''Toxolophosaurus'' was a

sphenodont Rhynchocephalia (; ) is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living species, the tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') of New Zealand. Despite its current lack of diversity, during the Mesozoic rhynchocephalians were a diverse gro ...

from the Early Cretaceous-age Kootenai Formation of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

Discovery

''Toxolophosaurus cloudi'' was found by Olson in 1960 in the Kootenai Formation, 223.75 feet above the base of the Kootenai.

Classification

''Toxolophosaurus'' was placed in Sphenodontidae by Michael Benton in 1985. It is closely related to ''

Priosphenodon ''Priosphenodon'' is an extinct rhynchocephalian known from the early Late Cretaceous of Argentina. It is believed to have been a fairly large herbivore, having a longer snout than modern tuatara, with teeth specialised for shearing plant mat ...

'' and ''

Eilenodon ''Eilenodon'' is an extinct genus of rhynchocephalian reptile from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of western North America,Foster, J. (2007). "Table 2.1: Fossil Vertebrates of the Morrison Formation." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of ...

''.

Diet

''Toxolophosaurus'' was

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

References

Early Cretaceous reptiles of North America Sphenodontia {{cretaceous-reptile-stub

Discovery

Classification

Diet

See also

References