Teleidosaurus

Te-ly-do-sore-us.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Teleidosaurus ‭(‬Complete lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Te-ly-do-sore-us.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Crocodylomorpha,‭ ‬Thalattosuchia,‭ ‬Metriorhynchoidea.

Diet

Carnivore/Piscivore.

Species

T.‭ ‬calvadosii‭

Size

Unavailable.

Known locations

France.

Time Period

Bajocian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and post cranial remains,‭ ‬but the holotype was lost in World War‭ ‬2.

In Depth

       Teleidosaurus is a genus of primitive form thalatosuchian marine crocodile.‭ ‬Originally named as a species of Teleosaurus,‭ ‬Teleidosaurus was established as a distinct genus in‭ ‬1869,‭ ‬and was considered to possibly be one of the oldest marine crocodiles until‭ ‬2015‭ ‬when the genus Zoneait was named.‭ ‬As a metriorhynchoid,‭ ‬Teleidosaurus would have been a marine crocodile,‭ ‬actively hunting in shallow sea waters,‭ ‬though the genus was still considerably more primitive than actual metriorhynchids which evolved much better adaptations for open ocean life.

       Two former species of Teleidosaurus,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬bathonicus and T.‭ ‬gaudryi‭ ‬have been used to create the genus Eoneustes.‭ ‬In addition one remaining species,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬joberti,‭ ‬has been considered by some to be synonymous with the type species T.‭ ‬calvadosii,‭ ‬though some authors continue to separate them at the time of writing.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Description d’une esp�ce in�dite de T�l�osaure des environs de Caen,‭ ‬le Teleosaurus calvadosii.‭ ‬Bulletin Society Linnean Normandie‭ ‬2‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬112-118.‭ ‬-‭ 1866. ‭- ‬Notice sur les animaux fossiles de la famille des T�l�osauriens recueillis en Normandie. M�moires Academy Imperial Sciiences et Arts et Belles-Lettres: 31-80. – Jacques Amand Eudes-Deslongchamps‭ ‬-‭ ‬1869. -‭ ‬The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea‭ (‬Mesoeucrocodylia,‭ ‬Thalattosuchia‭)‬:‭ ‬an integrated approach using geometrics morphometrics,‭ ‬analysis of disparity and biomechanics.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society‭ ‬158‭ (‬4‭)‬:‭ ‬801‭–‬859.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Mark T.‭ ‬Young,‭ ‬Stephen L.‭ ‬Brusatte,‭ ‬Marcello Ruta‭ & ‬Marco Brandalise de Andrade‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.

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