Compsosaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compsosaurus (meaning "elegant lizard"[1]) is an extinct genus of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic. Its fossils have been found in North Carolina. The type species, Compsosaurus priscus, was named by American paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1856,[2] although other sources say 1857.[3][4][5] Compsosaurus may have been the same animal as the related Belodon.
| Compsosaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Phytosauria |
| Family: | †Parasuchidae |
| Genus: | †Compsosaurus Leidy, 1856 |
| Type species | |
| †Compsosaurus priscus Leidy, 1856 | |
| Synonyms | |
Only four teeth are known, discovered in the Carnian-Rhaetian-aged coal fields of Chatham County, North Carolina (probably Red Sandstone Formation) and the New Oxford Formation of Pennsylvania.[6]
