Phytosaur Tooth

Price includes display box, the item you receive will be of similar quality to the one shown above!

Phytosaurs are an extinct group of archosauriforms. They lived during the Late Triassic (242-201 million years ago) and were semiaquatic reptiles. These teeth come from the Redonda Formation in New Mexico!

Each tooth is unique, and will show some signs of repair (cracks, small chips, etc).

Size: Approximately half an inch long

What were phytosaurs?

(Illustration source: Wikimedia.org)

Though Phytosaurs have a great resemblance to modern crocodiles, they have a few key differences that separate them from true crocodiles. Phytosaurs do not have a secondary palate (roof of their mouths) that crocodiles have which allows them to breathe even when they have a mouth full of water. Phytosaurs also have more primitive ankle structures than true crocodiles. Also, unlike crocodilians Phytosaur teeth have serrations.

Before much was known about Phytosaurs they were mistakenly identified by G. Jaeger as herbivorous due to cemented mud fillings in the jaw that looked like teeth more suited for vegetation. Though, since 1892 paleontologists figured out quickly they were indeed carnivorous.

Each purchase includes a glass top display box and an informational card about the fossil.