Paraplacodus

Paraplacodus, artistic live presentation

• Europe ( Germany, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, Switzerland )

• Paraplacodus broilli ( Peyer, 1931)

Paraplacodus is a fossil genus of aquatic reptiles from the group of Placodontidae from the Middle Triassic of Europe. To date, only the type species, Paraplacodus broilli known.

The first Paraplacodus fossil was discovered on Monte San Giorgio in Canton Ticino and described in 1931 by Bernhard Peyer. Other localities are located in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

Features

The name Paraplacodus (Greek para- " against, beside, in comparison with " ) indicates that the genus has many similarities with the genus Placodus.

Paraplacodus characterized by enlarged ribs of the thorax, which made ​​difficult the skeleton and the buoyancy in the water decreased, giving the animal easier to search the seabed for food. Other representatives of the Placodontidae achieved this effect by other features of the skeleton: for example, showed a Placodus Pachyostose the Gastralrippen on, while the hull of Cyamodus was armored with osteoderms. The dentition was similar to the Placodus: The front formed spatulate teeth, while the bulk of the upper and lower jaw was covered by two rows of large, cobblestone- like molars. Paraplacodus reached a length of about 1.2 meters.

Dissemination and lifestyle

Their habitat were the shallow waters of the northwestern Tethysküste Pangaea and the Germanic Basin. Paraplacodus - finds are in the Germanic Basin of only 5% of all Placodontidae discoveries, while 29% are in the north-western Tethys. The representatives of Paraplacodus were herbivores and used their teeth presumably to dig seaweed and crush.