Acynodon

Acynodon is an extinct genus of alligatoroid crocodilian. When first described it was placed within the family Alligatoridae, but has since been reclassified as a globidontan. It is the oldest and most primitive globidontan known to date, with fossils being found from France, Spain, Italy, and Slovenia. Acynodon first appeared during the early Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous and went extinct during the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the K-T boundary. The skull of Acynodon is extremely brevirostrine; it had a very short and broad snout compared to other known alligatorids. Its dentition was quite derived, with enlarged molariform teeth and a lack of maxillary and dentary caniniform teeth, presumably an adaptation to feed on slow prey with hard shells. The paravertebral osteoderms of Acynodon were distinctively double-keeled.