Metoposaurus
Sign in to saveMetoposaurus meaning "front lizard" is an extinct genus of stereospondyl temnospondyls, known from the Late Triassic of Germany, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. This animal was mostly aquatic, possessing small, weak limbs, sharp teeth, and a large, flat head. This highly flattened creature mainly fed on fish, which it captured with its wide jaws lined with needle-like teeth. Many Metoposaurus mass graves have been found, probably from creatures that grouped together in drying pools during drought.
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Metoposauridae
- Mass
- 450
- Image
- Metopozaur szkielet Krasiejów.JPG
- Length
- 3
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Metoposaurus
- taxon name
- Metoposaurus
- taxon rank
- genus
- start time
- 227000000-
- end time
- 216500000-
- time period
- Late Triassic
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
19 sectionsContents
- Discovery and species
- Discovery
- Species
- Formerly assigned species
- Synonyms and ''nomina dubia''
- Description
- Skull
- Lacrimal
- Parietal
- Maxilla
- Vertebral column
- Geography and history
- Paleobiology
- Locomotion
- Palaeopathology
- Predators
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Metoposaurus meaning "front lizard" is an extinct genus of stereospondyl temnospondyls, known from the Late Triassic of Germany, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. This animal was mostly aquatic, possessing small, weak limbs, sharp teeth, and a large, flat head. This highly flattened creature mainly fed on fish, which it captured with its wide jaws lined with needle-like teeth. Many Metoposaurus mass graves have been found, probably from creatures that grouped together in drying pools during drought.
== Discovery and species == thumb|upright|Upper side of M. diagnosticus skull
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Metoposaurus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.