Hypsognathus

Hypsognathus
Temporal range: Late Triassic
Fossil of Hypsognathus fenneri (AMNH 1676) in the American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Family: †Procolophonidae
Subfamily: †Leptopleuroninae
Genus: †Hypsognathus
Gilmore, 1928
Type species
†Hypsognathus fenneri
Gilmore, 1928
Life restoration of Hypsognathus

Hypsognathus (from Greek: ῠ̔́ψος húpsos, 'height' and Greek: γνάθος gnáthos, 'jaw') is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile from the Late Triassic of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Nova Scotia.

Hypsognathus resembled a moderately sized lizard, with a length of 33 centimetres (13 in), although it was unrelated to modern lizards. Because of its broad teeth, Hypsognathus is thought to have been a herbivore. Its body is low and broad and it has a relatively short tail. Hypsognathus has some spikes on the side of its head, probably for protection against predators.

Multiple specimens from the Magnesian Conglomerate of England that were discovered during the 1970s by Jeanne Evans were initially referred to cf. Hypsognathus in 2016 before being moved to a separate species, Hwiccewyrm trispiculum in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Sues, H.-D., Olsen, P.E., Scott, D.M, and Spencer, P.S. (2000). "Cranial Osteology of Hypsognathus fenneri, a Latest Triassic Procolophonid Reptile from the Newark Supergroup of Eastern North America" Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 20(2):275-284.
  2. ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 63. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  3. ↑ Whiteside, D. I., Duffin, C. J., Gill, P. G., Marshall, J. E. A., & Benton, M. J. (2016). The Late Triassic and Early Jurassic fissure faunas from Bristol and South Wales: Stratigraphy and setting. Palaeontologia Polonica,  67, 257–287.
  4. ↑ Butler, R. J.; Meade, L. E.; Cleary, T. J.; McWhirter, K. T.; Brown, E. E.; Kemp, T. S.; Benito, J.; Fraser, N. C. (2023). "Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England". The Anatomical Record. doi:10.1002/ar.25316. PMID 37735997.