Stagonolepis
| Stagonolepis | ||||||||||||
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Stagonolepis (live reconstruction) |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Triassic ( Carnium - Norium ) | ||||||||||||
| 228 to 203.6 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Stagonolepis | ||||||||||||
| Agassiz , 1844 | ||||||||||||
Stagonolepis ("drop scale") is an extinct genus of aetosaurs from the Upper Triassic . His remains have been found in Scotland.
features
The entire 2.7 m to 3 m long body is encased in an extensive armor made of heavy bone plates, which are anchored in the skin. The strong tail is also armored. The legs are short and stocky. The head is relatively small in relation to the body at 23 cm. The jaws are shortened and toothless in the front part, further back there are conical teeth. The snout is blunt, slightly curved upwards and reminiscent of a pig's trunk.
Paleobiology
The cone-like teeth identify Stagonolepis as herbivores . It is believed that the mighty trunk offered space for an elongated intestine, which was necessary for the digestion of fibrous plant food such as horsetail , ferns and the recently formed cycads . The shape of its snout would be particularly well suited for searching for food in the ground. It is therefore believed that the animal was using it to dig for edible tubers and roots. Its heavy armor is an important defense mechanism to protect against Rauisuchi , the most common carnivores of its era.
literature
- Michael J. Benton Paleontology of the Vertebrates (Org. Vertebrate Paleontology by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, 2005) Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil ISBN 978-3-89937-072-0 (pp. 154–155, 162–163)
- Barry Cox, Dougal Dixon, Brian Gardiner, RJG Savage Dinosaurs and other animals of the past - The great encyclopedia of the prehistoric animal world Mosaik Verlag GmbH, Munich Special edition for Gondrom Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Bindlach, 1994 ISBN 3-8112-1138-2 (P. 49 & 97)
Web links
- Palaeos.com (English)