Atopodentatus unicus Cheng et al., 2014
Sauropterygia
Middle Triassic
Guanling Fm (Anisian)
Yunnan, China
Length: 3 m
New fossils of this prehistoric beast indicate that the previous interpretation of this animal as one of the weirdest creatures that ever lived during the Triassic period was erroneous. The new look of this gentle aquatic plant eater with its hammerhead jaws is still pretty weird!
References:
Cheng, L., Chen, X. H., Shang, Q. H., & Wu, X. C. (2014). A new marine reptile from the Triassic of China, with a highly specialized feeding adaptation. Naturwissenschaften, 101(3), 251-259.
Li, C., Rieppel, O., Cheng, L. and Fraser, N. C. (2016) The earliest herbivorous marine reptile and its remarkable jaw apparatus. Science Advances , 2(5), e1501659.
May 7, 2016
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