Picrodon
Possible dinosaur genus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Picrodon is the name given to a genus of archosaur, possibly a sauropodomorph dinosaur,[1] from the Rhaetian of England which was possibly synonymous with the dubious archosaur Avalonianus.[citation needed] The type, and only species, P. herveyi, was named in 1898.[2]
| Picrodon Temporal range: Late Triassic, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Genus: | †Picrodon Seeley, 1898 |
| Species: | †P. herveyi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Picrodon herveyi Seeley, 1898 | |
Discovery and naming
In 1894, W. A. Sanford described the fossil remains of what he considered to be two large reptiles discovered near Westbury-on-Severn, Glastonbury (Westbury Formation) by Eev. Sydenham H. A. Hervey and Sanford himself.[3][2] Harry Govier Seeley described the fossils and named two genera: Avalonia (preoccupied; now Avalonianus) and Picrodon; both are based solely on teeth.[2]
Only a single tooth, holotype BMNH R2875, belonging to P. herveyi is known, making the remains insufficient to make judgments on its diet or its classification; although it is agreed that Picrodon was an archosaur to some degree.[citation needed]
Classification
Sanford (1894)[3] classified Picrodon as a reptile, while Seeley (1898)[2] classified Picrodon as a saurian. More modern research however almost certainly places Picrodon within Archosauria;[citation needed] Peter Malcolm Galton (1985) suggested that Picrodon may have been a basal sauropodomorph. Currently, its exact phylogenetic placement within Archosauria remains unknown.[citation needed]
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