Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs first appeared in the Early Triassic, reaching their broadest abundance and a global distribution during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic.
Hyperodapedon is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur reptiles which lived during Late Triassic period. Like other rhynchosaurs, it was an heavily built archosauromorph, distantly related to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Hyperodapedon in particular was part of the subfamily Hyperodapedontinae, a specialized rhynchosaurian subgroup with broad skulls, beaked snouts, and crushing tooth plates on the roof of the mouth.
The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is primarily Carnian in age, and is notable for its fossils of cynodonts, "rauisuchian" pseudosuchians, and early dinosaurs and other dinosauromorphs, including the herrerasaurid Staurikosaurus, the basal sauropodomorphs Buriolestes and Saturnalia, and the lagerpetid Ixalerpeton. The formation is named after the city of Santa Maria in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, where outcrops were first studied.
Mesosuchus is an extinct genus of basal Rhynchosaur from early Middle Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM 5882, a partial skeleton, and from the paratypes SAM 6046, SAM 6536, SAM 7416 and SAM 7701 from the Aliwal North Euparkeria site. Mesosuchus is quite small, spanning around 30 cm in length. Mesosuchus was discovered and named by David Meredith Seares Watson in 1912.
Proterochampsa is an extinct genus of proterochampsid archosauriform from the Late Triassic of South America. The genus is the namesake of the family Proterochampsidae, and the broader clade Proterochampsia. Like other proterochampsids, Proterochampsa are quadruped tetrapods superficially similar in appearance to modern crocodiles, although the two groups are not closely related. Proterochampsids can be distinguished from other related archosauriformes by characters such as a dorsoventrally flattened, triangular skull with a long, narrow snout at the anterior end and that expands transversally at the posterior end, asymmetric feet, and a lack of postfrontal bones in the skull, with the nares located near the midline. Proterochampsa is additionally defined by characters of dermal sculpturing consisting of nodular protuberances on the skull, antorbital fenestrae facing dorsally, and a restricted antorbital fossa on the maxilla. The genus comprises two known species: Proterochampsa barrionuevoi and Proterochampsa nodosa. P. barrionuevoi specimens have been discovered in the Ischigualasto Formation in northwestern Argentina, while P. nodosa specimens have been found in the Santa Maria supersequence in southeastern Brazil. The two species are distinct in several characters, including that P. nodosa has larger, more well-developed nodular protuberances, a more gradually narrowing snout, and a higher occiput than P. barrionuevoi. Of the two, P. nodosa is thought to have less derived features than P. barrionuevoi.
Rhynchosaurus is a genus of rhynchosaur that lived during the Middle Triassic period. It lived in Europe. It was related to the archosaurs, but not within that group. The type species of Rhynchosaurus is R. articeps. Michael Benton named two additional species, R. spenceri and R. brodiei, but they were subsequently renamed Fodonyx and Langeronyx respectively. Fossils of Rhynchosaurus have been found in the Tarporley Siltstone Formation and possibly the Sherwood Sandstone Group of the United Kingdom.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2010.
Isalorhynchus is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontine rhynchosaur from the late Triassic period of Toliara Province, southwestern Madagascar. It is known from the holotype MDE-R18, a nearly complete maxilla and from other specimens from the same locality, Malio River area. It was found in the Makay Formation of the Morondava Basin. It was first named by Eric Buffetaut in 1983 and the type species is Isalorhynchus genovefae. The majority of Isalorhynchus specimens are isolated jaw bones, but two nearly complete skeletons were found in 1998. Langer et al., 2000 concluded that Isalorhynchus is a synonym of Hyperodapedon and referred it to a new species of Hyperodapedon. Whatley, 2005 retained this genus as valid with a description of new materials in her PhD thesis. Montefeltro et al., 2010 and Langer et al., 2010 accepted Isalorhynchus as valid genus.
Fodonyx is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur from the middle Triassic epoch of Devon in England. Its fossils were discovered in Otter Sandstone Formation and were first assigned to Rhynchosaurus spenceri. This species was reassigned to its own genus, Fodonyx the holotype of which is EXEMS 60/1985/292, that described by David W. E. Hone and Michael J. Benton in 2008. In 2010, one skull was reassigned to the new genus Bentonyx. It is distinguished from other rhynchosaurs by a single autapomorphy, the ventral angling of the paraoccipital processes. In all other rhynchosaurs these processes angle dorsally or are horizontal. It is not known if this conferred any advantage to Fodonyx. Fodonyx was between 40 and 50 cm long.
Teyumbaita is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontine rhynchosaur from the Upper Triassic of southern Brazil. Its fossils were recovered from the early Norian-age Caturrita Formation, one of several fossiliferous formations exposed at Paleorrota Geopark in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Teyumbaita is likely the youngest valid genus of rhynchosaur, as other members of the group likely died out before the start of the Norian.
Stenaulorhynchus is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontid rhynchosaur known from the Middle Triassic deposits of Tanganyika Territory, Tanzania. It was found in the Lifua Member of the Manda Formation in the Karoo Supergroup. It was named and first described by Sidney Henry Haughton in 1932. The type species is Stenaulorhynchus stockleyi, a beaked herbivore measuring 1–6 meters in length.
Howesia is an extinct genus of basal rhynchosaur from early Middle Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM 5884, a partial skeleton with palate and partial lower jaws and from two paratypes, SAM 5885 and SAM 5886. It was found in the Burgersdorp Formation of the middle deposits of the Beaufort Group and referred to Subzone B of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. It was first named by Robert Broom in 1905 and the type species is Howesia browni, named after Alfred Brown.
Supradapedon is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontine rhynchosaur from mid-late Triassic deposits of Tanganyika Territory, Tanzania. It is known from the holotype SAM-11704. The holotype and only specimen of Supradapedon was first assigned to a species of Scaphonyx, Scaphonyx stockleyi. This species was reassigned to its own genus by Sankar Chatterjee in 1980 and the type species is Supradapedon stockleyi. One study, Langer et al. (2000), concluded that Supradapedon is a synonym of Hyperodapedon and referred it to Hyperodapedon sp. However, the provisional validity of this genus has been commonly accepted since.
Hyperodapedontinae is a subfamily of rhynchosaurs within the family Rhynchosauridae. Fossils have been found from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Madagascar, Scotland, Tanzania, United States and Zimbabwe.
Otischalkia is an extinct genus of archosauromoph from late Triassic deposits of Howard County, Texas, US It is known from the holotype TMM 31025-263, left humerus and from the referred specimens TMM 31025-262, TMM 31025-266, TMM 31025-264, TMM 31185-92 and TMM 31185-93. It was found in the Lower Dockum Group near the abandoned settlement of Otis Chalk. It was first named by Adrian P. Hunt and Spencer G. Lucas in 1991 and the type species is Otischalkia elderae.
Epipophyses are bony projections of the cervical vertebrae found in archosauromorphs, particularly dinosaurs. These paired processes sit above the postzygapophyses on the rear of the vertebral neural arch. Their morphology is variable and ranges from small, simple, hill-like elevations to large, complex, winglike projections. Epipophyses provided large attachment areas for several neck muscles; large epipophyses are therefore indicative of a strong neck musculature.
Noteosuchus is an extinct genus of basal rhynchosaur known from the earliest Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It was first named by David Meredith Seares Watson in 1912 and the type species is Eosuchus colletti. The generic name Eosuchus is preoccupied by the generic name of Eosuchus lerichei Dollo, 1907, a gavialoid crocodilian known from northern France. Thus, an alternative generic name, Noteosuchus, was proposed by Robert Broom in 1925. The generic name erected by Broom (1925) is a compound, meaning "Not Eosuchus", while "Eosuchus" is derived from the name of Eos, the goddess of the dawn in Greek mythology, and suchus, Latinized from the Greek souchos, an Egyptian crocodile god, thus meaning "dawn crocodile". The specific name, colletti, honors Mr. Collett for the discovery of the holotype and only known specimen.
Eohyosaurus is an extinct genus of basal rhynchosaur known from the early Middle Triassic Burgersdorp Formation of Free State, South Africa. It contains a single species, Eohyosaurus wolvaardti.
Langeronyx is an extinct genus of basal rhynchosaurid known from the early Middle Triassic Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation of Warwickshire, UK. It contains a single species, Langeronyx brodiei, originally included in the genus Rhynchosaurus. R. brodiei was first described and named by Michael Benton in 1990, but its redescription by Martín D. Ezcurra, Felipe Montefeltro and Richard J. Butler in 2016 recovered it as more closely related to the more advance hyperodapedontine than to the type species of Rhynchosaurus and thus it was moved to its own genus. The generic name Langeronyx honors the Brazilian paleontologist Max Cardoso Langer in recognition of his rhynchosaur research, combined with the Greek onyx (óνυξ) meaning "claw", a common suffix for rhynchosaur genera. L. brodiei is known solely from the holotype, a partial skull divided into the two specimens WARMS G6097/1 and NHMUK PV R8495, housed in the Warwickshire Museum, Warwick and Natural History Museum, London, respectively. Other specimens originally referred to R. brodiei either do not overlap with its type or can be just as likely referred to other basal rhynchosaurids. L. brodiei is one of two basal archosauromorphs known from the Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation, the other being the lesser known Rhombopholis scutulata.
Brasinorhynchus is an extinct genus of derived stenaulorhynchine known from the late Middle Triassic Santa Maria Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It contains a single species, Brasinorhynchus mariantensis.
