Cyamodus
Cyamodus Fossil
- C. rostratus (Münster, 1839)
- C. hildegardis ( Peyer, 1931)
- C. kuhnschneyderi ( Nosotti & Pinna, 1993)
- C. munsteri ( Agassiz, 1833-45 )
- C. tarnowitzensis ( Gürich, 1884)
Cyamodus is a fossil genus of aquatic reptiles from the Middle Triassic. Five species have been described.
Features
The representatives of Cyamodus were about 1.3 meters long. Your body was flat and heavily armored, much like modern turtles. However, their armor was in two parts. The greater part of protecting him from the neck to the hips, as well as almost all the fins. The smaller second tank covered the hips and tail. The Cyamodus species were probably slow swimmers. The armor protected them from predators such as the Nothosauriern.
Her skull was heart-shaped and wide. The shape of their teeth, flat washers, point out that they were herbivores, feeding on seaweed.
C. rostratus skull
Bottom of a C. hildegardis skull
Fund history
The type specimen of Cyamodus was discovered in the early 19th century in Germany and described and named in 1863 by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer. Another important locality is the Monte San Giorgio in the south of Switzerland on the border with Italy.