''Termatosaurus'' ("end lizard", because it came from the end of the
Upper Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. Th ...
) is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
archosaur
Archosauria () is a clade of diapsids, with birds and crocodilians as the only living representatives. Archosaurs are broadly classified as reptiles, in the cladistic sense of the term which includes birds. Extinct archosaurs include non-avian d ...
known from several tooth specimens differentiated between two species. Its remains come from the
Upper Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. Th ...
and was once thought to have survived until the
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...
, but the Jurassic remains were redescribed as plesiosaur remains. It has only been found in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. and two species are known of this animal: the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
, ''Termatosaurus albertii'', named by Meyer and T. Plieninger in 1844; and ''T. crocodilinus'', by Quenstedt (1858). It is very obscure and apparently considered to be
dubious
Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them.
Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, ...
.
According to
Oskar Kuhn
Oskar Kuhn (7 March 1908, Munich – 1990) was a German palaeontologist.
Life and career
Kuhn was educated in Dinkelsbühl and Bamberg and then studied natural science, specialising in geology and paleontology, at the University of Munich, fr ...
, ''Termatosaurus'' is a
plesiosaur
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 ...
(of the
Rhomaleosauridae
Rhomaleosauridae is a family of plesiosaurs from the Earliest Jurassic to the latest Middle Jurassic (Hettangian to Callovian stages) of Europe, North America, South America and possibly Asia. Most rhomaleosaurids are known from England, many sp ...
), while according to other sources, it is a
phytosaur
Phytosaurs (Φυτόσαυροι in greek) are an extinct group of large, mostly semiaquatic Late Triassic archosauriform reptiles. Phytosaurs belong to the order Phytosauria. Phytosauria and Phytosauridae are often considered to be equivalent ...
.
[H. v. Meyer. (1845). System der fossilen Saurier axonomy of fossil saurians ''Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefakten-Kunde'' 1845:278-285] Currently, ''Termatosaurus'' is seen as a dubious archosaur.
Gallery
File:Termatosaurus albertii.JPG, Tooth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...
of ''T. albertii''
References
Nomina dubia
Phytosaurs
Late Triassic reptiles of Europe
Fossil taxa described in 1844
Taxa named by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer
Prehistoric reptile genera
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