Cyamodontoidea is an extinct

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

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, the group that includes plesiosaurs. Placodonts were generall ...

marine reptile Marine reptiles are reptiles which have become secondarily adapted for an aquatic or semiaquatic life in a marine environment. The earliest marine reptile mesosaurus (not to be confused with mosasaurus), arose in the Permian period during the ...

s from the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

period. It is one of the two main groups of placodonts, the other being

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 generall ...

. Cyamodontoids are distinguished from placodontoids by their large shells, formed from fused bony plates called

osteoderm Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct amp ...

s and superficially resembling the shells of

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

s. 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 __NOTOC__ Euryapsida is a polyphyletic (unnatural, as the various members are not closely related) group of Sauropsida, sauropsids that are distinguished by a single temporal fenestra, an opening behind the orbit (anatomy), orbit, under which the ...

condition and seen throughout

Sauropterygia Sauropterygia ("lizard flippers") is an extinct taxon of diverse, aquatic reptiles that developed from terrestrial ancestors soon after the end-Permian extinction and flourished during the Triassic before all except for the Plesiosauria became ...

, the marine reptile group to which placodonts belong. Cyamodontoids are also distinguished by their large crushing teeth, which grow from the

palatine bone In anatomy, the palatine bones () are two irregular bones of the facial skeleton in many animal species, located above the uvula in the throat. Together with the maxillae, they comprise the hard palate. (''Palate'' is derived from the Latin ''pa ...

s 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, including the vertebrae, ribs,

gastralia Gastralia (singular gastralium) are dermal bones found in the ventral body wall of modern crocodilians and tuatara, and many prehistoric tetrapods. They are found between the sternum and pelvis, and do not articulate with the vertebrae. In these ...

(belly ribs), and

pectoral girdle The shoulder girdle or pectoral girdle is the set of bones in the appendicular skeleton which connects to the arm on each side. In humans it consists of the clavicle and scapula; in those species with three bones in the shoulder, it consists of t ...

s, but cyamodontoid shells overlie skeletal bones without any fusion. Turtle shells are also composed of two layers of osteoderms, while cyamodontoid shells only have one layer. Cyamodontoids typically have more osteoderms forming their

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

s and plastrons (upper and lower shells) than do turtles, and the osteoderms have less well-defined shapes than the geometric scutes of turtles.

History

The division of placodonts into two groups was first proposed in 1863 by German paleontologist

Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer (3 September 1801 – 2 April 1869), known as Hermann von Meyer, was a German palaeontologist. He was awarded the 1858 Wollaston medal by the Geological Society of London. Life He was born at Frankfurt am Ma ...

, who named Macrocephali ("large skulls") and Platycephali ("flat skulls"). Macrocephali would later be known as Placodontoidea, and Platycephali would later become Cyamodontoidea. Complete skeletons of placodonts were not known at the time of von Meyer's proposed classification, and the large shells of cyamodontoids were unknown.

References

Triassic sauropterygians Extinct reptiles Placodonts Triassic first appearances Triassic extinctions {{Triassic-reptile-stub