Atopodentatus
Name:
Atopodentatus
(strange toothed).
Phonetic: Ah-top-o-den-tah-tus.
Named By: L. Cheng, X. H. Chen, Q. H.
Shang & X. C. Wu - 2014.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia.
Species: A. unicus (type).
Diet: Algae feeder?
Size: About 3 meters long.
Known locations: China, Yunnan Province.
Time period: Ansian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Few individuals.
When
first named in 2014, Atopodentatus made
headlines around the
world for the bizarre and hitherto unseen jaw arrangement. At the
time of this reconstruction the jaws seemed to project forwards and
then hook down and have numerous small teeth. These small teeth were
postulated to have allowed Atopodentatus to
filter out small
invertebrates from the sea water. However, in 2016 further
specimens of Atopodentatus were discovered and
these revealed that
Atopodentatus actually didn’t have hooked over jaws
like originally
described.
The
original skull of the first discovered Atopodentatus
had actually been
crushed and distorted, the new skull fossils described in 2016
were not. When seen from above these gave the skull a
‘hammerhead’. ‘T-shaped’ profile with the jaws pointing out to
the sides, and not hooking over like originally thought. The new
jaws revealed that the small needle like teeth were actually arranged
into rows which would have most likely allowed Atopodentatus
to feed
upon algae.
As
for the rest of the body, Atopodentatus had a
body that would have
allowed for both swimming and movement on land. If
caught in deeper water, Atopodentatus may have
been hunted
by large
hyper-carnivorous ichthyosaurs
similar in form to Himalayasaurus
and
Thalattoarchon
(known from Asia and North America respectively),
as well as large prehistoric
sharks. When on land Atopodentatus
may
have been at risk of attack from the larger archosaurs of the time.
Further reading
- A new marine reptile from the Triassic of China, with a highly
specialized feeding adaptation. - Naturwissenschaften. - L.
Cheng, X. H. Chen, Q. H. Shang & X. C. Wu
- 2014.
-The earliest herbivorous marine reptile and its remarkable jaw
apparatus - Science Advances. 2 (5) - Li Chun, Olivier
Rieppel, Cheng Long & Fraser C. Nicholas - 2016
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