Phyllodontosuchus
Name:
Phyllodontosuchus
(Leaf tooth crocodile).
Phonetic: Fil-o-dont-o-su-kuss.
Named By: J. D. Harris, S. G. Lucas, J.
W. Estep & J. Li - 2000.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Diapsida,
Archosauria, Crocodylomorpha, Sphenosuchia.
Species: P. lufengensis
(type).
Diet: Herbivore/Ominvore?
Size: Holotype skull 71.4 millimetres long.
Known locations: China - Lufeng Formation.
Time period: Sinemurian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Partial skull and jaws.
Phyllodontosuchus is a genus of sphenosuchian crocodile that lived in Asia during the early Jurassic. Phyllodontosuchus had a heterodont dentition, meaning that the shape of the teeth differed according to their position in the mouth. The first few teeth in the mouth were conical in a similar fashion to most other crocodylomorphs, but the teeth behind these were more leaf shaped.
It
may be that Phyllodontosuchus was in the process of
switching from a
carnivorous meat eating diet, to a herbivorous plant eating diet.
This is backed up by the observation that some sauropodomorph and
ornithischian dinosaurs which ate plants had similar tooth
arrangements, though they are not a close match when studied in
detail. It is also noted some other genera of sphenosuchian
crocodylomorphs are also identified as eating plants, therefore the
probability is that Phyllodontosuchus was at least
capable of being
omnivorous (eating meat and plants) while potentially completely
herbivorous.
At
the time of its description (and writing of this article)
Phyllodontosuchus is known only from a partially
crushed skull and
jaws. These seem to come from an adult individual, and with a
length of just over seven centimetres, it would seem that
Phyllodontosuchus was a small crocodylomorph.
Further reading
- A new and unusual sphenosuchian (Archosauria: Crocodylomorpha)
from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation, People's Republic of
China. - Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie
Abhandlungen 215:47-68. - J. D. Harris, S. G. Lucas,
J. W. Estep & J. Li - 2000.
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