Basutodon
Extinct genus of reptiles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Basutodon is a genus of suchian archosaur from the Late Triassic (late Norian-early Rhaetian) Lower Elliot Formation of Lesotho.[1] The type species is B. ferox.
| Basutodon Temporal range: Late Triassic, ~ | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Suchia |
| Genus: | †Basutodon von Huene, 1932 |
| Species: | †B. ferox |
| Binomial name | |
| †Basutodon ferox von Huene, 1932 | |
Discovery and naming
The holotype is a single tooth that was discovered alongside the remains of Euskelosaurus browni in the upper Elliot Formation, Lesotho. The species Basutodon ferox was named and described by von Huene (1932).[1]
"Likhoelesaurus ingens", an undescribed archosauriform from the Lower Elliot Formation of South Africa,[2] may have been the same animal as Basutodon ferox.[3][4]
Description
Basutodon was once classified as a prosauropod, as with Teratosaurus or as a synonym of Euskelosaurus. It was probably neither of these things, though, and is much more likely to be a dubious non-dinosaur.[5]
Basutodon is currently listed as a basal member of Suchia,[3] although Tolchard et al. (2019) suggested that Basutodon may belong to Rauisuchia.[6]
