Eilenodontinae

Eilenodontinae Temporal range: Late Triassic–Turonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeleton of Priosphenodon avelasi
Teeth and jaws of Eilenodon
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Rhynchocephalia
Suborder:	Sphenodontia
Subfamily:	† Eilenodontinae Rasmussen and Callison 1981
Genera
Eilenodon Kaikaifilusaurus Patagosphenos Priosphenodon Sphenotitan Toxolophosaurus Opisthias ? Fraserosphenodon ?

Eilenodontinae are an extinct clade of reptiles belonging to Sphenodontia. They are either considered a subgroup of Opisthodontia, ^[1] or Sphenodontidae. ^[2] They had deep jaws with broad, closely packed teeth with thick enamel and noticeable wear facets. They were likely herbivorous, and probably chewed with a proal (forward stroke) movement, with food shredded between the edges of opposing sharp-edged wear facets. Members of the group are known from South America, North America and Europe. ^[3] The earliest known member of the group, Sphenotitan , is known from the Late Triassic of South America. ^[2] while the youngest members are known from the Late Cretaceous of South America. ^[4] The group contains some of the largest known sphenodontians, with Priosphenodon suggested to be the largest known non aquatic sphenodontian, with an estimated body length of over 1 metre (3.3 ft). ^[5]

References

1. Romo de Vivar, Paulo R.; Martinelli, Agustín G.; Schmaltz Hsiou, Annie; Soares, Marina Bento (2020-07-02). "A New Rhynchocephalian from the Late Triassic of Southern Brazil Enhances Eusphenodontian Diversity" . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (13): 1103–1126. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1732488. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   216226211.
2. Simões, Tiago R.; Kinney-Broderick, Grace; Pierce, Stephanie E. (2022-03-03). "An exceptionally preserved Sphenodon-like sphenodontian reveals deep time conservation of the tuatara skeleton and ontogeny". Communications Biology. 5 (1): 195. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03144-y . ISSN   2399-3642. PMC   8894340 . PMID   35241764.
3. Jones, Marc E. H.; Lucas, Peter W.; Tucker, Abigail S.; Watson, Amy P.; Sertich, Joseph J. W.; Foster, John R.; Williams, Ruth; Garbe, Ulf; Bevitt, Joseph J.; Salvemini, Floriana (June 2018). "Neutron scanning reveals unexpected complexity in the enamel thickness of an herbivorous Jurassic reptile". Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 15 (143): 20180039. doi:10.1098/rsif.2018.0039. ISSN   1742-5689. PMC   6030635 . PMID   29899156.
4. Gentil, Adriel R.; Agnolin, Federico L.; Garcia Marsà, Jordi A.; Motta, Matias J.; Novas, Fernando E. (June 2019). "Bridging the gap: Sphenodont remains from the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia. Palaeobiological inferences" . Cretaceous Research. 98: 72–83. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.01.016. S2CID   135429146.
5. Apesteguía, Sebastián; Novas, Fernando E. (9 October 2003). "Large Cretaceous sphenodontian from Patagonia provides insight into lepidosaur evolution in Gondwana". Nature. 425 (6958): 609–612. Bibcode:2003Natur.425..609A. doi:10.1038/nature01995. PMID   14534584. S2CID   4425130.