| Acynodon Fossil range: Early Campanian - Late Maastrichtian | |
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| Scientific classification
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Acynodon Buscalioni et al., 1997 | |
Acynodon is an extinct genus of alligatoroid crocodilian. When first described it was placed within the family Alligatoridae[1], but has since been reclassified as a globidontan. It is the oldest and most primitive globidontan known to date[2], 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[3]. 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[4]. The paravertebral osteoderms of Acynodon were distinctively double-keeled.
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References[]
- ^ Buscalioni, A. D., Ortega, F. L., and Vasse, D. (1997). New crocodiles (Eusuchia: Alligatoroidea) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern Europe. Compte rendu hebdomadaire des seances de l’Academie des Sciences Paris, terre et des planetes 325:525-530
- ^ Delfino, M., Martin, J. E. and Buffetaut, E. (2008). A new species of Acynodon (Crocodylia) from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian) of Villaggio del Pescatore, Italy. Palaeontology 51:1091-1106
- ^ Martin, J. E. (2007) New material of the Late Cretaceous globidontan Acynodon iberoccitanus (crocodylia) from Southern France. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(2): 362-372.
- ^ Delfino, M., Martin, J. E. and Buffetaut, E. (2008). A new species of Acynodon (Crocodylia) from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian) of Villaggio del Pescatore, Italy. Palaeontology 51:1091-1106