| Polysphenodon Temporal range: Late Triassic, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reconstructed skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Genus: | †Polysphenodon Jaeckel, 1911 |
| Type species | |
| †Polysphenodon mulleri Jaeckel, 1911 | |
Polysphenodon is an extinct genus of sphenodontian reptile with a single species Polysphenodon mulleri from the Late Triassic Keuper Group of Germany. [1]
The genus and only known species Polysphenodon mulleri was described by Otto Jaekel in 1911. [2] Polysphenodon mulleri is known from a single partial skeleton recovered from a borehole sample at 775 metres (2,543 ft) depth, which includes parts of the skull, limbs and tail vertebrae. [2] This specimen has been lost since the 1930s, but is known from several casts. [1]
The skull was around 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) long in life. The snout is relatively short, even when accounting for post-mortem distortion. The limbs of Polysphenodon, particularly the tibia, are long relative to the size of the skull and are similar in proportions to some species of Homoeosaurus . This resemblance is considered to be indicative of similar locomotory requirements rather than close evolutionary relationships. [1]
Recent studies have placed Polysphenodon as a member of Eusphenodontia. [3] Some authors have placed Polysphenodon as part of the family Clevosauridae alongside Clevosaurus and Brachyrhinodon , [4] though other studies have recovered Polysphenodon as unrelated to these taxa. [3]
Cladogram following Sues and Schoch, 2023: [5]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | This article about a Triassic reptile is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
