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Placodonts
Placodonts (" Tablet teeth") are an extinct order of marine reptiles that lived during the Triassic period, becoming extinct at the end of the period. They were part of Sauropterygia, the group that includes plesiosaurs. Placodonts were generally between in length, with some of the largest measuring long. The first specimen was discovered in 1830. They have been found throughout central Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and China. Palaeobiology The earliest forms, like ''Placodus'', which lived in the early to middle Triassic, resembled barrel-bodied lizards superficially similar to the marine iguana of today, but larger. In contrast to the marine iguana, which feeds on algae, the placodonts ate molluscs and so their teeth were flat and tough to crush shells. In the earliest periods, their size was probably enough to keep away the top sea predators of the time: the sharks. However, as time passed, other kinds of carnivorous reptiles began to colonize the seas, such as ich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placodontoidea
Placodonts (" Tablet teeth") are an extinct order of marine reptiles that lived during the Triassic period, becoming extinct at the end of the period. They were part of Sauropterygia, the group that includes plesiosaurs. Placodonts were generally between in length, with some of the largest measuring long. The first specimen was discovered in 1830. They have been found throughout central Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and China. Palaeobiology The earliest forms, like ''Placodus'', which lived in the early to middle Triassic, resembled barrel-bodied lizards superficially similar to the marine iguana of today, but larger. In contrast to the marine iguana, which feeds on algae, the placodonts ate molluscs and so their teeth were flat and tough to crush shells. In the earliest periods, their size was probably enough to keep away the top sea predators of the time: the sharks. However, as time passed, other kinds of carnivorous reptiles began to colonize the seas, such as ich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placodus
''Placodus'' (meaning 'flat tooth') was a genus of marine reptiles belonging to the order Placodontia, which swam in the shallow seas of the middle Triassic period (c. 240 million years ago). Fossils of ''Placodus'' have been found in Central Europe (Germany, France, Poland) and China. Palaeobiology ''Placodus'' had a stocky body with a long tail, and reached a total length of and body mass of . It had a short neck, and a heavy skull. They were specialized for a durophagous diet of shellfish, such as bivalves. Chisel-like incisors protruded from the anterior margin of the snout, and were probably used to pluck hard-shelled benthic prey from the substrate. The back teeth were broad and flattened, and would have helped to crush the prey. Before the animals' anatomy was known, they were regarded as fishes' teeth. Similar smaller teeth were present on the palatine bones. ''Placodus'' and its relatives were not as well-adapted to aquatic life as some later reptile groups, like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyamodontidae
Cyamodontidae is an extinct family of superficially turtle-like placodonts belonging to the superfamily Cyamodontoidea. Fossils have been found in Germany and Italy. It is named after ''Cyamodus'', the namesake of the family. Meyer (1863) originally created the family solely for ''Cyamodus''. However, the naming of ''Protenodontosaurus ''Protenodontosaurus'' is an extinct genus of placodont Placodonts ("Tablet teeth") are an extinct order of marine reptiles that lived during the Triassic period, becoming extinct at the end of the period. They were part of Sauropterygia, th ...'' in 1990 by Pinna regrouped the two genera under one family. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2316620 Placodonts Prehistoric reptile families ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macroplacus Raeticus
''Macroplacus'' is an extinct genus of placodont reptiles. The type species is ''M. raeticus''Schubert-Klempnauer, H., 1975, Macroplacus raeticus n. g. n. sp.-ein neuer Placodontier aus dem Rat der Bayerischen Alpen: Mitteilungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung fur Palaontologie und historishce Geologie, v. 15, p. 33-55. and the fossil record of this species dates back to the upper Triassic, Rhaetian age (age range: 205.6 to 201.6 million years ago). These fossils have been found in Germany, at Hinterstein near Hindelang im Allgäu. Taxonomy The classification of ''Macroplacus'' is controversial but it is usually placed in the Cyamodontidae or in the Placochelyidae. These reptiles are placodonts, a group of animal probably related to diapsids, but that look similar to the turtles. ''Macroplacus'', in particular, was a representative of cyamodontoidea, characterized by heavy armor and narrow snouts. Description ''Macroplacus raeticus'', the only known species, possessed a re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placodontidae
''Placodus'' (meaning 'flat tooth') was a genus of marine reptiles belonging to the order Placodontia, which swam in the shallow seas of the middle Triassic period (c. 240 million years ago). Fossils of ''Placodus'' have been found in Central Europe (Germany, France, Poland) and China. Palaeobiology ''Placodus'' had a stocky body with a long tail, and reached a total length of and body mass of . It had a short neck, and a heavy skull. They were specialized for a durophagous diet of shellfish, such as bivalves. Chisel-like incisors protruded from the anterior margin of the snout, and were probably used to pluck hard-shelled benthic prey from the substrate. The back teeth were broad and flattened, and would have helped to crush the prey. Before the animals' anatomy was known, they were regarded as fishes' teeth. Similar smaller teeth were present on the palatine bones. ''Placodus'' and its relatives were not as well-adapted to aquatic life as some later reptile groups, like t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraplacodontidae
''Paraplacodus broilli'' is an extinct placodont sauropterygian from the middle Triassic period, from the Anisian until Ladinian stages. The fossils were uncovered in Northern Italy and the species was named in 1931 by Bernhard Peyer. ''Paraplacodus'' means "Almost ''Placodus''", in reference to its similarity to ''Placodus''. Like the majority of described placodonts, ''Paraplacodus'' was an aquatic reptile that fed almost exclusively on shellfish. Most known Placodont species can be divided into two groups - the unarmored placodontoids, which would resemble a large, scaly, tooth-filled newt, or the armored cyamodontids, which would resemble a heavily armored turtle; ''Paraplacodus'' belonged to the former family. It was a small reptile, measuring about in total body length. The jaws of ''Paraplacodus'' were adapted to eat shellfish, with three pairs of protruding teeth in the top row and two rows of protruding teeth in the front of the jaw, with rounded crushing teeth in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placochelyidae
Placochelyidae is an extinct family of placodonts belonging to the superfamily Cyamodontoidea. Genus *''Glyphoderma'' *''Placochelys'' *''Psephosauriscus'' *''Psephochelys ''Psephochelys (meaning "pebbly turtle")'' is an extinct genus of placodont reptile from the Late Triassic of China. It is represented by a single species, ''Psephochelys polyosteoderma'', named in 2002 on the basis of a single partial skeleton ...'' *'' Psephoderma'' References Placodonts Prehistoric reptile families Triassic sauropterygians Middle Triassic first appearances Late Triassic first appearances {{triassic-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henodontidae
Henodontidae is an extinct family of superficially turtle-like placodonts belonging to the superfamily Cyamodontoidea Cyamodontoidea is an extinct superfamily of placodont marine reptiles from the Triassic period. It is one of the two main groups of placodonts, the other being Placodontoidea. Cyamodontoids are distinguished from placodontoids by their large sh .... Fossils have been found in Germany and Spain.Huene F von 1936. Henodus chelyops, ein neuer Placodontier. Palaeontographica A, 84, 99-147. References Placodonts Prehistoric reptile families Triassic sauropterygians Late Triassic first appearances {{triassic-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyamodontoidea
Cyamodontoidea is an extinct superfamily of placodont marine reptiles from the Triassic period. It is one of the two main groups of placodonts, the other being Placodontoidea. Cyamodontoids are distinguished from placodontoids by their large shells, formed from fused bony plates called osteoderms and superficially resembling the shells of turtles. Cyamodontoids also have distinctive skulls with narrow, often toothless jaws and wide, flaring temporal regions behind the eyes. Two large temporal openings are positioned at the top of the back of the skull, an arrangement that is known as the euryapsid condition and seen throughout Sauropterygia, the marine reptile group to which placodonts belong. Cyamodontoids are also distinguished by their large crushing teeth, which grow from the palatine bones on the roof of the mouth. Description Shell The shells of cyamodontoids differ from those of turtles in several ways. Turtle shells are fused to their skeletons in several regions, includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pararcus
''Pararcus'' is an extinct genus of placodont marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of the Netherlands. The genus is monotypic and the type species is ''Pararcus diepenbroeki''. ''Pararcus'' is known from a holotype skeleton about long from the Lower Muschelkalk of Winterswijk Winterswijk (; also known as ''Winterswiek'' or ''Wenters'') is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. It has a population of and is situated in the Achterhoek, which lies in the easternmost part of the province of Gelderland in th .... References Placodonts Ladinian genera Middle Triassic reptiles of Europe Fossils of the Netherlands Fossil taxa described in 2013 Sauropterygian genera {{triassic-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosauria
The Plesiosauria (; Greek: πλησίος, ''plesios'', meaning "near to" and ''sauros'', meaning "lizard") or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period, possibly in the Rhaetian stage, about 203 million years ago. They became especially common during the Jurassic Period, thriving until their disappearance due to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 million years ago. They had a worldwide oceanic distribution, and some species at least partly inhabited freshwater environments. Plesiosaurs were among the first fossil reptiles discovered. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, scientists realised how distinctive their build was and they were named as a separate order in 1835. The first plesiosaurian genus, the eponymous ''Plesiosaurus'', was named in 1821. Since then, more than a hundred vali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Iguana
The marine iguana (''Amblyrhynchus cristatus''), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which makes up almost all of its diet. Marine iguanas are the only extant lizard that spends time in a marine environment. Large males are able to dive to find this food source, while females and smaller males feed during low tide in the intertidal zone. They mainly live in colonies on rocky shores where they bask after visiting the relatively cold water or intertidal zone, but can also be seen in marshes, mangrove swamps and beaches. Large males defend territories for a short period, but smaller males have other breeding strategies. After mating, the female digs a nest hole in the soil where she lays her eggs, leaving them to hatch on their own a few months later. Marine iguanas vary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
