Koumpiodontosuchus
Temporal range: Barremian,
Holotype skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Metasuchia
Clade: Neosuchia
Family: †Bernissartiidae
Genus: †Koumpiodontosuchus
Sweetman et al., 2015
Type species
†Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti
Sweetman et al., 2014

Koumpiodontosuchus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodyliform that lived in the Early Cretaceous. The only species is K. aprosdokiti, named in 2014.[1]

Discovery

Restoration of a Koumpiodontosuchus feeding on the viviparid gastropod Viviparus carinifer. Smaller gastropods shown include Prophysa sp.

The first fossilised fragment of a skull was discovered by Diane Trevarthen on a beach near Sandown on the Isle of Wight in March 2011. Three months later, the second fragment of the skull was found by Austin and Finley Nathan. The two fragments were donated to Dinosaur Isle.[2] Megan Jacobs also discovered an isolated tooth belonging to the same genus that was twice the size of those from the holotype. The species that the fragments belonged to was named Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti, meaning "unexpected button-toothed crocodile".[3][4]

When the fragments were first seen by Steve Sweetman, a palaeontologist with the University of Portsmouth, he thought that they belonged to the Bernissartia fagesii species because of its small size and button-shaped teeth.[3] Sweetman published a paper on the discovery of the new species in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica and it was named and described in 2014.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sweetman, S.; Pedreira-Segade, U.; Vidovic, S. (2014). "A new bernissartiid crocodyliform from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation (Wealden Group, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi:10.4202/app.00038.2013.
  2. ↑ "This crocodile roamed earth with dinosaurs!". Business Standard. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Skull fragments reveal new ancient crocodile species". BBC News. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Osbourne, Hannah (11 March 2014). "Tiny Button-Toothed Crocodile Species From 126 Million Years Ago Discovered on Isle of Wight". International Business Times. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Tiny crocodile skull reveals new ancient species". University of Portsmouth. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "A new species of tiny crocodile that lived 126 million years ago has been discovered, from fossils found on the Isle Of Wight". Capital FM. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
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