, Palaeontologia Electronica, 8, 1 - 37.","Powell, J. E. (2003) Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs: palaeobiological, palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, 111, 173 pp.","Salgado, L., Coria, R. A. & Calvo, J. O. (1997 a) Presencia del genero Aeolosaurus (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) en La Formacion Los Alamitos, Cretacico Superior de La Provincia de Rio Negro, Argentina. Revista Universidade de Guarulhos, 2, 44 - 49."]}

Orientadores: Fresia Soledad Ricard Torres Branco, Ismar de Souza Carvalho Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências Resumo: Montealtosuchus arrudacamposi, um crocodiliforme Peirosauridae que viveu no município de Monte Alto no Turoniano-Santoniano da Formação Adamantina, Grupo Bauru da Bacia homônima, habitava um ambiente semi-arido, quente com chuvas torrenciais e sujeito a inundações. Destaca-se pela excelente preservação das estruturas ósseas que compõe o seu esqueleto (crânio, mandíbula, elementos pós-cranianos e escudo dermal articulados). Por estes atributos, forneceu informações satisfatórias para o estudo da biomecânica deste crocodiliforme neste trabalho. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os aspectos morfofuncionais das estruturas ósseas preservadas no Montealtosuchus para inferir sobre a sua Paleoautoecologia. Para tanto, foram realizados estudos macroscópicos para o levantamento de dados morfométricos do escudo dermal, cintural peitoral e esqueleto apendicular deste crocodiliforme com o intuito de inferir sobre seus hábitos de locomoção e função de termorregulação. Por meio das análises morfométricas do escudo dermal, que cobria toda a área do pós-crânio de Montealtosuchus, concluímos que este lhe conferia uma blindagem leve com disposição das placas quase em forma de fuso, propiciando-lhe uma armadura mais cilíndrica que a dos crocodiliformes atuais. A partir da descrição morfométrica da cintura peitoral e do esqueleto apendicular anterior do espécime em estudo, inferimos que este apresentava um andar mais ereto (adução) que lhe permitia hábitos terrestres. Através da Análise de Elementos Finitos (FEA), técnica numérica que possibilita reconstruir as tensões em estruturas geometricas complexas, foi possível avaliar as funções da mandíbula de Montealtosuchus. Os resultados obtidos nesta análise indicaram que durante os experimentos a ação das forças externas, exercida pelos músculos adutores mandibulares, foram bem distribuídas na mandíbula deste crocodiliforme. Esta condição indicou o equilíbrio das tensões de tração e compressão e a boa dissipação da energia ao longo da mandíbula de Montealtosuchus, sugerindo que esta estrutura suportaria capturar e empurrar todo o alimento para a parte mais posterior da boca Abstract: Montealtosuchus arrudacamposi, is a crocodiliforme of the Peiosauridae family, which lived during the Turonian-Santonian period, in the Formation Adamantina of Monte Alto, situated within the Bauru Group of the homonymous basin, a semi-arid region, hot with torrential rains and subject to flooding. Despite living in such conditions, we encountered the skeleton (skull, jaw, post-cranial elements and articulated dermal shield) of the specie at study in an excellent state of preservation. Consequently, this has provided sound evidence to enable us to study the biomechanics of this particular crocodiliforme. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the morphological and functional aspects of the preserved bone structures in order to reach conclusions consistent with its Paleoautoecology. Macroscopic studies were carried out to collect morphometric data on the dermal shield, pectoral girdle and appendicular skeleton in order to interpret its mobility habits and thermoregulatory function. We concluded through morphometric analysis of the dermal shield, which covered the entire postcranial region of the Montealtosuchus, that the specimen at study beared a light arrangement of plates, almost spindle shaped, giving it a more cylindrical armor in comparison with the present day crocodiliformes. The morphometric description of the pectoral girdle and appendicular skeleton indicated that it also had a more upright walking position (adduction), which allowed for moving freely on land. Futhermore, the finite element analysis (FEA), a technigue that reconstructs stress, strain, and deformation in structures, was used to acess the biomechanics of its mandible. The results of the FEA demostrated balanced stress along the entire jawline, suggesting the crocodiliforme¿s ability to thrust whole prey to the most posterior part of its mandible Doutorado Geologia e Recursos Naturais Doutora em Ciências CAPES